As a long-time manager and executive, I know this to be true: Every manager has a list (at least one in the back of their brain) of the qualities they want most in the people who work for them.
If you are a manager, or executive, or ever supervised people at any level, I bet you could spit out your own list of those desired employee qualities pretty much on command.
But I find it interesting to see what other managers put on their list, and that’s why this survey of the Top 8 Qualities Employers Desire in Workers that was released this week by OI Partners, a global coaching and leadership development/consulting firm, was something I found pretty intriguing.
Here’s the list:
“The surest way to build these qualities is to establish a culture that supports them and provide the resources to grow and develop them,” said Patty Prosser, chair of OI Partners, in a press release about the survey. “Demonstrate that these qualities are valued. Include them in performance reviews and consideration for raises and promotions – and recognize and reward employees who exemplify them.”
Patty is absolutely right, of course, but as so many workers know, quite a few organizations stopped worrying about pushing for “a culture that supports (workers) and provide the resources to grow and develop” during the economic slowdown over the last four plus years.
But, until the job market tilts more to the sellers (workers) than buyers (employers), as it is now, I suspect that developing workplace cultures that support employees and “provide the resources for them to grow and develop” is something that we’ll spend more time discussing than actually seeing in action.
