Key Skills and Characteristics of an Employee Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) FAQs

For someone to be seen as a good employee, they are going to need some particular qualities. These will vary from workplace to workplace throughout the UK, depending on the type and nature of the work that they undertake. However, some of the most common characteristics that you may want in an employee include: 

• Someone reliable 
• The ability to problem-solve 
• Teamwork 
• Resolution of conflict 
• Great communication skills 
• Willingness to learn and to develop themselves 

If someone shows all of or some of these key skills and qualities, then they are going to be well on their way to being seen as a high-level employee.  

When you work as a team, you are going to find it so much easier to get the work that needs to be done. This is because a team will improve efficiency in the workplace and ensure that all the members feel as productive as possible.  

Teams that work together will not only get the job that has been outlined to them, but it will also help them to push others forward and to develop them to be the best version of themselves. In and out of the workplace.  

What role does time management play in being a good employee? 

Time management is a key skill to have when you are an employee. Someone who has good time management will be able to ensure that they work efficiently. They will be aware of and be able to manage any key deadlines that they have and ensure that the work that they deliver is not going to be of a low standard or rushed. 

They may also, when they have planned their time well, be able to help out with other areas of the business, which not only helps out the business as a whole (and the other departments or teams that they are helping) but will also help them to develop. 

Being a leader means that you feel confident enough to do your job to the best of your ability. You will not only be able to take control of what you do on a day-to-day basis, but you can also set an example for those around you.  

Another key feature of leadership is the ability to be able to problem-solve for yourself. To think of a solution to an issue, work out what might be the best way to fix it, and come to a resolution. 

When you are adaptable, you are going to be able to deal best with changes to your workload, workplace or any working situation that you find yourself in. Someone who is adaptable will feel much more comfortable when changes are made or need to be made. 

They will be able to respond quickly; they will make changes that meet the demands or priorities in the workplace, and this will have a minimal impact on them and the workplace around them.  

Someone who is adaptable will also be able to work on their skills; they will feel happy to take on a wealth of challenges, and they will then be able to learn as much as possible for those around them. 

No matter how well things are planned in a workplace, there is always a chance that things can go wrong. When this happens, you are going to want to have employees who can take these changes in stride and face them with a positive mindset.  

This isn’t always easy to do, which is why it is great to have someone who can remain positive at all times. Not only will this person help to keep themselves happy and positive, ready to face work, but there is also a chance that they are going to have a positive impact on those around them too. Which can improve the working environment for everyone.  

Someone who is good at problem-solving is going to be able to apply this to their working life. They are going to be able to think of new ways and ideas to help them get their work done, and then they will be able to share this best practice with those around them.  

They may be adept at figuring out what is going to make their work as easy as possible, which not only helps them to do their job but also makes things better for your clients. 

Making things easier for clients and staff is going to help make things better for the company as a whole. Which is always something that you are going to want from employees.  

How does a commitment to professional development help an employee? 

If you are dedicated to improving yourself as a person, particularly in a professional context, then you are always going to be striving towards being the very best that you can be. This is something that will push you forward in your career and in the work that you do every single day.  

Having people who want to be at the top of their game is always good for business; it will help the business thrive, and clients will always feel that they are getting the very best service possible. 

In life, it is important that we treat one another with respect and that we are not prejudiced in any way. This is also true for the workplace. When we work in a place that is always striving for ethical conduct in all employees, then it will feel like a positive and welcoming place to be. 

People will want to work within that company because they will feel safe and protected, and clients will see the good in that particular company and want to choose them over others that may not have quite the same approach. 

Communication is something that needs to be worked on all the time, Even if you feel that you are effectively communicating with those around you, there is always room for improvement. If you want to demonstrate effective communication, then you are going to want to ensure that you show those who are speaking that you are listening to them, take in what they are saying, and use both visual and auditory cues to show that you are paying attention.  

You should ensure that you take feedback from those around you on how well you communicate and whether or not there are any areas that you may need to work on in the future. This may not always be easy to hear, but it is showing that you are keen to work on how well you communicate at work. 

The best way to see whether you are effective in your communication is to look at whether or not those around you understand what you are saying to them. Is there any confusion about your message? Are you often misunderstood? If this is true for you, then maybe you are not communicating as well as you think you may be.  

There are lots of signs that someone has a poor work ethic. They may be someone who is always late to work and is never keen to try and make up any missed time at the end of the day or week. They may be someone who is not able to take on any additional work that would be beneficial to the business or their team.  

Someone with a poor work ethic is likely to spend much of their time chatting and gossiping with their colleagues instead of focusing on the task at hand, and they may always have an excuse for the way that they behave.  

Overall, someone with a poor work ethic is going to be someone who is not particularly pleasant to work with or who will never seem to be a part of the team.  

You should never underestimate the importance of good communication or the impact that poor communication can have on your workplace.  

When you do not communicate effectively, you may find that the rest of the team working with the person does not understand what they are supposed to do or how they can work together to reach their shared goals. 

There may be a lack of rapport or morale within the team, or even wider, simply because employees feel that there is no consideration of what is right for them and what could make a difference in the way that they work.  

If it carries on and the person who is unable to communicate well has enough of a position within the company, then you may even find that there are jobs that are lost and that you need to recruit new people to come in. 

One of the key ways that a business is successful is when the team that needs to get the work done works together and forms a cohesive team. It makes sense, when you think of it this way, that if one or more employees within the business are resistant to teamwork, then this idea is going to fall apart.  

For many of the tasks that need to be completed in a workplace, you need to make sure that everyone within the business is keen to work together. They are going to want to support one another and tackle the work that needs to be finished together. 

To be able to complete key tasks and get work done, you need to make sure that you can manage your time effectively. Someone who has inadequate time management skills is going to find it hard to be able to complete jobs that they need to finish on time.  

They are likely to be someone who is always rushing around, who is always late for things, and who has a hectic approach to working life.  

Not only does this impact how they feel and how the other employees see them, but it can also mean that there is a reduced quality in the work that they do, as they do not always have time to give it their full attention. 

You should never underestimate the power of a negative attitude. The impact that it can have may spread much wider than you may think. If someone has a negative attitude, then this can mean that they bring the rest of the team down with them. 

There may be a lack of morale, a lack of teamwork, and a reduction in the productivity of the team too. You may find that work suffers and that this can even give the business as a whole a bad name and stop people from wanting to choose them. 

While some people find it harder to be adaptable than others, this is something that we all work on. A lack of adaptability means that everyone in a team is going to be stuck in their ways.  

Of course, there may be people who do different things well in their day-to-day work, but if they do not want to improve and expand their skills, then they can never grow as employees, and they may find it harder to come together and support one another as a team. 

If there are people within the business who act in an unethical way, then there is a good chance that this is going to impact the business in a much more general way. General morale can be impacted by all employees, and this can then mean that the productivity of the employees and the wider team can be reduced.  

Someone who is not ethical in their behaviour can become someone who is not well-liked within the business; they may not be someone that their colleagues want to go to for advice, which can mean that they do not progress through the business and build their career. 

When there is a lack of problem-solving skills within a workplace, there is a good chance that there can be missed opportunities when it comes to growing and expanding the business. Customers may not feel as satisfied with the service that they are receiving, and there are not going to be as many chances to improve.  

If problem-solving is not something that is focused on, then it may be much harder to identify what is best practice, and this can mean that there is too much time spent doing things that could be completed much easier and quicker if a little bit of initiative was taken. 

To be the best that we can be, we need to be dedicated to our development. A lack of commitment to professional development means that someone doesn’t want to improve their skills or knowledge. 

They may not want to learn new ways to achieve success in their job, which means that they are not going to be able to provide the very best service to the clients or customers that they have. They may be someone who wants to simply come in and do what they need to do and then leave, rather than being able to progress and expand within their role in the business.

You often associate poor leadership with those who work in a managerial role. While this is true and a lack of this skill will have the biggest impact in a managerial role, this isn’t always the case. 

Everyone in a team is a leader in their own right. They are responsible for choosing their behaviours and approaches, and then finding a way to set an example to others around them. If someone is unable to act as a leader and to behave in a way that inspires others, then they cannot expect to be a key part of their team.  

This can be made even worse when the person is a manager. They are going to be someone who is looked up to, therefore, if they are not meeting the needs of those around them, then there is a good chance that there will be a larger impact felt throughout the entire business.