EMPLOYER NEEDS
What An Employer Needs From An Employee.
People go into business to make profit; it is not what the employer can achieve as a stand-alone. Employers are therefore in continuous need of people with sufficient ability to render their services that will help the enterprise achieve its goals. Though the employer is need but it is crucial to note that both the employer and employee are in need and their needs can only be solved by each understanding his responsibility to the other. This work is therefore aimed at;
1. Identifying and Establishing the understanding of the key ingredients that the employer needs from an employee to achieve his organizational goals.
2. Employee, to understand what would keep him relevant in a work place.
3. Job seeker, understanding what is expected of him before and after recruitment.
This work shall consider two critical questions;
1. What does the employer needs?
2. How does the employee or job seeker meet the needs of the employer?
WHAT DOES THE EMPLOYER NEED?
The employer, in his pursuit of solutions to people’s needs, his primary objective is to make profit. The fact being that, business is not charity; the employer will not be too generous in dispensing cash to an employee who do not have a corresponding value. It is not stinginess; it is management of limited resources. It is therefore very important to the employer that whatever he pays for, is been satisfied. To achieve this, the employer is in need of;
1- Skills in the Use of Fundamentals.
Employers want workers who have a mastery of the fundamental tools – reading, writing, figuring, observing, problem-solving, negotiation and speaking skills among others. At least, you must be able to write legibly, calculate accurately, and spell correctly.
Every business worker/prospective worker must express himself clearly and make himself understood by others; effective communication. The higher you go in the business world, the more you will be called on to represent your business before the public. Leading business executives are in great demand as speakers before many and varied groups of educators and businessmen.
2- Understanding of the Business.
The more you know about the business; language and nature, and the economic principles on which it is based, the more valuable you will be to any business. Employers want employees who understand the principle of economics and who know and understand business organization. In addition to knowing a great deal about business in general, it is essential that you have some specialized knowledge or skill.
To be prepared for initial employment, you must be able to answer the question what can I do?
In most of my seminars and lectures, I speak more on understanding the language of the business if you must enter and remain in the business. This language I refer to as business/organizational jargon. These jargons vary from one company to another, so you have to understand and soak yourself in the spirit of the business if you must be there.
3- Desirable Personal Qualities.
Different employers rate certain personal qualities above others. Differences in organizational structure, the degree of responsibility connected with the position, the type of product sold, the type of customer to be served, and the traditions of the company- all enter into employers’ preferences in appraising the personal qualities of applicants who are prospective employees.
And yet there are certain traits that are considered important by almost all employers. These are; character, integrity, intellect, attitude, personality, physical condition, and appearance.
4- Learning New Tasks.
There are several factors that enter into your ability to learn a new assignment rapidly. Some of these factors may be beyond your immediate control such as aptitude for the work and over-all properties for it. But there are other factors which you can exert considerable influence such as your interest in the work, your self-confidence, your attitude towards the company and its products and towards your supervisor and fellow workers. Moreover, you can make an effort to adjust cooperatively to the teaching methods you can encounter on the job.
5- Cooperation
Employers are critical of workers who fail to cooperate for the common good of others and the business. The new employee must accommodate himself to his co-workers. This, as well as has to do with his acceptance on a job and this determines the speed with which he is promoted thus his quality of cooperation.
6- Responsibility
Employees who wish to be promoted within a business organization must be willing to accept responsibility, for there are few opportunities for promotion that do not carry with them increased responsibilities. The supervisor or the department head is responsible for the successes and failures of subordinates.
Promotion opportunities seldom come to the person who habitually passes the blame along to those below him.
7- Loyalty
Since every employer wants to be highly regarded in his community he expects his employees to help foster good public relations. If an employee cannot speak well of seek employment elsewhere. Any employee who cannot speak well of his company and the men with whom he works, should look for employment elsewhere. Any employee who speaks ill of his company may be regarded as being disloyal, and is subject to discharge.
8- Leadership Ability
The qualities of leadership are particularly important to college graduates who are staking their future on their success in the business world. Personnel recruiters who visit college campuses searching these qualities in the students they interview. Most business executives feel that personnel with leadership ability can the technical knowledge they need as they advance with the company.
In conclusion, as said in the first paragraph, both the employer and employee are in need. Ironically, we have more employees than employers so the employer takes pride in his creativity and invention thus a mandatory aspect for the employee to package his/her-self very well as to attract the employer. At the other hand, when the employee becomes indispensably valuable to the employer, he also prides in his skills and knowledge. so, both owe each other a responsibility to achieve their mandates.
Note the words “attract” and “package”. Thus, if an employee does a good packaging, he will get good attraction for like begets like. How then do you package yourself? Engage in self-discovery to empower your intrinsic potentials, acquire skills; gain perfection on it, go for professional/specialist knowledge and remain relevant by having constant access to Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
Further Reading
Dr. Myles Munroe: The Principles and Power of Vision; Keys to Achieving
Personal and Corporate Destiny.
Professor W. Cohen: Making It Big As A Consultant.
Richard Bewes: Speaking in Public Effectively.
Richard Templar: Rules of Management.
Richard Templar: Rules of Work.
Richard Branson: How I Hire: Focus on Personality.