What makes the perfect employee?

What makes the perfect employee?

As Employee Appreciation Day rolls around again, we wonder, what does it take to find the perfect employee? And is there a formula for attracting hard working dedicated individuals that have your back, when you have theirs. As an SME business with limited budgets, what does it really take to the build the perfect team dynamics?

Don’t try and tick all the boxes, find the people that count instead
There are many people who don’t fit the mould. And they don’t need to either. Mum’s and Dad’s who’ve taken a career break, or individuals who’ve taken a gap to care for a loved one. Don’t dismiss the hours, or conditions they ask for as being too difficult. If you accept the unacceptable in our experience, they’ll just work even harder to prove themselves. They’ll go above and beyond for you, if you go above and beyond for them.

Not everyone needs to be the same
As the leader of your business, what makes you tick, is not what makes everyone else tick. Good team dynamics rely on differences, people to challenge you, not just agree with you. The doers vs the creative thinkers, the detail vs the broad stroke. Life would be boring if we were all the same.

Which brings us to our team. And the fun bit. We thought we’d tell you about them. Because, why the hell not? They’re that good.

Our team works because of the very reasons we list above. We’re not all the same, we don’t claim to be. We aim to cover all bases. A jigsaw of personalities that fit together to produce a Van Gogh masterpiece, Ravensburger style.

Claire – The Palmer Perfection.
As there’s two Claire’s in our team, we call her Palmer. Like Bond. James Bond. She’s a multi-tasker who takes her Martini shaken and dry like her humour. She’ll juggle like a Penn and Teller, balancing multiple marketing balls, without dropping one. Okay, we’ve nearly forgiven her for the one she dropped on her first day. But we’ll say no more about that.

Jess – The Mancunian Doer.
A hard work ethic is Jess’s strength. Mancunian grit and determination see her through, from creating email templates at the crack of dawn, to drafting copy on the strangest of subject matters. DDOS attacks? Pfft. Easy. No subject is too much trouble. She also laughs at our Mum jokes.

Sonia – The Yorkshire Corker.
She could talk the hind legs of a donkey. So, it’s just a good job we don’t have one. There’s nothing she doesn’t know about marketing. Or brand. Or barn conversions. She’s the eternal optimist, pragmatist and never gets flustered. A leader by nature, she’ll always be there to offer the very best advice. Whether you like it or not.

Claire – The Geek With A Creative Streak.
She only streaks at special request. Naturally a hobbit, who only comes out when Gandalf knocks on, she’ll explain even the most complicated technical details simply and succinctly. Maybe sometimes too succinctly. You certainly know where you stand with her. Not content with being technical, she’ll also turn her hand to creative tasks like this. And just like the other Claire in our team, she takes her Martini dry like her humour. We knew we were in trouble when we employed two of them.

Ed – The Big Personality PR.
In a world full of females, Ed is our adopted employee who pulls no punches when it comes to the world of PR. There’s not a journalist he doesn’t have on speed dial. He not only puts the P into PR but is personable and a positively joyous person to be around. And the best person at pottery, as we found out from our Christmas do.

Cam – The Above Average Apprentice.
Lord Sugar would be so proud. Although Cam has now left us for pastures new, he still pops in to set our SEO straight. He puts the C into CARING and adds capitals to it. He learns faster than the speed of light, and brightens up our day with his award-winning smile. We’re sure he used to be a model you know.

Zoe – The Big-Hearted Southerner.
Yes, we know we had to employ one of them. Equal opportunities and all that. Zoe is a Devonshire lass and like all good Devonshire lasses her rosy-cheeked sunny disposition instils a calming influence on our days. She is the sunshine to our Northern leaden skies and ever the optimist. Her thorough reports and marketing practicality, put all our clients at ease.

So, that’s us. A team that fits perfectly together, like the moon with the stars. Our personalities might sometimes be galaxies apart, but our light bounces off each other to shine bright. We align like Orion’s belt and work hard to form the right constellation. We all really really care about doing a good job, and each other. And there’s definitely no egos. Well, maybe Ed. But he wouldn’t work in PR otherwise, so we’ll make an exception. So on this Employee Appreciation Day, we hope you find your perfect star alignment that lasts into perpetuity like the universe.