15 Key Characteristics of High Potential Employees

It is no secret that an organization can be successful only with a robust workforce of high-potential employees. Businesses try different recruitment strategies to hire employees who are the right fit when it comes to skills or personality. An understanding of the key qualities of a high-potential employee adds to the long-term success of your recruitment efforts.

Characteristics of a high-potential employee

The list below features desirable characteristics and traits that are the mark of a good employee.

1. Team player: The employee you wish to hire must be able to work well with others. Their ability to engage, collaborate and work with colleagues, subordinates and managers can drive the success of the team. 
2. Communication skills: This encompasses the candidate’s ability to convey ideas, express opinions, and their ability to speak for themselves in diverse and myriad situations. 
3. Receptive to feedback: The candidate must have the ability to receive constructive feedback without feeling discouraged and should also not be afraid to speak up, or ask questions.
4. Presentation: Candidates who make an effort to look put together for the interview are often keen on getting the job and they also turn out to be responsible individuals who respect their co-workers.
5. Ability to face challenges: Look out for the go-getters, who despite the challenges and roadblocks they face, do not stop from taking action.
6. Ready to take initiatives: High-potential employees volunteer to lead projects, mentor new hires, and are also ready to step in for cross-team projects or deadlines. They constantly look for opportunities to grow and do not wait to be asked. 
7. Punctuality: Responsible employees respect other’s time so they make it a point to be on time to work and meetings. 
8. Result-oriented: High-potentials are focused more on the results and take care to perform every work-related activity in such a way so that it helps them easily and efficiently achieve their end goals. 
9. Does not compare their journey with others: Hire candidates who do not compare themselves with others and rely solely on their accomplishments to grow in their career.  
10. Detail-oriented: A detail-oriented candidate can be trusted to do a thorough job. They make excellent quality controllers by doing a diligent job of checking every aspect of the work and by easily spotting even minor inconsistencies with their trained eye. 
11. Stays up to date on current trends: High potentials like to stay informed. They are well-informed about the latest industry trends which helps them to upskill or reskill as required and do their work while exceeding expectations.  
12. Eagerness to learn: Individuals who wish to grow in their career are always looking for new ways to learn. They are the ones who ask a lot of questions and keep themselves updated about company performance and market trends. They show up for company events and take up every opportunity to engage with their colleagues and leaders or sharpen their skills. 
13. They know how to handle pressure: Be it conglomerate or startups, the element of pressure is unavoidable. An employee who has mastered the art of working or even thriving under pressure can be counted on to do a good job under every circumstance!
14. They ask for help: High potentials believe in smart work rather than hard work, so they do not consider asking for help as a sign of weakness. They admit that they need help and consider it better to ask for timely assistance than to do things the wrong way.  
15. Tech-savvy: One of the most crucial employee characteristics in this day and age is the eagerness to closely monitor and study technological developments in their line of work. This gives them a fresh perspective on the latest tools or techniques that can be used to do smart work.

Tools to identify High-potentials 

Are you searching for the best fit employee for your company? We hope the above list helps you to assess the qualities of a good employee and find high potential candidates who can transform your workforce for the better.

We at MeritTrac, make employee characteristics assessment easy and effective with a wide range of recruitment tools and solutions. You can now measure the skills and traits of job candidates and identify the high potentials in just a few easy steps. The online assessment platform facilitates communication, domain, cognitive, and behavioural assessment and narrows down the hunt for the perfect employee.

We also provide workforce development assessments that help you to identify high-potential employees within your organization.