Three traits every employee should have

A leading CEO has said he always looks for three characteristics when recruiting new staff as they help ensure his company stays relevant and successful in a rapidly changing world.

“So much is changing around us, you need the right people with some real qualities to remain agile,” says Darren Linton, CEO of Yellow.

Firstly, Linton says he always looks for people who are curious.

“You need people who have an open mind and ask lots of questions, not someone who comes in knowing all the answers,” he says. “It’s about asking questions and being really curious.”

Perseverance is also important as employees must be ready to move outside of their comfort zone a moment’s notice.

“Again, things are changing so fast – how things worked last quarter, or last year, or two years ago, or even the last company they came from, may not work the same here,” he says. “It may be frustrating but they have to just change tack and get on with it.”

Finally, Linton says he wouldn’t employ someone who didn’t show any humility as it not only helps teams get along better, it also ties in with the other two traits.

“It’s so important to be able to work with people with some humility because sometimes things don’t work and we need to be able to acknowledge that quickly and move on and try something different,” he says.

“As leaders, we also need to empower people to make decisions at whatever level they’re at, to take risks and to not be afraid of failing,” he continues.

“It’s almost a reverse of the old strategies where execution was from the top down and employees just got told what to do.”