Meet Darla.
Darla is early every morning and arrives with perfectly hot, fresh Starbucks for her favourite manager. She is impeccably dressed in head to toe Prada, despite a middle income salary and never has a hair out of place, her makeup minimal and yet inspired. She speaks four languages fluently, including Mandarin, French, and even knows a smattering of Klingon, which makes for a hilarious skit at the annual office Christmas party, where our dear Darla limits herself to one mocktail and then offers to drive everyone else home.
She answers the phone with aplomb, fills forms as if she was born to it and can deal with any customer tantrum that comes her way, with a smile and a nod. She remembers everyone’s birthday and makes divine cookies to share for open houses. She’s never sick and doesn’t feel the need to waste valuable time with vacations. She is the embodiment of the perfect employee.
Of course, someone who is never late, never sick, never makes a mistake, is fast, efficient, happy with her salary, willing to work evenings weekends, well, this is the stuff realtors dream of. So it saddens me to say this but Darla is a unicorn. But if Darla is unrealistic, and frankly a little annoying in her superiority, then what is realistic in terms of expectations?
Our guideline is to find someone who is:
- Committed – someone who’s worked at least 2 years in one position
- Resourceful – an employee may not know everything, but should have the attitude of I’ll figure it out
- Learns from mistakes – to err is human, to learn from a mistake is sublime
Take the time to really assess your expectations. Being realistic won’t get you the unicorn but it will get you an employee that fits your organization and your style of work, a person who can do the job with excellence and someone who goes above and beyond to make you look good.
If you had that perfect employee and she ran away, along with the unicorn, AGENTC is here to help you find the next best fit.
