What makes individuals good employees? There are numerous answers to this question. Both employees and employers have differing ideas on what is most important though. If you ask people the answers vary from productivity, to number of sales, to meeting annual goals, to getting along with fellow employees. Yes these all come into play in determining whether an employee is a keeper. The important things worth looking at, really focus on a full past, present and future review of the employee.

1. Has the employee met the prior year’s individual goals. A motivated employee meets or exceeds prior year goals. If the employee isn’t doing that, look at what is holding the employee back from meeting them. If it is the employee’s fault and not outside circumstances, then the employee might not be the best fit for that job.

2. Has the employee helped improve the company. Where has an employee furthered the broader company goals. This shows whether the employee understands the needs of the company and has a desire to see the company succeed.

3. Does the employee strive to meet annual goals. Is the employee motivated and driven. Goals should be set at the beginning of the year and should be discussed and agreed to by both employee and supervisor. Usually it’s good to have employee draft initial goals. Always keep the goals realistic but challenging.

4. Does the employee fit the company’s personality. Every company has a culture, a personality all its own. An employee needs to fit within that culture. Size and type of company all make a difference on what type of person might be a good fit.

5. Does the employee work positively with those around him or her. Ability of a person to interact well with others keeps the positive energy of the company intact. Negative people detract from the positive direction of the company.

6. Does the employee move forward the vision of the company. Individuals have their own goals and ideas. Make sure those are in sync with the direction the company plans on taking.

7. Are the employee’s talents being utilized. If not, why not. If an employee’s talents aren’t going to be needed in the future, now might be the time to cut ties with the employee rather than allowing the employee’s dissatisfaction with under utilization of his or her skills affect other employees’ morale or the focus of the company.

8. Does the employee fit in the future plans of the company. The company has a specific direction that it is planning to take through its strategic plan . The company should make sure an employee’s skills, knowledge, and expertise fit those short and long term plans.

9. Is the employee a valuable resource for the company. A company needs to continually assess whether the value, both tangible and intangible skills, expertise, and knowledge, an employee brings to the company outweighs the salary, insurance, and other costs that the company pays out to the employee.

10. What are the employee’s broader personal goals. Any review of an employee’s goals should include the question – “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Supervisors should add it to their yearly reviews. Understanding where someone wants to be in the future, is the best way to see where those goals fit in with the company’s goals for growth and improvement. If they mesh that’s great, if not, take a look a look at where they differ and if they can be made to sync up with the company’s goals.

Good employees aren’t just found, they aren’t a fixed commodity. They change and develop over time. As the needs and focus of the company change, the need for certain types of employees change. Over time some employees become a better fit while others lose their fit within the company altogether. Being a good employee is all about fitting in the right company at the right time.