Why You Should Choose Attitude Over Experience…Any Day

There’s a story floating around about two sales people — one who has years of experience and can negotiate with customers in her sleep. The other sales person doesn’t have quite the experience the first one does, but she’s competent.

On a Monday morning, both employees have arrived at work. The most experienced one says, “I hate Mondays. I’ve got the entire week to work yet. It’s so depressing.”

The other sales person speaks up and says, “I love Mondays. It’s like I have a clean slate and can try to beat last week’s numbers.”

Which attitude is infectious?

They both are.

Earlier this year, Reading College published the results of a survey they coordinated of Thames Valley employers, entitled “Thames Valley Skills, Education, and Recruitment Survey.”

Reading College reported “nearly three quarters (73%) of respondents place attitude above qualifications and experience as the most important attribute when looking for prospective employees.”

Why, you ask?

Skills can be taught. Attitude can’t.

Here are six reasons why attitude trumps experience in hiring new employees:

1. An employee with a good attitude looks for challenges and is constantly thinking of ways to improve and progress, while a bad attitude employee complains to whoever will listen about the lack of opportunities, time, wages, etc.

2. A good attitude employee is intrinsically motivated to do well and to constantly exceed expectations. Difficult employees tend to need micro-managed. The wheels fall off when the boss turns his back.

3. Positive attitudes tend to find solutions to issues as they arise, while negative attitudes avoid problems or complain about them to others.

4. A good attitude meshes well with the corporate culture.  Needless to say, a bad attitude doesn’t.

5. The right attitude makes it easier for employees to deal with failure, thrive from feedback and coaching, and collaborate with teammates. And a bad attitude certainly does not.

6. A positive attitude turns employees into motivators when times get tough. These employees are the ones who dig in and say, “Come on, we’ve got this.” A bad attitude employee is undermining your authority behind your back when times get tough.

Hiring decisions are critical. It can take months, sometimes years, to divest your company of a “bad seed.” When hiring, keep foremost in mind the outlook that you can teach “hard skills, but teaching attitude is extremely difficult. As long as the prospective employee has some of the skills required to do the job, but has a great attitude, they’re worth her weight in gold.

Consider sending all of your great attitude employees through training courses like those at Natural Training to improve their skills. We believe that, with the right attitude, we can teach skills and techniques that will explode their natural abilities to create truly dynamic employees.

We offer a variety of training: sales skills, negotiating techniques, presentation skills, management expertise, and leadership abilities — all skills that Natural Training is the industry leader in providing to our clients.

Call a consultant today to determine the right courses for your staff – 0207 043 1582