Feb 19, 2025 | IT
Must-have qualities and how to find them
Recruiting the right person into your team can sometimes seem like banging your head against a brick wall. You think you’ve found perfection and then you are let down. They had all the skills, they got on with the team but it didn’t work out and you’re back to square one of a lengthy, painful process.
The great news is that there are 3 traits that all superstars have. And they are easy to spot… if you know how.
1. Integrity/Honesty
No matter how talented an individual is, it means nothing if they are using their skills to work against the company. A superstar candidate is honest about their own abilities: CV embellishment is more common than you think. A solicitor, Dennis O’Riordan, was exposed as lying about most of his achievements, including earning a doctorate at Oxford and attending Harvard. During his career he was Legal Head for many banks across the world. Scary stuff, and a reason to ALWAYS check references.
A superstar candidate will have the integrity to always act in the best interests of the company. If something has gone wrong, they will admit their mistakes as soon as they happen and care enough to produce an action plan to put things right and ensure it doesn’t happen again. Compare this to an employee who hides their mistakes or incompetence until catastrophe strikes and they are found out. You are unlikely to see them for dust while you are left scrambling for answers.
Ideal interview question: Tell me about a time you made a mistake? What happened next?
2. Accountability/Autonomy
A superstar won’t need their lunch breaks monitoring and you won’t need to worry if they will have the correct documents with them at meetings. A superstar is ready to be held accountable and won’t need constant supervision to get the job done.
When superstars take responsibility for a task, you know it will get done in time, and to an excellent standard, and if it doesn’t, you’ll have received a memo in advance with the reason (not an excuse) why and a revised timescale. A superstar can be flexible and prioritise. If their skills can help a team member with something urgent, they will assist, because at that moment it is in the best interests of the company.
Ideal interview question: Describe your preferred relationship with your manager in terms of direction and monitoring.
3. Fearlessness/Ambition
A superstar isn’t afraid to take risks. If their idea doesn’t work they won’t give up: you can expect another well thought out proposal on your desk by the end of the week. They will always be looking for opportunities to prove themselves and will not scrape by doing the bare minimum. An ambitious candidate will be seeking long term professional development in your company and loyalty won’t be a problem for them.
Ideal interview question: How long would it be until you were able to make a serious contribution to your organisation?
We find talent
Here at Langley James we get to know our candidates. We take pride in only selecting people that we are confident suit your company and the opportunity. We place stars in fantastic IT roles every day and we can do the same for your company.
To discuss your IT recruitment needs please call us on 0207 788 6600 or email us at langleyjames@langleyjames.com. We’d love you to join in the conversation. Tweet us @ITRecruitment or follow us on Facebook.
Feb 19, 2025 | Tips
How Can I Motivate My Team on a Budget?
Our Top 10 Tips for Motivating Your Team
Are unmotivated employees bleeding your business dry?
As an employer, one of your toughest jobs is keeping your team motivated. It’s common to assume that the only way to motivate people is to provide performance bonuses. Of course, this is an excellent method of getting results, but also expensive.
We Have the Answer
If you want to rev up your team without breaking the bank, read on for our ‘Top 10 Tips for Motivating Your Team’.
1. Give recognition before it’s asked for
Nothing boosts morale like a simple ‘well done’, but it has to be timely. As soon as something has gone well make sure you give your team recognition. You don’t want to be seen as someone who only notices when things go wrong. However, don’t congratulate people so often that it loses all meaning – try to strike a balance.
2. Treat your team
Small treats are cost effective and make work a happier place. These can be anything from sharing a box of chocolates or ordering a fruit basket to taking your team out bowling.
3. Communicate
Of course it’s vital to keep your team informed of your future plans for the business but it’s also important to listen as well. Create a system that allows people to put forward their ideas for the business no matter how big or small.
4. Have a blame-free culture
Sometimes things go wrong and it’s easy in the heat of the moment to play the blame game. This results in loss of confidence for the employee involved and can turn into a downward spiral. Don’t forget, mistakes are training opportunities in disguise. Give the employee a chance to put a corrective action in place so everyone can avoid making the same mistake in the future.
5. Rejuvenate your workspace
Create an office your team look forward to coming into on a Monday morning. Fresh paint, modern artwork and well-maintained facilities work wonders to boost the mood in your workplace.
6. Let go of the reigns
New starters often need a lot of supervision and support, but it’s important to know when to take a step back and allow them to work independently. This will increase their confidence and your faith in them will boost their motivation.
7. Career progression
Nothing motivates some people more than the prospect of promotion. Make sure your people know exactly what is expected of them in order to move on to the next step in their career and watch them exceed your expectations.
8. Training opportunities
Providing training opportunities shows your team that you see them as a long-term investment. Training gives your team the tools to improve their performance and widen their experience, keeping their role fresh and exciting, boosting motivation and morale. Utilising cross-training within your organisation is a highly cost effective way of providing CPD, and can even benefit you during holiday season.
9. Weed out poor managers
Poor managers come in many forms, but one thing they all have in common is an unhappy team and a high staff-turnover. If you have struggling managers, now is the time to offer support and additional training; and if that doesn’t work it may be time to look for a replacement.
10. Recruit right
If you want a motivated team, recruit self-motivated people. Take care during your recruitment process to assess not only skills and qualifications, but also personality. Importantly, can the candidate give you examples of times they have gone beyond the call of duty for an employer?Let’s discuss your specific IT recruitment requirements today. Reach us at 020 7788 6600 or via email at
langleyjames@langleyjames.com.
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