Results of Our “Ideal Employee” Survey

I’m pleased to report that lots of folks have completed our self-assessment survey, which we based on The Ideal Employee: A-Z. (You can see and download a poster there and on its companion post, The Ideal Employer: A-Z. And you can still take the survey here.)

I’d like to share with you the results so far. Not surprisingly, most people think very highly of themselves as employees: 16% gave themselves nearly perfect scores on all 26 attributes and 90% rated themselves as good or better.  On individual characteristics there was a very interesting spread:

On “Values integrity and ethics,” 87% gave themselves the highest score; 82% gave themselves the highest score on “Loves to do the job well” and 76% felt they were exemplary in “Is honest and responsible.” In contrast, the qualities receiving the lowest scores were: “Never gossips” (only 13% say they’re excellent), “Quells negativity” (19% feel they’re positively first-class) and “Eliminates waste” (24% put themselves at the top of the heap).

Here’s the full list showing percentages of those who rate themselves as “excellent”:

  • Values integrity and ethics: 87%
  • Loves to do a job well: 82%
  • Is honest and responsible: 76%
  • Willingly pitches in: 72%
  • Xpects to be treated with respect: 72%
  • Accepts responsibility: 70%
  • Goes the extra mile: 66%
  • Treats everyone with respect: 66%
  • Juggles multiple tasks: 65%
  • Committed to improvement 64%
  • Believes in the mission: 62%
  • Demonstrates good character: 62%
  • Respects chain of command: 57%
  • Shares ideas and enthusiasm: 57%
  • Understands practical realities: 53%
  • Knows what is needed: 50%
  • Yields when wrong: 45%
  • Zeros in on what’s important: 40%
  • Fixes rather than complains: 5%
  • Holds the company accountable: 33%
  • Obtains needed resources: 33%
  • Prods company to be better: 32%
  • Makes everyone better: 30%
  • Eliminates waste: 24%
  • Quells negativity: 19%
  • Never gossips: 13%