The ability to recognize employee types will give you, the business owner, an advantage in hiring and managing a productive workforce. Let's start with the basics. Employees are people. People have needs. Employee types are defined by the primary needs that drive their daily actions:
Need for Power -A two-edged sword for sure. These rare individuals have the ability and desire to step into the top role. Relishing responsibility, they are willing to go great lengths to prove their prowess. These people are opportunistic, easily bored and capable managers. But be careful, they're also the most likely to go to your competitor, with your customer list in hand.
Need for Achievement - This is the gold standard of employees. They have applicable skills even you don't have. You'd hire more of them if you could. In fact, if you are running a start-up, or high-tech company you should be seeking only these employees. They generally are seeking monetary rewards and/or recognition of their ability. They are premium employees and should be treated as such. Let them take measured risk or do things a little differently than everyone else.
Need to Belong - This is the most common employee in corporate America. On the positive side, these people are easy to please. Make the work environment a reasonably enjoyable place to be. You will reap the benefits of a stable, dependable employee. However, don't expect great things. After all, this is an individual that primarily wants to be liked! (Einstein didn't derive e=mc^2 because he spent every afternoon trying to be mister popular at the office).
Now that you understand the basic types of employees, take inventory! Depending on your business needs, you need the right balance and composition in your workforce. Next time you hire for a position, identify the candidate's fundamental needs. Certainly most people fall partly into more than one category. But overall, do the candidate's primary needs match the job at hand?
