Business people are always valued for what they know or can do—direct skills. A good dentist or machinist is always regarded as such, but intangibles also determine one’s worth inside any organization.
Job descriptions and employee evaluations usually have a section for things that aren’t directly related to doing the job. Here’s a general example:
- Productivity – How much work do you get done in a day? In mathematical terms: productivity = effort X efficiency. So, do you have a good work ethic and are you reasonably efficient?
- Quality – Rank the quality of your work. Do you do 100% of the job the first time or just enough to get by?
- Intelligence – Are you properly educated for the position and do you have the ability to learn? Do you use good common sense? Do you have the creative thinking ability to develop better ways of doing things?
- Organization – Are you organized in your duties? Is your workspace neat and tidy?
- Problem Solving – Do you have the resourcefulness to solve problems or do you usually just take them to others?
- People Skills – Do you communicate well? Are you likable to customers and fellow staff? Do you have sensors to read people and adjust to different situations?
- General Business – Do you generally get the concepts of business, that: products must be sold for more than they cost, money must be collected, customers must receive value, and quality is good for everyone?
- Team Member – Do you work well with others or do you create drama? Are you mature? Do you perform administrative duties well (e.g., timesheets, expense statements)? Are you honest or do you cheat? Are you loyal to the organization or are you constantly reading the classifieds?
- Management skills – Do you have the additional skills required to eventually become a manager. Are you a natural leader?
As you can see, many important skills fall under the category of intangibles. Sure, some of them are easy but there’s a lot more to being a good worker than just doing the job.