Whether it’s from prospective hires looking to join us, or new clients who want to find out what they can expect from our team, we often find ourselves being asked: ‘what makes a good employee at P2?’ This month, we thought we’d take the time to make that knowledge public, offering clear guidelines for new members of staff, and putting our best asset (the people we employ) front and centre. Some of those people have been with us since we first opened our doors nearly five years ago – so we must be doing something right when it comes to picking the cream of the crop!

The first and foremost quality we look for in any member of staff is an ability to problem-solve. We can teach people how to think about problems, but the problem-solving mindset is something a person has to supply themselves. Because our work often presents unique requirements (to showcase products in a certain way) under equally unique limitations like time scales and design restraints that are non-negotiable. As a rule of thumb, all our employees should be able to think of a minimum of two solutions when a problem presents itself. As a team, we then expect them to pool their resources if necessary and work towards the best solution.

Teamwork is not only important when solving customer problems. If you can’t function as part of a team, then you are fundamentally unsuited for life in a workshop. For this reason, we take collaborative skills very seriously, and insist that our employees are able to work well with others. But that doesn’t mean compromising on what makes you unique. Individuality is a key factor in P2’s business. By embracing what makes you unique, you open the door to finding original solutions.

There are certain strengths that are advantageous in any job – and at P2, we expect all our staff to embody them. It is essential, for example, that employees have a healthy work ethic, as shop fitting and retail display are not easy areas to work in. It’s equally important that our employees are reliable – our clients have tight turnarounds, and if we want to guarantee that we’ll meet them, we need every person to do their part. We also expect our staff to be disciplined everyone needs to do the right thing… even when no one is looking.

There are only two more qualities that we consider “must-haves”. The first is a benefit to joiners in any industry – an eye for detail. The devil, as they say, is in the detail… that’s where you’ll find what turns a good piece of work into a great one. We’re proud of every member of our team’s attention to detail and ability to notice things others might miss. And the second is, in some ways, the most-important: a desire to improve. P2 is its employees – if they’re all getting better day-by-day, then so is the business. We encourage our staff to be proactive in this regard, and use regular reviews to help people stay on track – but again, no one else can be ambitious on your behalf. We want employees that yearn to be the best.

If, after reading all that, you think you’ve got what it takes to work with P2, please keep an eye on our vacancies page – eventually, we’ll want to hear from you. And if you’re in the market for retail display furniture or shop fitting and like the sound of our team, give us a call on 01455 288 922 to see how we can help.