38%
Motivation
29%
Emotional Intelligence
13%
Coachability
11%
Technical Competence
9%
Temperament
NATIONAL C-SUITE EXECUTIVE SURVEY ON
COLLEGE GRADUATES in the WORKFORCE
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A poll of 500 C-Suite executives representing
companies with 5,000 to 25,000 employees
Receive a complimentary copy of HPU’s Life Skills Executive Survey Report.
Download HPU’s complimentary report to learn more about what 500 executives across the nation say they need in new hires.
High Point University Research has Identified Five Key Reasons New Hires Fail.
This survey has demonstrated that employers consistently report that new hires don’t work out for reasons such as coachability and adaptability rather than technical competence. HPU faculty understand that educational knowledge is the foundation for success. They listen to the demands of the marketplace and prepare students to excel in the areas that matter most.
HPU’S RESPONSE to Motivation
38% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Motivation
HPU’S RESPONSE to Motivation
38% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Motivation
Think environment doesn’t make a difference? Ask any professional sports coach if they prefer to play at home or away. Leading organizations understand that one’s surroundings shape one’s behavior.
At HPU, an inspiring environment is part of a strategic effort to surround students with energy, enthusiasm and the lift they need to walk and act with purpose.
HPU’S APPROACH to Emotional Intelligence
29% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Emotional Intelligence
HPU’S APPROACH to Emotional Intelligence
29% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Emotional Intelligence
The President’s Seminar on Life Skills is a required course for all freshmen taught by Nido R. Qubein. In their first semester, students learn about relational capital, the art and science of persuasion, communication skills, energy management and many more Life Skills that will help chart a path for their success.
HPU's Answer to Coachability
13% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack Coachability
HPU's Answer to Coachability
13% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack Coachability
Every freshman at HPU is assigned to a Success Coach, a professional staff member who offers guidance, wise counsel, and encouragement. If you want to be coachable, you need practice!
Students benefit from career advisors, faculty advisors, peer mentors and more. Even HPU’s club sports teams have professional coaches. No one in life gets far without the help of others. HPU understands this and has forged a culture where students are surrounded by coaches who care.
HPU’S STRATEGY on Technical Competence
11% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Technical Competence
HPU’S STRATEGY on Technical Competence
11% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to lack of Technical Competence
HPU’s academic curriculum is both innovative and relevant, in part because our faculty mentors include a mix of scholars and real-world practitioners. Just as the marketplace is in daily flux, majors in all disciplines are in a continuum of evolution. HPU’s newest programs in engineering, actuarial science and physical therapy are merely a few examples of HPU’s commitment to ensuring graduates are prepared for the world as it is going to be.
HPU’S POSITION on Temperament
9% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to Temperament
HPU’S POSITION on Temperament
9% of Employers agree that New Hires fail due to Temperament
Growth mindset is our answer. It represents faculty’s strategic approach to instilling students with the temperament to overcome life’s obstacles and view challenges as opportunities. Dr. Carol Dweck, Stanford professor and expert on growth mindset, has even visited campus to share with our faculty her research and describe its impact.
The Six Essential Interview Questions You’ll want to ask candidates in every interview.
When you interview job candidates, you’ll want to use these Six Essential Questions to help you identify and attract the best talent to your organization (you’ll want to share these tips and questions with your other hiring managers too) and be prepared to answer these yourself.
1. Give me an example of a time you failed in your career and how that experience helped you grow.
Understanding Their Response: A resume is often designed to showcase one’s accomplishments, but discovering how the candidate processed and managed their decision during difficult situations is key. Be able to decipher the difference between productive failures and nonproductive successes. The process of learning and growing always involves challenges.
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2. Talk about a time when you had a task you disliked. How did you stay motivated?
Understanding Their Response: Motivation is crucial in any position, and it often boils down to work ethic. Bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with. Yet, good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with. Motivation is one of those good habits to cultivate.
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3. Internships and leadership roles in clubs and organizations in college can prepare a student for life after college. How have you seen this work experience help you grow, not only intellectually but emotionally?
Understanding Their Response: There is no substitute for experience, which creates competence. And competence leads to confidence. Commitment is a byproduct of confidence. Tell me about your goals in life. How do you plan to
achieve them?
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4. Tell me about your goals in life. How do you plan to achieve them?
Understanding Their Response: What matters is not so much what someone wants to do but rather what someone wants to be. This question will give you insight into prospective employees’ personal initiative, underlying motivations and self-assessment of their strategic thinking.
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5. Give me an example of how you found a solution to a problem you faced in your life or your work experience.
Understanding Their Response: In any line of work, every organization needs solution finders—NOT merely problem solvers. Solution finders think vertically to eliminate an issue permanently. Problem solvers think horizontally and only react to the tyranny of the urgent. You are looking for deep, vertical thinkers to join your team.
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6. Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role — whether assigned or pursued. How did you motivate the people around you to carry out the mission? And how did you handle uncommitted teammates?
Understanding Their Response: Leaders must build bridges of understanding in order to persuade, influence and guide others. Look for candidates who can clearly explain how they connected with their teammates in order to foster trust. Remember, “if no one will follow you, you’re not a leader!”
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Company Size (number of employees)
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 37% |
| 10,000 to 24,999 | 24% |
| 25,000 or more | 39% |
Gender
| Male | 64% |
| Female | 35% |
| Another gender | *less than 1% |
Age
| African-American or Black | 6% |
| White or Caucasian | 83% |
| Native American | 2% |
| Asian | 6% |
| Multiple races or other | 2% |
| Don’t know | 1% |
Education Level
| 1st-11th grade | less than 1% |
| High school graduate | 5% |
| Some college | 10% |
| College graduate | 37% |
| Graduate school | 48% |
Race
| 18-24 | 4% |
| 25-34 | 19% |
| 35-44 | 24% |
| 45-54 | 24% |
| 55-64 | 21% |
| 65 and older | 8% |
Dear Executive Leader,
As a leader, you’re looking for employees who will add value to your organization the very moment they come on board.
High Point University’s Survey Research Center recently surveyed 500 C-Suite executives nationwide to find out what they want in their future hires and which traits, characteristics and attitudes they see in their current employees that make them successful.
These executives lead businesses with anywhere from 5,000 to 25,000 employees, and the answers they gave us are resounding. But what we discovered is what I expected.
The skills needed to succeed never change.
Practical Data You Can Use NOW to Your Advantage
You’ll want to take a few minutes to review the results from our Executive C-Suite Poll. You’ll also find practical takeaways, such as six questions you should be asking interviewees. And I share insights on why you should ask job candidates these questions. We all need Life Skills development, regardless of our age, position or stature. Of course, you know that, or you wouldn’t have risen to the level of success you enjoy today.
Finding the best employee possible can be as hard as reading hieroglyphics. But we at High Point University want you to utilize these survey results as a “Rosetta Stone” to help you craft the questions you need in order to discover which job candidates will likely fit best with your culture and vision.
In the President’s Seminar on Life Skills that I teach to all freshmen, I always tell them that applying talents without thinking of values and principles is like using your car’s accelerator without touching the steering wheel.
That is true for all of us.
When we hire, we all need to think about what works best for our organization’s values and principles. We all know we are the sum total of the choices we have made in the past. But we also need to know that we can change what we are in the future through the choices we make today.
Let us all choose well. And as we challenge all our students at HPU: Choose to be extraordinary!
Sincerely,
Nido R. Qubein
