Young Entrepreneur Council, Forbes.com

When hiring new employees for your business, you may run across two types of candidates during the interview process. One recruit is as loyal as the day is long but doesn’t have the skills needed to fill the role. The other is highly-skilled but is focused solely on making money. How do you choose?

Both candidates offer benefits in their own regards, from less training for highly-skilled workers to long-term employee retention for those who are loyal. But does it make a difference in who you hire?

According to a report by Grapevine Surveys, it does, as it can affect your business productivity as well as your overall reputation. Loyalty may win out the majority of the time just for this reason, but you may be able to mold your new hire into the type of employee that will best suit your business.

Twelve members of Young Entrepreneur Council gave some insight on what type of employee is best to hire and how you can help fit them into your business, so they become the candidate you were searching for. Here is what they recommend:

1. Go With The Hard-Working Employee

Loyalty and a hard-working mindset just aren’t things you can teach. In my experience, employees only interested in making a buck aren’t the ones who stick around. They’ll leave your company at the drop of a hat and can be easily convinced that they aren’t satisfied. A hard worker is passionate, and that is something every company can thrive from. — John Hall, Influence & Co.

2. Choose Skill

I’d prefer to hire the highly skilled, financially driven individual. It may not be the most popular choice, but it’s an effective one. We've found that the individual who wants to positively impact his bottom line can be more ambitious and press harder to achieve goals that make both them and the company money, and with a little incentive and management, loyalty can be earned. — Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

3. Find a Cultural Fit

You should be hiring someone who is a culture fit in your company. The first vibe that you and your team get while meeting the person is very important. Candidates interested in only making money would best fit in quota-driven sales. While hiring an average-skilled employee, always set goals for the first 3-6 months. You might need to put in extra effort to mentor them and provide timely feedback. — Shilpi Sharma, Kvantum Inc.

4. Choose Attitude Over Experience

It’s all about providing opportunities. We look for candidates with positive attitudes and great potential. Although experience is highly valued, we also want to attract passionate people with diverse backgrounds who offer unique and fresh ideas. It’s our mission to empower each and every team member with the proper tools and authority needed to succeed and take our company to the next level. — Stephen Ufford, Trulioo

5. Try to Maintain Balance

It’s very important to identify the core responsibility of the person you are hiring. Since different positions, timelines and goals demand different attitudes, usually I prefer highly loyal people. Though I will always pick a highly skilled professional when it comes to needing an employee who can execute in the short term vs. investing resources into an average, hard-working person. — Artur Kiulian, Colab

6. Pick Employees Who Are Loyal

I will always choose hardworking and loyal, even if they have an average skill set. Loyalty and work ethic are two things that are impossible to teach or instill: Either people have them or they don’t. Employees driven only by money never last long. They are high performers, but only for a short time until a better offer comes along. Individuals who are hardworking don’t stay average performers for long. — Leila Lewis, Be Inspired PR

7. Choose the One Most Willing to Learn

I would choose the candidate most willing to learn. If the highly skilled individual came across as a know-it-all, with little room for improvement, and the average-skilled person came across more humble and eager to learn, I would hire the latter. Just because an individual has great skills doesn't mean that those skills will perfectly align at the new job. Each job is different, and being willing to learn is key. — Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster

8. Build a System to Ensure Success No Matter What

When looking to hire for sales or marketing, I’d rather have the average employee who is hardworking and loyal because I know we have the right systems and processes in place for that person to be successful. Simply relying on a “rockstar” isn’t scalable, and you’ll be stuck with how high they can take you. Look to build systems and processes to ensure success no matter what. — Zachary Burkes, Predictable Profits

9. Keep a Mix of Both on Your Team

We hire a mix of both on our team. Hard-working and loyal employees stay with us longer and provide value long term. A highly skilled professional who is only motivated by money will tend to move on quickly, but many times, they can solve more difficult challenges and also provide motivation to other team members. — Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

10. Look for Positivity

Ideally, you don’t have to choose between skill and work ethic/interest in the company, but if you do, go with the candidate who is a more holistic member of the team. Skilled workers do their job well, but workers who care about the company give off positivity, and the entire company benefits from this. Furthermore, unengaged employees will eventually seek out new jobs that energize them. — Peggy Shell, Creative Alignments

11. Hire for the Position

Building a winning team requires hiring the right people for the right roles. It is vital to identify and recruit team members who are ideal fits not only for your organization but for their position and career trajectory. Regardless of who you hire, it is important to align their incentives with those of your company, so their work ethic or desire to make money is channeled to your benefit. — Adam Mendler, Custom Tobacco

12. Don't Settle

I’d be hesitant to settle for either of these extremes. I know from my own experience that it’s possible to attract highly skilled candidates who are also hardworking and loyal. They’re not unicorns, they’re just people who want to be appreciated for their contributions. If you are doing all you can to attract and keep the right people, there’s no reason you can’t have your cake and eat it too. — John Scheer, Herman-Scheer

Which type of candidate do you prefer to hire? Leave your answer in the comments section below.