What can make you Indispensable
These nine measures can enhance your value at the workplace and
safeguard your job at a time when a lot of others are being shown the door
They say nobody is indispen sable. Yet, companies go to great
lengths to retain work ers who are seen as critical for their operations. They
give huge increments, offer promotions and even stock options as inducements to
keep these employees from leaving.
Are you also in this hallowed company? This week's cover story
looks at nine attributes that can make you indispensable at work. Each
attribute is followed by a question. Answer it and then turn to Page 5 to know
where you stand.
Of course, nobody can be truly indispensable. Otherwise
companies would start closing down when the star employee retires. After a
minor blip, a company will find a way to survive without the star.
1 Develop deep
expertise in a task critical for the organisation
THE FIRST step to becoming indispensable is also the most
obvious.Develop deep expertise in a function or a role. Whether it is fluency
in a foreign language that allows you to interact with an overseas client, or
knowledge of a computer software used by your company, having a USP can make
you indispensable. Of course, this does not mean you monopolise that skill and
put up hurdles for others who want to learn that task. But you become so good
at it that no one else is entrusted with that function. “Monopolising skills
may help in the short term but it is not a long-term solution,“ cautions Shiv
Agrawal, Managing Director of HR firm ABC Consultants.
The good news is that upskilling has become easier now with the
launch of massive open online courses (MOOCs). These online courses are cheap
(some are even free) and one can study after work. Taking up a fulltime course
may not be feasible for many but these online courses can help you acquire new
skills without taking a break from work. The pace of these courses can be
customised to suit an individual's timings.
It's always good to learn skills related to the core functions
of your company. For in stance, developing expertise in social media campaigns
may not be a very relevant skill for a manufacturing company. On the other
hand, specialisation in data analytics might be seen as a critical skill by a
financial services company or an e-commerce start-up.
2 Mentor your
colleagues and provide support
IT MIGHT sound paradoxical but one of the surest way to make
yourself indispensable is by trying to make yourself redundant. A good mentor
imparts knowledge and expertise to the newbie employee and encourages him to
improve his skills. But mentoring is not everybody's cup of tea. Only someone
who takes pleasure in watching others succeed can be a good mentor. An insecure
person may not want to teach everything to someone who might eventually replace
him in the company.
Organisations value employees who mentor and train junior
colleagues.Mentoring engenders trust among teams and inspires employees to perform
to their highest ability. At a broader level, it helps develop and retain
talent. So, if you are helping your teammates and training juniors, you will be
seen as someone the company must retain at all costs. The idea is to become
valuable by supporting and adding value to other employees. The support can
even be in the form of help in everyday functions or stepping in to firefight
when a teammate is in a spot.
3 Step out of
comfort zone and volunteer to do more
IT'S COMMON for people to slip into a clockwork mode over time.
They continue to mechanically do the tasks assigned to them, rarely
volunteering to do something new or challenging. To become indispensable at
work, you need to step out of that comfort zone and start doing stuff you have
never done before. As a start, do at least one thing every week that is not
part of the duties assigned to you.
It is not difficult to learn how to do one new thing every week.
But over time, these baby steps can enhance your skills significantly and add
up to a lot. If you learn to do four new things every month, imagine how much
more skilled you will be in a year. Your willingness to take up new tasks and
challenges will also send a signal to the management that you are willing to go
that extra mile to add value to the organisation. “The focus should be on
optimizing the value addition to the organisation,“ says Moorthy K. Uppaluri,
Managing Director & CEO, Randstad India.
4 Offer
solutions that are useful for the organisation
ORGANISATIONS VALUE employees who offer effective solutions to
problems. They are seen as people who have the company's interests in mind. If
the company or your division is facing a problem and you have a solution in
mind, don't go to your boss without working out a rational decision making
model and a detailed action plan. Here's a simple roadmap: first identify the
cause of the problem. Then think of all the potential solutions. There could be
several options, each having its pros and cons. Analyse the feasibility of each
solution and then select the best option.
Write down why it makes the most sense and then chart out an
implementation plan. Make sure you also mention the other solutions that are
not viable. Don't go into too much detail at this stage. Senior managers are
always strapped for time so keep your presentation concise and to the point. It
will help you get to the point very quickly.
If your idea is workable, it will cement your indispensability
in the organisation.
5 Learn to
adapt to the changed situation
ALBERT EINSTEIN once said that when your stop learning, you
start dying. This especially applies to the present day workplace where new
technologies and artificial intelligence are fast making humans irrelevant.
“The only skill which keeps your relevant at work is the skill to constantly
evolve, learn and improve. Everything else can be replicated,“ says Rituparna Chakraborty,
Co-founder and Senior VP, TeamLease.
Individuals who embrace change and are able to quickly adapt are
seen as more valuable than those who cling to outdated principles and concepts
that are past their expiry date. Don't be afraid of change but welcome it.
Experiment with new ideas that are meant to improve productivity and
performance. In the past decade, we saw how the Internet led to seismic shifts
in the way companies functioned. Workers who were not able to adapt to this
change were rendered irrelevant. The coming revolution of bots will take away
more jobs.
6 Delight your
boss by making his work easier
NO, THIS does not mean you suck up to your boss. It only means
that you perform tasks that take some load off his back and allow him to focus
on other more important duties. This requires a pro-active approach, especially
because this work is not part of your assigned duties. Don't wait for your boss
to call for help.Find out the tasks that irk him (and other senior managers),
then look for ways to do these tasks. If you do this regularly, your boss will
start relying on you more and more. Remember, the more irksome the task, the
happier he will be that someone else is doing it. Once he gets used to it, he
will ensure that you are retained by the company at all costs.
The willingness to take on more has a downside. You will be
expected to do more work. But that is the price one has to pay to become
indispensable.
7 Demonstrate
integrity at work
PERSONAL INTEGRITY is a fundamental attribute that companies
seek in employees. A person who demonstrates high moral values is considered
more valuable than someone who is not so particular about ethics. An honest
person's actions make him trustworthy and dependable. You won't find him
indulging in petty office politics or bad-mouthing his colleagues.
How can you display integrity at the workplace? The golden rule
is to treat others the way you want to be treated. This ensures that one gives
due respect to colleagues and customers. Honesty also encourages healthy
relationships within an organisation. Teams work better if their boss is honest
about the objective and outcome of the project.
Of course, honesty does not extend to compromising the
confidentiality of certain information. A person of integrity will maintain
confidentiality if required. Such a person is more likely to be given a
position of responsibility.
8 Be
consistently reliable in everything you do
EVERYBODY LIKES surprises, but not if they are unpleasant.
Missing a project deadline, arriving late for a meeting or going on leave
without prior notice are some of the unpleasant surprises that managers love to
hate. For them, reliability equals efficiency. If an employee shows up on time,
finishes his work before the deadline and maintains basic office discipline, he
is seen as more valuable than someone who is forever making excuses for laxity
and delays. Reliability is more than just time management--it reflects the
mindset of the individual and even shapes his career path. If a manager knows
that he can depend on an employee to submit the project report before the
deadline or reach office at time, he will assign more responsibilities to such
a worker.
Be consistently reliable in everything you do. Also, make sure
you don't make false promises. Before you make a commitment, be sure that you
will be able to keep it. Instead of promising too much and delivering too
little, it is better to scale down the promise and then delight the boss by
doing more than you committed. This way you send out the message that you don't
want to make false promises but are willing to go that extra mile to deliver.
9 Build ties
within the organisation and outside
IT IS IMPORTANT to build good relationships, not only within
your team and with the people you report to, but also with others in the
organisation. It helps to be well connected with senior people in the
organisation. “No person or role is an island. Interpersonal skills and the
ability to network are as important as the basic knowledge required for the
job,“ says Moorthy of Ranstad India.
A positive attitude goes a long way in improving the
interpersonal relationship of an individual. Try and smile as much as you can
and control the urge to say things you might regret later.This is especially
important during a stressful time. “The most important skill to develop is the
ability to get along with all kinds of people irrespective of whether you like
them or not,“ says Chakraborty of TeamLease.Chakraborty points out that
workplace dynamics are changing. “It becomes imperative for professionals to
get work done through people who do not directly report to you,“ she adds.
Relationship with clients are also be critical. In some
situations, an individual's relations with a client can make him indispensable.
A company may not want to let go of someone if it knows that his
exit might take away a lot of business. Invest in your relationships with
clients to improve your standing within the company.
TEAM ET WEALTH
These nine measures can enhance your value at the workplace and
safeguard your job at a time when a lot of others are being shown the door
They say nobody is indispen sable. Yet, companies go to great
lengths to retain work ers who are seen as critical for their operations. They
give huge increments, offer promotions and even stock options as inducements to
keep these employees from leaving.
Are you also in this hallowed company? This week's cover story
looks at nine attributes that can make you indispensable at work. Each
attribute is followed by a question. Answer it and then turn to Page 5 to know
where you stand.
Of course, nobody can be truly indispensable. Otherwise
companies would start closing down when the star employee retires. After a
minor blip, a company will find a way to survive without the star.
1 Develop deep
expertise in a task critical for the organisation
THE FIRST step to becoming indispensable is also the most
obvious.Develop deep expertise in a function or a role. Whether it is fluency
in a foreign language that allows you to interact with an overseas client, or
knowledge of a computer software used by your company, having a USP can make
you indispensable. Of course, this does not mean you monopolise that skill and
put up hurdles for others who want to learn that task. But you become so good
at it that no one else is entrusted with that function. “Monopolising skills
may help in the short term but it is not a long-term solution,“ cautions Shiv
Agrawal, Managing Director of HR firm ABC Consultants.
The good news is that upskilling has become easier now with the
launch of massive open online courses (MOOCs). These online courses are cheap
(some are even free) and one can study after work. Taking up a fulltime course
may not be feasible for many but these online courses can help you acquire new
skills without taking a break from work. The pace of these courses can be
customised to suit an individual's timings.
It's always good to learn skills related to the core functions
of your company. For in stance, developing expertise in social media campaigns
may not be a very relevant skill for a manufacturing company. On the other
hand, specialisation in data analytics might be seen as a critical skill by a
financial services company or an e-commerce start-up.
2 Mentor your
colleagues and provide support
IT MIGHT sound paradoxical but one of the surest way to make
yourself indispensable is by trying to make yourself redundant. A good mentor
imparts knowledge and expertise to the newbie employee and encourages him to
improve his skills. But mentoring is not everybody's cup of tea. Only someone
who takes pleasure in watching others succeed can be a good mentor. An insecure
person may not want to teach everything to someone who might eventually replace
him in the company.
Organisations value employees who mentor and train junior
colleagues.Mentoring engenders trust among teams and inspires employees to perform
to their highest ability. At a broader level, it helps develop and retain
talent. So, if you are helping your teammates and training juniors, you will be
seen as someone the company must retain at all costs. The idea is to become
valuable by supporting and adding value to other employees. The support can
even be in the form of help in everyday functions or stepping in to firefight
when a teammate is in a spot.
3 Step out of
comfort zone and volunteer to do more
IT'S COMMON for people to slip into a clockwork mode over time.
They continue to mechanically do the tasks assigned to them, rarely
volunteering to do something new or challenging. To become indispensable at
work, you need to step out of that comfort zone and start doing stuff you have
never done before. As a start, do at least one thing every week that is not
part of the duties assigned to you.
It is not difficult to learn how to do one new thing every week.
But over time, these baby steps can enhance your skills significantly and add
up to a lot. If you learn to do four new things every month, imagine how much
more skilled you will be in a year. Your willingness to take up new tasks and
challenges will also send a signal to the management that you are willing to go
that extra mile to add value to the organisation. “The focus should be on
optimizing the value addition to the organisation,“ says Moorthy K. Uppaluri,
Managing Director & CEO, Randstad India.
4 Offer
solutions that are useful for the organisation
ORGANISATIONS VALUE employees who offer effective solutions to
problems. They are seen as people who have the company's interests in mind. If
the company or your division is facing a problem and you have a solution in
mind, don't go to your boss without working out a rational decision making
model and a detailed action plan. Here's a simple roadmap: first identify the
cause of the problem. Then think of all the potential solutions. There could be
several options, each having its pros and cons. Analyse the feasibility of each
solution and then select the best option.
Write down why it makes the most sense and then chart out an
implementation plan. Make sure you also mention the other solutions that are
not viable. Don't go into too much detail at this stage. Senior managers are
always strapped for time so keep your presentation concise and to the point. It
will help you get to the point very quickly.
If your idea is workable, it will cement your indispensability
in the organisation.
5 Learn to
adapt to the changed situation
ALBERT EINSTEIN once said that when your stop learning, you
start dying. This especially applies to the present day workplace where new
technologies and artificial intelligence are fast making humans irrelevant.
“The only skill which keeps your relevant at work is the skill to constantly
evolve, learn and improve. Everything else can be replicated,“ says Rituparna Chakraborty,
Co-founder and Senior VP, TeamLease.
Individuals who embrace change and are able to quickly adapt are
seen as more valuable than those who cling to outdated principles and concepts
that are past their expiry date. Don't be afraid of change but welcome it.
Experiment with new ideas that are meant to improve productivity and
performance. In the past decade, we saw how the Internet led to seismic shifts
in the way companies functioned. Workers who were not able to adapt to this
change were rendered irrelevant. The coming revolution of bots will take away
more jobs.
6 Delight your
boss by making his work easier
NO, THIS does not mean you suck up to your boss. It only means
that you perform tasks that take some load off his back and allow him to focus
on other more important duties. This requires a pro-active approach, especially
because this work is not part of your assigned duties. Don't wait for your boss
to call for help.Find out the tasks that irk him (and other senior managers),
then look for ways to do these tasks. If you do this regularly, your boss will
start relying on you more and more. Remember, the more irksome the task, the
happier he will be that someone else is doing it. Once he gets used to it, he
will ensure that you are retained by the company at all costs.
The willingness to take on more has a downside. You will be
expected to do more work. But that is the price one has to pay to become
indispensable.
7 Demonstrate
integrity at work
PERSONAL INTEGRITY is a fundamental attribute that companies
seek in employees. A person who demonstrates high moral values is considered
more valuable than someone who is not so particular about ethics. An honest
person's actions make him trustworthy and dependable. You won't find him
indulging in petty office politics or bad-mouthing his colleagues.
How can you display integrity at the workplace? The golden rule
is to treat others the way you want to be treated. This ensures that one gives
due respect to colleagues and customers. Honesty also encourages healthy
relationships within an organisation. Teams work better if their boss is honest
about the objective and outcome of the project.
Of course, honesty does not extend to compromising the
confidentiality of certain information. A person of integrity will maintain
confidentiality if required. Such a person is more likely to be given a
position of responsibility.
8 Be
consistently reliable in everything you do
EVERYBODY LIKES surprises, but not if they are unpleasant.
Missing a project deadline, arriving late for a meeting or going on leave
without prior notice are some of the unpleasant surprises that managers love to
hate. For them, reliability equals efficiency. If an employee shows up on time,
finishes his work before the deadline and maintains basic office discipline, he
is seen as more valuable than someone who is forever making excuses for laxity
and delays. Reliability is more than just time management--it reflects the
mindset of the individual and even shapes his career path. If a manager knows
that he can depend on an employee to submit the project report before the
deadline or reach office at time, he will assign more responsibilities to such
a worker.
Be consistently reliable in everything you do. Also, make sure
you don't make false promises. Before you make a commitment, be sure that you
will be able to keep it. Instead of promising too much and delivering too
little, it is better to scale down the promise and then delight the boss by
doing more than you committed. This way you send out the message that you don't
want to make false promises but are willing to go that extra mile to deliver.
9 Build ties
within the organisation and outside
IT IS IMPORTANT to build good relationships, not only within
your team and with the people you report to, but also with others in the
organisation. It helps to be well connected with senior people in the
organisation. “No person or role is an island. Interpersonal skills and the
ability to network are as important as the basic knowledge required for the
job,“ says Moorthy of Ranstad India.
A positive attitude goes a long way in improving the
interpersonal relationship of an individual. Try and smile as much as you can
and control the urge to say things you might regret later.This is especially
important during a stressful time. “The most important skill to develop is the
ability to get along with all kinds of people irrespective of whether you like
them or not,“ says Chakraborty of TeamLease.Chakraborty points out that
workplace dynamics are changing. “It becomes imperative for professionals to
get work done through people who do not directly report to you,“ she adds.
Relationship with clients are also be critical. In some
situations, an individual's relations with a client can make him indispensable.
A company may not want to let go of someone if it knows that his
exit might take away a lot of business. Invest in your relationships with
clients to improve your standing within the company.
TEAM ET WEALTH
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