Last month, I wrote about 9 ways that employers can add value to their employees, but it isn’t all on the onus of employers to ensure you are getting value out of your work. You are the captain of your ship, and when it comes to your wellbeing, there are a few key factors you can remember to take accountability for your own job satisfaction and overall, career.
Like I have mentioned before, we live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. It is so important that we leverage our inner qualities of being agile and adaptive, and turn these into character strengths for resilience against anything these unpredictable times throw at us! There are people who let environmental situations control their lives, and then there are people who take full control of how they respond to environmental and situational hurdles!
So, here are 9 ways that you can take control of your job and the organisation you are in!
1. Become a subject matter expert
Just being able to do your basic duties has surpassed the working environment we are in these days. Employees need to become thought leaders – specialists in their fields. Increase your value within your company by becoming an expert in the work you do or in a specific task or program. Continuous learning is a key factor for job satisfaction and often if you found you’ve stopped learning, you’ll feel stagnated.
Build your capabilities through on-the-job experience and additional training, such as online courses, internal training programs and research. Have an in-depth understanding of your duties and responsibilities of your role; which in-turn will make you a great point of contact for new hires or even senior positions. Being a content expert will ensure you are seen, and this can increase your chances for many opportunities.
2. Know your industry
Industry insights allows you to better understand the industry you work in. Understand your competitors, factors that affect their business and any changes taking place within your industry. Knowing your industry will help you identify new opportunities and keep you ahead of your competition.
3. Be efficient
Be solutions-focused, and intentional in your actions. Even if processes and the way you operate works, there is always room for improvement. Be intentional with how you spend your time and don’t spend time thinking about contingencies and what could be. Spend your time thinking of steps to solutions and taking those steps each day.
4. Ensure you consistently put out quality work
Pay attention to detail, take the time to proofread and review your work before submitting it. Sometimes we get caught up with busyness and the pressure to pump out work, but you should always put quality first. If you are completing something with haste and compromising quality, take a minute to step back and ask yourself if you should be putting as much pressure on yourself, and if your item can be submitted at a later time so you can ensure your quality. Similarly, I would always encourage checking deadlines with your supervisor or managers. If you don’t have the time to ensure quality, a simple conversation might result in an extended deadline for you.
5. Take initiative and be proactive
Take the initiative, be proactive and help your team during busy periods is a good way to show that you are a team player. Small acts of kindness can go a long way. You’ll find this will improve your working relationships and trust from your team. Similarly, when the time comes around that you are busy, you might find they are willing to jump in and offer a helping hand. Action is always noticed, even if its not overtly recognised, what matters is you feel good after knowing you have showed kindness and helped out or been able to use your skills for good.
6. Keep up to date with skill trends
Stay informed of different trends, such as becoming skilled in specific software or understanding new processes and procedures specific to your industry.
Specifically, in the HR industry, our roles have become so varied that we can touch many different business areas or skills. Some commonly used workplace software that you can master are:
· Microsoft Suite (Excel and PowerPoint particularly)
· Social media platforms
· Photoshop
· Adobe PDF editor
· Canva (online design platform)
So many of these skills can be self-taught just by practicing or watching YouTube videos. While its always beneficial to complete micro-courses for skills and proficiency, it doesn’t have to be time or money intense. A simple Google can provide you with a realm of answers to your questions or basic ‘How To videos’ to get you going.
8. Communicate effectively
Good communication skills are essential as they impact workplace culture, morale and productivity. These skills have influence over our every conversation, business transaction and relationship – so it is important to commit yourself and your team to constantly improving them. Take the time to research on cross-cultural communication/competency. This is a skill which unfortunately fly’s under the radar, but once you learn about how other cultures communicate with each other, you might find you vastly improve your working relationships by simply being able to now understand how others operate – particularly if your manager is from a different culture!
9. Being positive
Your attitude has a massive impact on your environment and your career. Studies show that people enjoy working with a colleague who is encouraging and amiable.
Striving to exercise a positive and motivational mindset can drastically change how you progress throughout your day and ultimately how you end your day whether it is home to relax on your own or to be with family. People who possess a growth mindset and a can-do attitude are more likely to succeed and advance in their careers.
From the poll conducted in the last 2 weeks; 55% of participants highlighted that upskilling or learning new skills contributed greatly to their job satisfaction whilst 25% of those surveyed identified the ability to take initiative and be proactive in their jobs as a key contributing factor to their career successes.
Overall, there could be over 100 different ways you could look at improving your value within your organisation but the value starts with yourself and the intentional actions you take to impact your wellbeing at work and ultimately, in life. By simply checking off a few of these factors, you’ll find you have a greater sense of achievement and satisfaction!