Adding value in the work place.

Very few employees think of adding value to an establishment when they are employed. What they commonly think about is what they can get out of the organization. But value addition is the key to promotions. Your CV stops being impressive when you receive your employment letter. What your superiors would be looking for is the value you bring on the job.

This is why there are some organizations that are not particular about the class of your result from university, but they employ staff based on a ‘hunch’ or ‘feel’ of the person.

It is a corporate sin to leave a job the way it was given to you. In other words, when you are given a job or an assignment, you are expected to make a difference. Too often, when we take on positions we never explore new ways to tackle our assignments. We follow the same pattern of our predecessors and so we make no improvements or difference.

Your performance of a task is far more important than the salary or allowance that you are paid. This is because long after the salary is gone your performance will be speaking for you. Performance ensures that you rise in an organization. It also advertises you for future job opportunities. Our focus must therefore be removed from our pay packet to being relevant on the job. Anybody can earn a salary, but not everyone is relevant in an organization. It is your performance that makes you relevant and keeps you in the view of your management for promotions and salary reviews.

Apply yourself to the task at hand and do not just go through the motion of work. Use initiative and think outside the box to achieve quick and inexpensive results.
It is a common saying that no one is indispensable, but the reality is that there are certain people that management would be sorry to see leave. These are people who must of necessity be consulted before a decision is made in an organization. They are not necessarily the owners of the organization or the CEOs, but the performers – the people who are relevant and add value.

In our pursuit for job satisfaction or fulfillment we must work hard towards excellence in value addition. It is when you have given your best to your job that you really feel good about your self.

The fact is even if you are not paid handsomely for your contributions on the job today, the future is bright for you as you have developed capacity. Some day the job that truly deserves you will come your way.

Be guided by the fact that our career journey is divided into seasons. Some seasons are ‘learning curves’; others are planting seasons and yet others are harvest times. The ‘learning curves’ and planting seasons are seasons when you may feel ‘used’ because they are times when your contributions into the organization is not commensurate with your wages, but if you persevere in adding value and building your capacity, soon harvest season will open up for you – not necessarily at your present place of work, but elsewhere too. (Gen 8:22)

There are employees that are merely being tolerated by their management. Let’s face it – if your employers need to downsize about 20% of their work force today, do you think they would have any qualms letting you go?

When you are a value adder, employers would do everything in their power to keep you. But the first set of people to go when the need for downsizing arise are those who do not add value.

The key to relevance in the work place is to take ownership of your duties and responsibilities. In other words, do not work as an employee, but work as an employer on your assigned role. For instance, if you are a secretary, work like a CEO in that position. This is an attitude adjustment. Do not think like the help, but think like a boss in your position. This attitude adjustment helps you build confidence and a desire to apply yourself beyond the call of duty. Discover smart ways of performing your duties and strive to see that you are the best at your task. Do not hold back your potentials and skills because you are under paid, this will only make your position more insecure as your performance would be mediocre. And of course a mediocre performance will never motivate management to increase your salary.

Remember that it is not only the salary that is the issue, but also the need for building capacity. Let this fact motivate you to give your best and much more to where you are working right now and when the time is right, you will get the right job with the right pay.

-Written by Ebiye Tammy-Koko

Raise the bar!

I was sorting out what to wear to Church and I happened to sight a traditional dress I had made and collected weeks before, but not tried on. So I decided to wear it the next day for church. But first I tried it on to see if it fits. I could not believe my eyes when I wore it! The breast cups were on my neck, one hand was longer than the other and it was so tight that I could not even draw the zipper! I looked at this dress and I was speechless. The dress looked like a carpenter made it and not a tailor! Does she not have my measurement, I wondered as I looked at this sorry piece of work.

As I gaped at myself in this ‘artwork’, my sister could not help bursting into laughter. I glared at her because it was not funny at all. But the more I glared the more she laughed. Indeed I was a sight to behold in this ensemble.

My sister assisted me to struggle out of it and I neatly folded it into a bag so I could give it to another tailor if per chance they would be able to make some sense out of it for me. I am definitely done with this tailor for good, I told myself. This is not the first time I am having this type of rude shock from her. It has become a pattern that whenever she makes dresses for me she would end up amending and readjusting about two or three times before she gets it right and sometimes I have had to discard clothes she made because there was just no way for remedy.

As I folded this recent disaster into a bag I asked myself why I have continued to patronize her to date. In one of Mike Murdock's wisdom books, he wrote, "never complain about what you tolerate" so why am I tolerating and complaining about this incompetence? Why have I not severed relationship with this tailor? And like a flash I realized that I had tolerated this woman for as long as I have because she has a very pleasant nature. She is a very warm and friendly person and I am a sucker for personalities like that. But this time I have had enough.I am not paying for a pleasant nature, but for skills and if I am not getting it I need to sever the relationship.

When you open a business and put a sign on it you invite the public to treat. In other words, your open doors imply to the public that you qualify and know what you are doing. When you fail, a pleasant nature will not help you especially if in extreme cases you land your self a law suit for your professional incompetence.

People come to your office for your professional skills and not for your friendship. If you do not give them the skill they pay for they will take their business elsewhere. This is in spite of the fact that they are friends or family.

There are many unqualified business owners today. Please do not be deceived by the décor of their offices, but insist on seeing proof of previous work otherwise you may be sorry. In economies like ours, primarily because of the high rate of poverty, there are many "Jacks of all trades, but masters of none." They claim to do every thing, but cannot do one thing right. They are caterers, contractors, dress makers, hair dressers and event planners all rolled into one! Be very wary of people like this until they give you proof of competence in all the areas they claim to have expertise.

Be it a salon, a tailoring shop, a hospital or a clinic, a church, etc, we need to be careful because there are many ‘posh’ and ‘elite’ hospitals that are sending people to early graves and many churches that are not founded on God’s word.

I am presently planning to branch out in a completely new direction of business. I have a natural talent for this line of work, but talent alone is not enough. So,I enrolled in a post graduate program to be better prepared and equipped before I step out. I am doing this primarily for my self confidence and for my future clientele and also because I appreciate that skillful professionalism sells faster than a pleasant nature. A pleasant nature becomes an added value only when the right skill is in place.

Just in case you are a business owner and you are wondering why you are losing your customers or clients, could it be because you are not offering skill and professionalism? It is time we stop blaming our failures on difficult clients or the economy and work on developing our skill and service delivery.

I called my tailor and made my complaints known to her and I also advised her to acquire more skills if she wants to grow in her line of work. She apologized and asked to correct the errors, but really I am done with her services for good. The truth is I like this lady a lot. I feel really conflicted as I sever our professional relationship, but I can no longer tolerate her work. I have no problem with her as a human being, but my problem is with her tailoring skills and so I have decided to keep her as a friend, but not as my tailor anymore.

"What goes around comes around", the adage says, so I too need to raise the bar of skill, professionalism and service delivery in my chosen field because if I am found wanting professionally I would surely be passed on for a better service provider.

Ciao!

Ebiye