How To Become A Value-Added
Employee
By Susan Fenner. PhD, Manager of Education and
Professional Development, International Association of Administrative
Professionals (IAAP)
1. Become proficient in at least one software application so that you can
trouble-shoot problems for the entire office.
2. Keep current with all the changes in software, so you can recommend when
your company or department needs to upgrade and can tell them why.
3. Anticipate problems and solutions before the need arises. You’ll
not only look more in control, but you’ll be more in control.
4. Don’t let things slip up on you. Plan ahead and note due dates long
before they’re due. You really don’t do your best work under pressure.
5. Go out of your way to be gracious. For example, hand-write notes for
special thanks. We’ve all become so attuned to fast pace and fast
communication, that a touch of personalization will be noticed...and
appreciated.
6. Always promise less than you deliver. If a customer receives a packet a
day early, your manager gets three plausible alternatives instead of one, or
a colleague gets a call back within the hour, you appear really efficient.
Today we hardly expect to get what we’ve been promised, let alone a bonus!
7. Establish a network of professionals outside your company. Be seen as the
employee who knows where to go for any information needed.
8. Read, read, read. Keep abreast of all happenings within your profession
and your industry. The valued employee is one who can talk the same language
as top managers. Be seen as a leader and someone who looks to the future,
not the past.
9. Volunteer for tasks anywhere in the organization. The more skills you
have, the more people you know, the more willing you are to learn, the more
you will be perceived as an up-and-comer.
10. Never, never talk poorly about your company. Not within the building and
especially not with outside publics. Represent your company well wherever
you go. Word will get back to your employers. And they will recognize and
reward a great ambassador.
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