Five Tips for Becoming Indispensable
Widen Your Circle of Influence by Forming Relationships
As you grow in your career or expand your business, you will find that your circle of influence is critical to your success. The people you have real, dynamic relationships with can help you achieve more than you ever could alone. They can help you when you know you need it and even when you think you’re just fine by yourself. In his book, How to Be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without, Glenn Shepard describes how he benefited from networking at a time when he thought he was doing just fine without it. So, how can you broaden your circle of influence and benefit your business or career? Take a look at these five tips.
1. Look for advocates everywhere. The best way to share your message and build your brand is to have people who will speak well of you – be they clients, customers, friends, reporters or people in your community. These people are your advocates – for you personally as well as for your brand. You build advocates through forming professional relationships, and advocates can build buzz around your business more than you ever can alone.
2. Play well with others. You probably aren’t going to like everyone you meet. But, you never know who could be a network maker or breaker. So, Shepard recommends being 100% courteous to 100% of the people you come in contact with, from potential clients to interviewees to the servers at your local eateries. You can be your own best or worst advertisement by the way you treat people around you. Being labeled “does not play well with others” makes it difficult for you to build relationships and get opportunities that can make you indispensable.
3. Master your mouth. Saying the right thing at the right time is difficult. It’s even harder to control what you say when you’re angry or frustrated. But, you never know who is listening, what they will think and how they will take it. Maybe a potential client is sitting in the movie theater, lobby or hotel where you want to give someone a piece of your mind, and all they see is you in a fit of rage. Consider the consequences of everything you say and don’t say. Learn to leave certain things unsaid.
4. Focus on what others find valuable. Listen to, look for and pay attention to the things others surround themselves with and talk about. Great salespeople know how to quickly pinpoint what the buyer values and focus on building commonality through this – whether that’s grandkids, an athletic team or building a home. Showing interest in what other people value is a masterful tool in building relationships.
5. Share the spotlight. To form relationships, don’t be the person who always needs to receive praise. Instead, heap it on other deserving people you know. Nominate them for awards, send them newspaper clippings when they are featured and share professional opportunities with them. As Zig Ziglar once said: “You can have everything you want in life if you will just help enough people get what they want.” Shining the spotlight on others turns out to be a great way to grow your circle of influence.
Learning to embrace these guidelines can help you create true and loyal advocates, form relationships that will benefit you for a lifetime and widen your circle of influence, making you truly indispensable.
What Matters to Your Team?
Perspectives on Job Satisfaction Differ
According to a recent report in HR Magazine, what employees want out of work differs from what HR and management think their employees value most. The Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) most recent Job Satisfaction Survey Report showed that the top five elements relating to job satisfaction according to workers didn’t exactly match up with what HR professionals expected them to be.
In the survey, workers ranked 22 factors related to job satisfaction. According to the report, their top five concerns are:
- Compensation
- Benefits
- Job Security
- Work/Life Balance
- Communication Between Employees and Senior Management
On the other hand, HR professionals reported that they believed employees’ top job satisfaction concerns would be as follows:
- Relationship with Supervisor
- Compensation
- Management Recognition of Employee Job Performance
- Benefits
- Communication Between Employees and Senior Management
It’s fair to note that HR professionals knew compensation, benefits and communication would make workers’ top five, but the other differences and rankings show workers are more focused on how their jobs impact their lives. The first list shows that job elements that affect a person’s finances and personal life make workers’ top four values. The second list shows HR professionals put an emphasis on values that relate directly to job performance.
Of course, what your team values may differ from either of these lists. But, this survey illustrates an important question – do you really know what matters to your employees? In making HR, benefits and management decisions, knowing what matters to your employees is critical to ensuring success. Here are a few tips for finding out what matters to your staff when you’re considering a new policy or program.
Research. According to SHRM, one reason for the disconnect between HR and employee perceptions may be that organizations aren’t paying attention to research. For example, research shows that helping employees achieve work/life balance helps organizations as well as workers, but most organizations still aren’t offering balance-related benefits. Use established research to identify important trends you should consider, and then conduct research within your company to see what your workers want.
Listen. In the lunchroom, during meetings or wherever your employees are, informally observe the things that matter most to your team. For example, if you have a staff comprised of mainly working mothers who always talk about not having enough time to spend with their family, you’ll probably want to seriously consider offering flextime options.
Ask. When you want to know what changes employees want, take a formal, anonymous poll of your employees to find out what’s important to them. You can use a free, web-based survey system like SurveyMonkey.com to get measurable, valuable results.
Get Feedback. Always get feedback from employees after you start a new program or offer a new policy. Also, get regular feedback on the benefits you’ve always offered. You may find that employees don’t know how to take advantage of a program or understand everything your company offers. It could be that they don’t use a program because they’d prefer a different option. If so, why pay for a benefit no one is using? Remember, you can always change things if they aren’t working.
Act. Once you’ve determined what matters to your team, it’s important to act on the knowledge you have. Nothing frustrates employees more than sharing insight and ideas and for employers to do nothing. On the other hand, not much impresses employees more than knowing that top management has listened to their concerns and done something to address their needs.
Keep in mind that the decisions you make affect your workers, and you can increase their job satisfaction by making changes they want to see happen. Using these tips to better understand your workforce will help you retain your top talent and be a partner with your workers in bettering their lives.
Best Benefits of Best Companies
Learn from Fortune's Best Companies to Work For
Want to learn from the best? Fortune magazine’s annual Best Companies to Work For list highlighted top benefits of their 100 best companies. Companies must apply to be considered for the list and allow 400 employees to be surveyed anonymously. The list surveyed over 10,000 employees. Here’s what they say the best are offering their workers:
- Health care — Sixteen of Fortune’s best companies to work for pay 100% of their employee’s health care premiums.
- Child care — Nearly a third of the best companies offered onsite child care, with monthly rates starting at $240 per month.
- Work-life balance — Employees at Fortune’s best companies benefit from top-notch work-life balance programs. For example, at Google, No. 1 on the list, you can do your errands at work. The company offers free laundry facilities, a gym and onsite doctors, all free of charge.
- Telecommuting — This year, 83 companies on the list allow employees to work at home or telecommute at least 20% of the time.
- Sabbatacals — Fully paid sabbaticals are available from 22 companies on this year’s list.
- Unusual perks — Companies making the list offered perks ranging from gas cards to free tickets to sporting events to employee referral fees. One even gave an extra week off from work to employees getting married, and Microsoft matches charitable contributions up to $12,000 per employee.
Employment Situation Summary
United States
Non-farm employment declined by 4,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate was unchanged increased slightly to 4.6%.
Major Industry Employment for August 2007
• Construction: - 22,000
• Manufacturing: - 46,000
• Retail Trade: + 13,000
• Professional & Business Services: + 6,000
• Educational & Health Services: + 63,000
• Leisure & Hospitality: + 12,000
• Government: - 28,000
Canada
In August, the unemployment rate remained at 6.0%, a 33-year low.
Major Industry Employment for August 2007
• Construction: + 15,500
• Manufacturing: - 3,200
• Trade: - 3,300
• Transportation & Warehousing: - 31,000
• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing: + 100
• Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: - 14,400
• Business, Building & Support Services: + 14,700
• Educational Services: + 32,800
• Information, Culture & Recreation: - 10,600
•
Accommodation
and Food Services: + 8,300
• Public Administration: - 1,000
e-Xchange is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2007.