What you need to succeed in the workplace - guía para ser un empleado valioso - TA: guide for being a valuable employee

Imagine telling an employer that you'll refund your salary if you don't receive a glowing evaluation.

As a professional speaker and workshop leader, Jean Gatz is gutsy enough to do it routinely, and she's never had to honor her money-back guarantee.

Every year, businesses and organizations, including education, government, and healthcare agencies, hire Gatz to share her insights about the changing world of work to audiences around the country. A former employment counselor and business consultant now based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she draws on her own and other's experiences to explain how people can thrive in a workplace where downsizing, mergers, and budget cuts are the order of the day.

Her "satisfaction or your money back" policy reflects her belief in qualities and behaviors that she--and toplevel executives--consider essential for employees. At the top of the list-with character and integrity--is accountability. And, Gatz is not one to tiptoe around the topic.

"Have you ever called in sick for work when you weren't actually sick?" she asks. "If I did the same thing, do you think I would be paid for not showing up?" In such a scenario, Gatz observes that word would soon get around that she doesn't take her responsibilities seriously.

"You wouldn't want the same thing to be said about you, especially if your company is trimming its staff," she says. "What you should want your colleagues to say and think is that--in the words of one executive--'you know what needs to be done, and can be counted on to do it right and on time, without constant reminders or supervision."'

In How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep, Gatz and co-author Connie Podesta elaborate on the primary characteristics or traits, outlined below, that employers say they look for in their employees.

Get your personal life in order

"Employers are usually sensitive to situations where employees are coping with difficult personal issues," Gatz says. "But, they also expect employees to deal with the issues as best they can, or ask for help in resolving them. Unfortunately, some people choose to ignore their problems and allow their chaotic personal lives to spill over into their work."

Gatz is not giving employers license to evaluate their employees' personal lives--or the way they think or feel. "An employer can, however, evaluate you on the way you perform your job as a result of your thoughts and feelings or attitude," she says. Gatz hammers home the point with this equation: "Your attitude affects your behavior, which is demonstrated by your performance." And then she asks pointedly: "If attitude is contagious, is yours worth catching?"

So, how would she describe a person with a good attitude? "It's not merely someone who is happy all the time," she says. "It's someone who helps to create a healthy environment in his or her company or organization."

Demonstrate and document value-added

"Employees should always remember the the #1 goal of their company or organization is to stay in business," Gatz says. "With that in mind, employees need to find ways to make or save money for the company." For HR/staffing and career services professionals who may have difficulty measuring their accomplishments in dollars and cents, she suggests demonstrating other ways they bring value to their jobs, for example, in their efforts to reduce staff turnover or facilitate student job searches.

Gatz adds that employees can't expect supervisors to keep track of all the work they do when "they're busy keeping track of their own efforts."

For that reason, "document everything you do," she says. "And, don't be afraid to let your boss know of your achievements or any recognition you receive for them. You may even want to share such news with your CEO."

To people taught not to sing their own praises, Gatz says: "Get over it! You don't have to get in anyone's face, but it's important that your colleagues know who you are and what you're capable of doing."

Gatz says this strategy for maintaining a positive, visible presence goes hand in hand with cultivating allies and advocates in the workplace.

"Let people in management know you are interested in learning and doing more to benefit your organization, and ask if they would be interested in mentoring you," she says. "They may be the same people who sit in on meetings about downsizing, and they'll be more likely to go to bat for you than for someone they know little about."

Work smarter, harder, faster

"Get over the mind-set that you work for a company," Gatz says. "Think of yourself as a consultant, and continually look at ways that you can help your organization function more efficiently. In the process, you'll have a positive and lasting impact on your company, co-workers, and customers."

Welcome change

"Change can be scary or exhilarating but it's inevitable," Gatz says. "There's no escaping it in today's business environment. An employee cannot continue to do a job well, nor can an organization remain in business without adapting to change, whether it takes the form of new technology or competition or corporate restructuring.

While anger and fear are typical responses to change, optimism is the most appropriate one, according to Gatz. "Ironically, when people are worried about keeping their jobs, they are the most resistant to change," she says. "They adopt the exact opposite behavior of what companies are looking for in employees."

Commit to lifelong learning

"One of the consequences of change is having to learn new skills to replace less effective work methods," Gatz says. "But it also benefits employees to continually expand and refine their abilities. Employers are more likely to retain those who do over those who fail to upgrade their skills. Only knowledge--and the ability to apply it--provides this kind of leverage."

Gatz has found the employers also value these qualities in employees: the ability to communicate openly and directly and the willingness to assume a leadership role, when necessary and appropriate, regardless of one's job title.

"Start thinking today about what you can do to stay marketable and employable tomorrow," Gatz says. "Whether you expect to be working for the same company or a new one, you will need to have exceptional qualities and skills to perform your job capably."

She also encourages employees to follow her lead.

"Develop and demonstrate qualities and skills that provide the greatest benefit to your employer," she says. "That's how to gain a competitive edge and the confidence to guarantee your work."

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