Making Yourself Indispensable: Training
Earlier we discussed various ways of making yourself indispensable. So far we have covered volunteering for anything! The next path to making yourself indispensable to your company and increasing your company skillset, is through training.
As mentioned previously, by developing your company skillset you increase your value to your current employer, however you may also be increasing your value to future employers. Training allows you to gain both the technical knowledge necessary to do your job according to current standards, as well as knowledge of company culture, leadership and core values. This is a win-win situation for any employee.
Penolope Trunk emphasizes the importance of training, especially in today’s business environment, that is unstable and ever changing:
In this environment, training is worth more than a promotion or a raise, and in fact, you’d do well to make a trade if someone offers you either. Training is the new currency of the workplace.
Like volunteering, training is an easy way to show your employer you are interested in the company and the industry. At my company, during your first year there can be significant downtime where you are searching for work from managers and senior leaders. Employees can either surf the Internet, take care of personal things, or do training. I always choose training.
Fortunately by working for a large company I have endless resources at my fingertips for remote training, online courses, and web-casts. At year end as we are judged for our performances and our utilization is compared among the ranks, I will stand out, if not at least have an excuse for low utilization.
I am able to say to my boss, “Yes, I do have low utilization this year, but this is why (no work for my level), and I did this training during my downtime to prepare me better for the future.” I have personally talked to my mangers, and they do appreciate the forward thinking and company-minded training during downtime.
So remember the various benefits of training: increased motivation, innovation, efficiencies, etc. Next time you see the opportunity for a training come through your email, think about the benefit beyond the technical knowledge you will receive. Think about the value it will add to your stock within your company.
More to come on NewlyCorporate as we continue this series of how to make yourself indispensable to your company. And as always please share your stories, examples, and advice. It is greatly appreciated.
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Tags: Company Skillset, Skillset, Train, Training, Work
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December 17th, 2007 at 7:02 am
If your company is up for it, don’t forget about trade shows and conventions. It gets you out of the office to hear some of the best in the biz speak. Great for training, networking and a cure for the cubicle blues!
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December 17th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Agreed Greg, our company frequently hosts conventions and seminars for our clients. Its a great way to learn, network, and get exposure with people within and outside our company! Thanks for the comment!
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December 18th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Great points. I’d also like to add that learning new, interesting stuff feels good. It makes us happy to grow professionally and personally - to know that today I’m a little smarter, better and more capable than yesterday.
So when choosing what training to take, don’t forget to choose something fun. If you choose something deadly dull just because it’ll look great on your CV, you’re most likely wasting your time :o)
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December 18th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Thanks Alexander you make a good observation. I just went through the dullest training ever last week. Unfortantly, it was not my choice to attend this training and the jury is still out on whether I am any smarter!
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December 18th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Training is definitely much easier to obtain at large companies. With my first company I was with a huge international company that brought people in from Dallas whose sole job was to run around the country and do training events. Now, with a much smaller company, there just isn’t the time nor the resources to provide extensive in-house training. Luckily, due to my CPA designation I’m required to take several CPE credits that the company will reimburse for. This allows me training opportunities I probably otherwise wouldn’t have. So the point is, if you’re not lucky enough to have extensive in-house training at your company go out and get a certification requiring additional continuous training to help gain knowledge and open doors in the future.
CPE classes are also great networking events and can help you stay in touch with old coworkers. I’ve only done a few since being certified and I already have met the VP of Financial Ops at my previous job in one of those classes.
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