Communication Skills
One of the most important aspects of any job is the ability to build positive relationships with superiors, fellow employees, clients and suppliers. Personal communication skills are, therefore, very important. If you feel you lack them, look for ways to develop them. If you can communicate up the command chain, down the command chain and across the breadth of the organization as well as with stakeholders outside the organization you will strengthen your position within the company and be far less likely to lose your job.
Develop a Strategy of Personal Improvement
It may sound like common sense, but since common sense is rare these days it is necessary to point out that you have to be good at your job in order to keep it. In other words, you need the requisite skills but also the intuitive abilities that may not be specified but really are necessary. Sometimes you can be hired on your skill-set and experience and only realize your deficits once you are doing a job. In order to succeed in your position and keep it you need to be willing to address any inadequacies and overcome them. Develop a strategy of personal improvement in the workplace.
Go the Extra Mile
Another important quality people need to possess in order to keep administration jobs is the willingness to go the extra mile. By staying on top of your game with ongoing training and pursuing excellence in all that you do, you will be noticed and appreciated in any reasonable workplace. If you add value to your employer in all that you do, you will not be easily replaced.
Maintain a Positive Attitude
Everyone has bad days at work when things go wrong. We all make mistakes and sometimes have mistakes thrust upon us. What makes an employee a keeper is their ability to maintain a positive attitude despite difficult and challenging circumstances. Be a problem solver rather than a problem finder. Make a difference rather than a ruckus. A person with a positive approach to life generally and their work in particular adds positive energy to the workplace and is enjoyable to have him around. When bad times come, everything else being equal, this type of employee will be the last to go.
Multi-skill Your Way to Success
If you have your own job completely under control, be willing to learn other roles within the organization or to gain new skills which may be of benefit. The 1980s were known for multi-skilling whereas the modern workplace has demanded intense specialization. However, there is an increasing recognition of the benefits of employees knowing aspects of one another’s work in order to improve the overall productivity and take up the slack when someone is ill or there is a deadline. A certain level of multi-skilling with any organization is a good idea. However, be sensitive as to how another person may perceive your desire to learn their job. Ask them what would be most helpful for you to know to help them out from time to time so that they don’t feel threatened.
Be Creative
If your workplace environment allows for intelligent and creative actions to improve productivity and work practices, be willing to solve problems and improve unwieldy practices. Some workplaces are unfortunately rigid and some managers are threatened by suggestions so you need to assess your environment. However, if upon consideration your work environment is closed to improvement and change it may be advisable to look for a better employer. There are many jobs for administration in organizations which would appreciate a proactive employee and be loathe to lose him.
Even in the most difficult of financial times, an excellent employee who contributes to the good of the organization will be kept while others are let go. There are certainly situations that personal excellence cannot counter; company losses and corporate collapses will inevitably lead to massive job losses. However, you can limit the risk of losing your job by seeing your role within the company holistically. You are not only employed to do a specific job, but you are also a part of an organization. If you meet both the explicitly stated and the implicit needs of your organization, your job will be far more secured than most. Your job security and your perceived value as an employee are closely linked.
