Avoid Losing Your Job

This post begins a 7 part series on how to avoid losing your job

In the past, when a person achieved their goal of finding a job, they immediately set a new goal: get a promotion. That approach leads to disaster in today’s workplace. Today’s goal for both new employees and existing employees: Avoid Losing Your Job

Michael’s Sad Story

Michael worked for a global software provider that was acquired by another company. Layoffs became the norm. Yet, Michael survived as a project manager on a major profit-generating product. Eventually, however, Michael received notice that he would be laid off with another 325 employees. He left the company in mid-November. He worked hard and smart, and found a new job with a major company by Christmas.

He started the new job on January 3. The new company announced 115 layoffs on January 28 of the same year. Michael found himself looking for a new job within 25 days of starting the new job. He related the following when he came to tell us he lost the new job.

“I didn’t believe you when you told me that my new goal was to avoid losing this job. I didn’t do the things you told me to do. I’m convinced that if I had, I would not be looking for a new job. I really think they would have kept me.”

The Great Recession, stalled debt relief in the federal government, acquisitions, mergers, project-based work, and more elements contribute to frequent lay offs. Whatever the reason, 36% of the American workforce find themselves looking for a new job every 6-12 months. Losing one’s job lost the stigma it had 15 years ago. Most workers lose their jobs 3-5 times—or more—in their career.

3 Vital Behaviors to Avoid Losing Your Job

While no one can guarantee you will not lose your job, we’ve discovered some key tactics that can help you survive most lay off cycles. The 3 vital behaviors to avoid losing your job include:

1. Do the job they want done—and then some
2. Fit into the company culture
3. Communicate your return on investment to management

We will examine each in more detail over the coming weeks. However, let’s expand a little on each behavior right now.

Do the job they want done—and then some: Successful workers deliver what the company expects. They deliver the desired productivity (the number of things) management wants produced, sold, processed, or dealt with. They also perform at the desired efficiency (in terms of cost, time, etc.) management desires. Their work provides the effectiveness (accomplishes the end goal) management desires. Finally, they provide the quality that management expects. Once they deliver the productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality management desires; they exceed management’s expectations. They increase their value to the company more than those who just do the job management wants done.

Frequently, companies fail to communicate effectively what the job is that they want done. Successful workers do not accept uncertain expectations. They build a network of friends in the company that can help them discern management’s expectations, but also can help them perform better. Great employees enlist the guidance of a mentor. Mentors take new employees under their wing to help them understand the expectations and quirks of the company.

Fit into the company culture: Every company possesses its own culture. The culture defines the environment, informal reporting structures, how people get along with one another, and more. Every company also operates based on both written and unwritten rules. Written policies and procedures may define the formal way the company runs. Unwritten rules may carry more weight than written ones. For example, one company’s written rules declared that men needed to wear “white or light colored dress shirts”. Nobody received a promotion who wore light colored shirts. The unwritten rule declared “white dress shirts only”.

Successful employees understand the importance of fitting into the company culture. Once again, they enlist the guidance of a mentor and their internal network to teach them both the written and unwritten rules, and to help them fit in. Many employees who did the job they were asked to do, found themselves the first ones to get pink slips because they never fit in.

Communicate your return on investment to management: Finally, successful employees ensure that management knows their value to the company. They communicate simple home run statements that describe a specific example of how the made or saved more money for the company, how they accomplished a special project, or improved performance. They do not embellish or share the statement to “kiss up”. They share the statement so that management knows they did the job and then some.

Now you know the 3 vital behaviors to avoid losing your job. Once again, no one can guarantee you will avoid every lay off. Implementing these behaviors, however, can keep you working while others lose their jobs.

Next week we will discuss how to build a network within the company.