How to make yourself indispensable at work

When companies are downsizing, they often start with those who bring the least value to the firm. From there, they target people who can be easily replaced or whose jobs other existing employees can easily do. In  these frightful economic times, strive to be an indispensable employee, one who will leave a wide gap if you ever decide to leave. Better still, being an indispensable employee puts you in a better place when negotiating for a pay rise.

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Some proven ways of being indispensable include:

Doing something no one else can do

This goes without saying. If you want to become a corner stone for your company, you have to do things that no one else can be able to do. This includes possessing unique skills that are extremely beneficial for the company to the point where they’ll find it difficult to replace you.

We all know how fast employers replace workers but if you possess extremely unique skills, they’ll find it difficult to let you go and may even offer a raise just to keep you.

Best performer

You have to become one of the best the company has ever had. This does not mean you compete with people, it means you bring the best you possibly can to the table and give it your all. This is usually easy if you are very passionate about your career because the motivation is intrinsic.

If you bring a lot of traffic to the company’s website, bring huge profits to the company and your work is of the highest quality at all times, you may just be on your way to being indispensable to the company.

READ ALSO: Job loss: 5 ways to prepare before it happens

Multi-tasker/ Chameleon

Train yourself to do all the work in the different departments in the company. You have to blend in everywhere and be able to do any task assigned to you. Don’t just do one thing and expect to be irreplaceable. Make it your mission to learn all or most of the skills needed in the company and they’ll be unable to replace you with time.

Why would they want to replace someone who can do 8 different tasks in 8 different departments seamlessly? You become important because you can do work of 8 people. E.g a journalist who’s also a doctor by profession so she can host a show, write articles, report news, interview important guests, edit videos and give expert opinions on everything related to health.

Stand out

You can become indispensable by completing all tasks before deadline and taking initiative. You can also give genius solutions to problems that have been plaguing the company for long. Employers are looking for people who can help the company solve the deeply-seated problems and improve the performance and profits of the company.

If your contributions helps them achieve that on a wider scale, you may just become a cornerstone for the company at some point in your career.