What makes an employee invaluable? 26

[structineer]

This is a question for those that either run their own business or manage employees. What are your opinions of what makes an employee invaluable? I'm looking for a little more than the typical cliches.

Thank you for your input!

 

[ajack1]

The long answer is, well I could go on for ages.

The short answer is they solve far more problems than they create.

Or is that a cliché?

 

[evelrod]

The cliche answer is "They make the boss look good".

Sadly, after working in a supervisory capacity for the last 20 years of my employment, I found many employees with superior intellect, great qualifications/education that "found the door" more often than the "guy that just got along" with the management. Work ethic and timeliness play a big part.......Still, it's all too often a "personality" driven business.

Perhaps I've been retired too long (14 years this April) and have become somewhat cynical in my declining years?

Rod

 

[JohnRBaker]

There is really no such thing as being 'invaluable' but someone who contributes far more than what they cost, now that's much more likely to be the case and when it is, those are the sorts of people you want to fill your organization with. Now granted, in many cases what they bring to an organization may not be tangible in that you don't have an absolute, real-time way of measuring your 'return-on-investment', but over time the good manager/supervisor will learn to recognize it when it exists, often based on what others, either in your organization or your customer base, have to say about a particular employee or how things seem to just always work out for the best when they are involved or were responsible for something, either in producing some added-value or in avoiding some unnecessary costs. Remember, it's the NET that counts, not just the positives delivered but also the negatives avoided. After all, not everyone has the 'luxury' of work in 'profit center'. Some of us work in jobs that the bean-counters consider as 'overhead' and so the measure of a person's contribution has to be based on a different point-of-view with different milestones and criteria.

Sorry if these also sound like a cliché but sometimes it is what it is.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

UG/NX Museum:

http://www.plmworld.org/p/cm/ld/fid=209

To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

 

[Ron]

Nothing.

 

[metengr]

Perception.

 

[berkshire]

That is an item you cannot really put your finger on.
But getting the job done right the first time, and working with minimal supervision goes a long way towards it.
B.E.

The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor

 

[rowingengineer]

agree with Ron, no employee is invaluable.

but if an employee hits home the key elements for a firm, than they would be considered a good emplpoyee.

these key elements can be:
cost
technical ability
timing
client liaison
quality control
ass kissing

http://www.nceng.com.au/

"A safe structure will be the one whose weakest link is never overloaded by the greatest force to which the structure is subjected” Petroski 1992

 

[bridgebuster]

If you think someone is invaluable walk past a cemetery.

 

[weab]

I would say that employees can be invaluable, that is, no value can properly be established. No employee, however, is irreplaceable.

I like people who:
-are looking for their next assignment before their current one is totally finished - able to juggle projects.
-go the extra mile. While I enjoy problem solving, look for the answers and talk to the right people before bringing me the problem.
-know their own capabilities and are sincere about it. I'd rather have to explain to superiors that a job will take longer than expected and be on time, rather than have to explain why we were late.
-are flexible. If I really need a material take off or a purchase order or something a little different, I sometimes need a right hand man (or lady) who can make my life easier.
-act like they want to be here. I actually have a co-worker that has outright told me that he doesn't like working on projects for the client that I primarily work for. He is a good technical engineer, but I always know that he'd rather be doing something else.

I hope this helps.

 

[patprimmer]

If someone is invaluable, that is good. If they are irreplaceable, you need to fix that fast or else one day when they must be replaced you are deep in it.

I look for self motivation, self critical, a strong work ethic and pride in doing a good job. Ability to work as a team team member and show respect for the work and position of others also helps a lot. If people strive to make themselves irreplaceable, I replace them ASAP

If you find this in an employee, make sure you show sufficient appreciation to make them feel special. Cash is the only truly sincere form of flattery in business. OK, giving someone authority is also a pretty sincere form of flattery. It does not take much extra to make someone feel special.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

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for site rules

 

[pennpiper]

Commitment:
- to their own integrity
- to their family
- to their profession
- to their Company
- to their project

 

[bigTomHanks]

Nobody is invaluable in this day and age but some people would really be a pain in the butt to replace. I've seen people who were perceived as very important to an organization go away on a whim and some lower level employee takes over their major responsibilities and make it look easy.

As for the right characteristics it really depends on the organization. At one place you may be the cats meow in the technical arena but at another you may be a hinderence. Half the battle is finding where YOU fit in.

One thing I constantly remind myself is that you can go from hero to zero at work in the blink of an eye and my main responsibility at work is to take for myself as much as I give my organization. Deep down that is what MOST people are doing and it is the main reason why they stay around for so long.

 

[IRstuff]

> Along with technical ability, a valuable employee must be able to COMMUNICATE effectively.
> Know their presentation material inside out
> Know when to shut up and listen to the customer


TTFN

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[structineer]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was basically trying to get at what an employee can do to make themselves as valuable as possible, not irreplaceable.

Here's another question - how many of you put up with problem employees just because it's too big of a headache to replace them. Furthermore, what does an employee have to do to get shown the door? Also, if an employee does prove to be a problem, what actions are taken for correction?

 

[bigTomHanks]

Yes - I have put up with plenty of problem employees. They get fewer and fewer the more experience that I get. I think this is an indication of MY development more so than theirs but there are plenty of people who are just jack aces no matter what. To get shown the door I have to have someone who had done something really bad to the point where I would lose my job if I didn't handle them OR they are not contributing and making other good employees miserable.

Typically to correct a problem employee the first thing I do is try to increase communication with that person. If I didn't get much out of them I would casually seek information from a coworker of that person who may know what their issue is.

To correct their behavior I take what their grievance is and if practical try to accommodate them. It's better for the whole group if you can make that person happy without screwing others over. The person may need a different assignment, better support, or have a coworker that they don't get a long with. I try to bring the two together to discuss differences and work things out first before separating them. I don't want people playing games with job assignments because they think I'm weak and will reward negative behavior by giving them what they want.

In a nut shell it's all situation specific but those are my experiences.

 

[MikeMech]

Valuable employee:

Make money for the owners.
Make your boss and coworkers look good to TPTB (the powers that be).
Make life easier, not harder, for your boss and coworkers.
Have specialized, scarce knowledge valuable in your role.

"I want to get fired" employee:

Be dishonest, untrustworthy, irresponsible.
Stir up gossip or other trouble among coworkers.
Provide substandard performance in your duties.


I will put up with poor performers to a point, but when an employee actively sabotages our ability to work together through dishonesty or troublemaking, their days are numbered. I could forgive scrapping $1000 worth of parts; stealing $10 would mean termination. For me the most important thing is trust. I have not found a way to work with someone effectively over time if there is no trust present.

 

[tygerdawg]

The discussion, and your last questions, pops into my head the thought "there are no bad employees, only bad managers." Not 100% true, but there's something to it.

To summarize the comments above, no one is indispensible unless perceived so by the person who has termination authority. I believe it.

But I firmly believe that it is a very rare bird who makes a really fine manager. Most of us have to suffer through terrible excuses for managers. I think THAT is the root cause of most bad employee behavior.

I had good one, once, when much younger. I was part of a team of recent grads, frightfully intelligent but not so experienced, who "knew it all" and were part of something really exciting. Our team boss had the personality & savvy to herd this bunch of tempermental cats into some great award-winning achievements. It was the best experience of my career. He quit to go on to much greater things with that guy who ran the "Fruit Computer" company. The company replaced GoodBoss with "YearsOfExperienceManager" and it all went to hell. The entire team quit in a manner of a couple months.

I had the experience of salvaging a "trouble employee". This person was hated by the entire company and the regime wanted her gone, but she was wonderfully competent. I used the soft approach, was patient, and was able to get her to understand she needed to modify her behavior. She did, and the company was better for it.

We're all made in the image of the Almighty and should be treated as such. It rarely happens, unfortunately. For the so-called "trouble employees", if given the opportunity, I would try everything I know to salvage that employee. If unsalvagable, then I would attempt to guide that person into another position and/or company where they could be happier and a better fit. But the "quick reaction, decisive management" culture we live in today, a result of the dysfunctional HR weasels and legal industry, rarely allows that opportunity to treat each other with anything resembling human dignity.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[SNORGY]

To me...

It's not "the smartest" guy (gal); I am not that.
It's not the "most talented" guy / gal; I am not that.
It's not the "most profitable" guy (gal); I am not that.
It's not "the best looking" guy (gal); well, OK, I *am* that...
It's certainly *NOT* an MBA...not that I am in any way bitter...

Actually, whatever most people think it is, I am none of it...and, yet, this year, at the Christmas Party, I was still recognized as one of the outstanding employees of the year.

So...what is it?

In hockey terms...it's the ability to either put the puck in the net, or know who to pass it to so that *they* can put the puck in the net. An example:

I asked an intern student to get me a price for (make / model) pump from (named specific supplier) and try to give me (x weeks) delivery. The intern corresponded with exactly who I asked him to, asked him exactly what I wanted him to ask, and got the answer: delivery would be (x+y) weeks. Then, he got on the phone and on the email and researched everyone else who could find the exact same pump, explained that "x" was acceptable whereas "x+y" was not, found a suitable alternate supplier, and came back to my office in a couple of days with a bid summary, a draft purchase order, terms and conditions, and asked if there was anything else that I might need to approve in order to obtain the pump I wanted in the time I wanted it. I signed the paperwork and said "good job", because that was all that was left for me to do.

This "mentorship" stuff is easy!

It's *that* that makes an employee invaluable.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[IRstuff]

I can tell you what one company did to get rid of a problem employee; they gave her glowing and raving reviews. Once she started working for us, it was our problem; smart on the subject of sexual discrimination, but didn't know one end of a shift register from the other.

Oddly, we cross paths again, 6 yrs later at another company, but it wasn't my problem any more and it wasn't my department's problem either.

Unrelated, during those 6 yrs at another company, we had another problem child; when she announced her departure, we had a going away party for her, but somehow, we forgot to invite her ;-)

TTFN

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