Work

We had our annual employee "reviews" today at work. Normally we have done it on an individual basis, but because of the many changes in leadership structure over the last year it was decided that at least for this year we would do group reviews. While we normally leave reviews feeling beat up and discouraged, we all left this year feeling encouraged and excited for the new year. Each department has strengths and weaknesses and our plan is to make the most of our strengths and reverse our weaknesses (or "challenges" as our boss so kindly put it). For the department I am in--Production--there are five action points we need to focus on in the next year. Our company goal for this year is to "work smarter, not harder." In our industry, we are the BEST, hands down. Nobody has products comparable to ours or production quality as high as ours, so that is not the problem. Our challenge is that we now need to find ways to continue with the same high standards of quality while doing it smarter and more efficiently. In order to work smarter this year, we need to:

1. Be more production-minded
2. Spread the load
3. Suck-it-up and get unwanted tasks done ASAP (no more working slow doing a task just because we don't enjoy doing it)
4. Focus and avoid distractions
5. Keep our work areas clean and uncluttered in order to make it easier to work efficiently. (It's incredible how physical clutter around us can slow us down and clutter up our minds as well!)

These line up quite a bit with a list I put on my wall a few years ago following a review then. I thought I would go ahead and list those here too. These are what I keep in the forefront of my mind when working so I will be the best and most efficient worker in our company. (I am not at that goal yet... but certainly working towards it!)

Work Hard
This is pretty self-explanatory. When given a task, I need to work hard and get it done. I am being paid to work, so that is what I must do.

Work Smart
Working hard only goes so far. Working smart is what makes my work profitable. This involves checking myself throughout every task to make sure I am not wasting movement or time in my accomplishing of it.

Listen First
This is what I have always struggled with the most. When I am given a task, I immediately think of a number of questions which I feel I need to have answered before I start. What I often find is that while I am thinking of the questions, my supervisor is still talking and answers most if not all of them before I even have a chance to speak. Then when I ask my questions he is annoyed that he has to repeat himself. LISTENING COMES FIRST! When I am given a task, I need to listen first and not question until I have thoroughly heard everything my supervisor has to say. I have gotten much better with this over the years, but still need to work on it.

Speak Little
This follows close on the heels of listening first. I need to speak only the minimum in order to be most efficient. Why go into pointless detail or waste time trying to make myself sound smarter when a simple question or answer is all that is needed? This also goes for pointless talk. If the talk does not pertain to the task at hand, it is not worth speaking.

Stay Focused
This involves actively keeping my mind on the task at hand and making sure my surroundings make my work more efficient rather than slowing me down. Sometimes listening to music or in my case, books and sermons, is a detriment to my focus. Most always speaking of non-work matters to co-workers causes me and whoever I am talking with to lose focus or at least have less focus on our work causing mistakes or increased production time. Staying focused is key to profitable, quality work.

Be Flexible
When I began work at Walkers, this was my biggest problem. My mind naturally systematizes and works logically. I see things in absolutes. This does not work well for a company that does 100% custom work. I do a task one way and expect to be able to do it that way next time. But when the next time comes, I get thrown off because it has to be done differently in order to serve its purpose for this particular job. Also, in a small company, everyone wears many hats and everyone depends on everyone else. It is not uncommon to be called away from a task to do some other task that at that moment has now become most important. This is true in any company, but especially to very small companies like ours. I cannot sit down with my one task, lock my mind into it and sit and do it the entire day. I instead need to be flexible enough to easily move from task-to-task as is necessary and be able to change my focus as need be. I have come a very long way in this and think it has now become one of my greatest strengths. I can be simultaneously working at many tasks and not be mentally thrown for a loop when something else come down that I need to do.

So that is me. That is what I have learned already, am learning still, and what I am still working on. I hope that by writing this out and thinking it through I will continue to grow into being the best and most profitable employee in our company.