With the high rate of unemployment in the country, it is important for those who are gainfully employed to remain relevant in their work place, not only to secure their jobs but be able to face a bigger challenge in the future.
Many employers today have higher expectations of their employees than they did in the past. This is not far from the fact that many organisations are struggling to remain in business while battling many competitors.
Hard work, resilience, desire to learn are secret to my first class – Oluwaseun Akanbi
With rising out-of-school children, Nigeria’s education pathway shaky
Also, the drive for technology is also putting undue pressure on employers to remain marketable and make sales as well as make a profit while also meeting up with the responsibility they owe their employees and society.
Many enterprises are quick enough in adapting to digital transformation solutions, which in turn has necessitated employees to be more up to date with technology to stay relevant.
In this highly competitive digital business era, as companies struggle to remain relevant, it is also important that employees do the same while making sure that they continuously improve and evaluate themself regularly.
The Chairman of Micray Progressive School, Lokoja, Michael Sule Ojonugwa said for employees to remain relevant in their job for a long time, they must possess the qualities of self-development, honesty and dedication.
Ojonugwa said: “Self-improvement helps the employee learn modern ways to do his or her job. Going to further your education is good but most important personal development helps to keep you relevant in your job.”
As an employer of labour, he said a teacher must take time out to study well before he could teach his student.
He further said honesty is another important quality one needs to keep him or her on their job, saying, employers love to entrust things to people with integrity and keep them on their job for a long time.
He also noted that dedication includes a strong sense of support and loyalty to a business or career role and committed employees are often more purpose-driven in both their personal lives and their careers.
“As a dedicated employee, you must have passion for your work, positive attitude toward your job in general, punctuality for all work-related events, flexibility when assigned tasks,” he said.
He further said a dedicated employee doesn’t need extensive experience in their field, but they should be willing to put in the training and work required to gain any necessary experience.
“They are goal-orientated and are more likely to strengthen any qualities they may need to improve,” he said.
An educationist, Yussuff Oriyomi said for employees to remain relevant, they must be prompt on all given responsibilities, be proactive and do more than they are asked to do while helping colleagues with their tasks as well.
Oriyomi said: Be innovative and creative on your responsibilities, adopt and love/use technology for your work, submit ideas that can help your organisation earn more money and gain an edge over the competition to management.
He also advised that employees appoint themselves as the organisation’s brand ambassador and chief promoter.
Philomena Emmanuel, who has been working in her organisation for the past seven years said remaining relevant is more important than any other attributes because when a company feels you are redundant it means you are close to the exit door.
“For me, I have to do all my responsibilities and more without complaints and that include helping out other colleagues who needed some little help but mind you, not the eyes service kind of help, like when you see your boss you will now start helping,” she said
She said: “Your company should be able to say look, give this task to this person or call you to proffer solutions to difficult tasks, that shows you are relevant and you can only be able to do that when you learn to upgrade yourself in whatever way you can because that is the only thing that will make you to take up challenges that will announce you.”
Emmanuel said in the last seven years, she has been taken from one department to another following her ability to keep up with what the country wants and that has worked to her advantage as she is growing in her office while improving her capacity to take up a bigger job in the future.
Meanwhile, experts have said to remain relevant in your workplace, you must know how to use tools you’re supposed to use, go to trade shows, keep up with the latest industry news, understand your clients’ needs better, know what makes your competitors successful, stay social, specialise in your area, not everything, focus on the big picture and focus on great communication.
