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• Does whatever he or she commits to doing.
This is obviously important but is critical for those who aspire to be perfect employees. Usually an employee will get a pass if he or she misses a deadline or fails to follow up or follow through. The same holds for not getting around to returning a call, keeping an appointment, responding to a text or e-mail or just not doing whatever he or she was expected to do, especially if the miss is atypical or infrequent. For those on the perfect employee track, though, the standard is higher and absolute. Commitments are kept, no exceptions, no excuses.
It’s necessary here to emphasize a point that may not be quite so obvious. First, there are explicit commitments. The employee commits specifically to do this or that. He or she may commit verbally or in writing; but either way, the commitment is explicit. Beyond explicit commitments, there are implicit commitments. Here for the perfect employee are things like getting back with people who try to contact him or her, dealing with problems and issues as they come up, keeping his or her boss up to date — particularly about any problems or glitches, always completing assignments and handling responsibilities, being on time and doing things on time.
The conclusion is easy to label but very difficult to achieve. The perfect employee keeps his or her commitments, whether explicit or implicit, no exceptions, no excuses.
• Does today’s work today.
This is one of the most difficult concepts for many employees to grasp but relatively easy to implement. The key is a change in perspective. Most employees were taught the new perspective when they were young. “No dessert until you finish your meal.” That’s not a new perspective? No, it isn’t; but far too many employees seem to have forgotten it or don’t know that it’s an important principle, not just something they were told as children.
There is a second part to the principle. Just because something doesn’t have to be done right now, doing it right now is never a bad idea. Even if it can’t be done this very minute, it can most always be done today. If that just won’t work, it can be the first thing done tomorrow. The point is that the perfect employee never puts anything off any longer than absolutely necessary. When a task is due is far less important than why it hasn’t already been done.
The most common excuse is, “I don’t have time. That’s why I’m always behind.” Let me simply suggest that putting things off and postponing working on jobs is little more than a very bad habit for most employees. If a little incentive is needed, a job done now most always takes less time than it will take to do it later and there is no time spent worrying about getting it done.
It’s another easy conclusion. Employers always prefer employees who consistently do today’s work today; and those who aspire to be the perfect employee make doing today’s work today a habit. They are also first in line for promotions and expanded responsibilities.
• Does his or her work competently, thoughtfully and completely.
It may seem remarkable that I’m just now getting around to including actually doing the job for which the employee was hired. After all, the job is the reason he or she was brought onboard. It follows that the employer expects the job to be done competently, thoughtfully and completely. For that reason, the employer only considered hiring people with the necessary education, training, skill set and experience to do the specific job; or so one might think.
The point needs to be made that employers frequently don’t limit the potential employee pool to people who are actually qualified for the open job. They seem to assume that everyone with a particular educational background or work experience are equally qualified to do any job people with similar backgrounds do. That is definitely an invalid assumption. There are other questionable assumptions that often creep into the hiring process, resulting in individuals being hired into positions where they are just not qualified to do the job, little lone doing the job competently, thoughtfully and completely. Job seekers beware. Just because you are offered the job doesn’t mean that it’s a job you will be able to do competently, thoughtfully and completely. More specifically, it doesn’t mean that it is a position where you can excel.
Those who aspire to be the perfect employee are well-advised to seriously think about how well they believe they will do in any position offered to them. Take the time and ask the questions required to be as sure as possible about the position, exactly what work is required and what else is expected, what support and training will be provided and what the work environment will be like. Is this a position where you can excel and flourish? It’s your career that is at risk if you get this wrong.
What is the conclusion? The employer makes its choice. The potential employee makes his or her choice. If the decision is to join forces, it’s up to the employer to keep all of its promises and commitments and for the new employ to give the opportunity his or her best effort. For those who aspire to be the perfect employee, the job gets done, competently, thoughtfully and completely, 100% of the time, no exceptions, no excuses.