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• Looks for opportunities to thoughtfully improve outcomes for co-workers and the organization.
This is one of those easily overlooked activities that distinguishes the perfect employee from his or her peers. It’s also a central element causing others to highly value having him or her around. They really believe that things would go far less well for all of them if he or she were to leave. This added value also does not go unnoticed by those more senior in the organization.
There is a caution. Making a special effort to help others and the organization succeed and going out of one’s way to be helpful are good approaches to job success but watch out for too much of a good thing. The employee’s positive attitude and approach can be abused and misused by others. They can come to assume that the employee will drop what he or she is doing and help them. Organization superiors can also take advantage of the always ready to pitch in and help employee. The perfect employee takes care that helping others or going above and beyond never interferes with getting his or her work done, competently, thoughtfully and completely.
The conclusion requires a careful balance. The perfect employee does what he or she reasonably can to improve outcomes for coworkers and for the organization. He or she is a good team player. At the same time, the perfect employee takes care to assure that he or she always does his or her work, competently, thoughtfully and completely, on time, every time, no exceptions, no excuses.
• Appropriately engages customers, clients and other stakeholders whenever and wherever he or she has contact with them.
This brings us full circle. The perfect employee is not always at work but is well-aware that he or she is always an employee, a representative of the organization. What’s more, any interaction he or she has either at work or elsewhere may knowingly or unknowingly involve an organization stakeholder. Even more challenging is the fact that one never knows who someone else may talk to or may pass along what the employee has said or done. Whether we like it or not, we are always on stage and our role in the drama is as a representative of the organization. The perfect employee takes this role very seriously.
The conclusion is clear. If one aspires to be the perfect employee, don’t gossip about anyone or anything related to work with anyone, avoid any negativity or criticism of anyone or anything at work and be alert to those times when getting pulled into gossiping or negativity may be too tempting to resist. And here is a pro tip. Employers frequently see if they can get a job seeker to criticize or comment negatively about their current or previous employer. If the interviewee comes to the bate, the employer knows that this person is not going to be the perfect employee.
Now you know, so there you go.