Do you have skills you gained somewhere else that you aren’t using? Could we use them if we knew about them?
I was in a planning meeting today. We were talking about some plant needs. We are lacking some skills in welding and electricity.
We went to a meeting with the whole plant. I decided to ask some questions:
“Who here knows how to weld but we (the company) don’t know it?” Four guys raised their hands.
“How about electricity? How many of you can do electrical work?” Three more hands including a guy who said he wired a whole subdivision of houses.
We will assess them quickly. Hopefully, they can help.
If they can, it’s a win-win for the employee and the company. The company gains access to a more skilled work force and greater capability. The employee gets to broaden his contribution to the company and it increases his value. Further, his job is enriched, because he gets to do something he likes.
Don’t hide your skills. I’m committed to causing us to ask in order to learn of the total skills available on our team. At the same time, don’t be shy. Tell us what you know. Volunteer to learn new things. Nominate yourself for new assignments.
