I know; you just read the title of this article and don’t believe it, do you? The company you work for would love to give you a raise. I’m here to tell you it’s true and explain the reasons why. The best reason for a company to pay a higher hourly rate to an individual is because that person became more valuable to the company. If I look back over my career and describe the individuals who earned more money year after year, there is a familiar pattern of traits, behaviors, and skills.
They did the following:
- They rarely, if ever, took any unscheduled time off. They came to work every day…period…no questions asked. You could count on them to be on time and at their machine when their shift started. They scheduled their paid time off in advance according to company guidelines.
- They made good parts. They were conscientious when loading, unloading, and checking the parts they ran. No one is perfect, but foolish or careless mistakes were few or nonexistent.
- They were productive and ran at rate. They took the expected production rate seriously and made every effort to meet or beat it every day.
- They showed concern. How does one do that in a manufacturing environment? They cared enough to stay an extra hour or two to set up or finish running a job to help a customer that desperately needed parts. When production levels increased, they worked weekend overtime when asked.
- They practiced lifelong learning. They added to their hard skills by watching and learning things, not only in their direct role, but by paying attention to how other processes and areas of the plant function. They were eager to learn new things and viewed constructive criticism as a way to be self-aware and understand where they had room to improve. If need be, they took classes outside of work at a technical college.
- They were pleasant and easy to get along with. They worked well with others across the organization, whether it was interacting with a project engineer, someone in quality, or the front office. They showed respect and, in return, received respect in the way they communicated.
- They willingly helped and trained others on jobs and equipment they were familiar with. They knew that by sharing knowledge everyone wins.
Opportunities to earn more money are real and available to those who show their worth in words, deeds, and actions. It can happen for you!
