Information Most Companies Wish You Didn't Know

©2011 by Lady Charmaine Day
I graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelors in Industrial and Labor Relations and Columbia University with a Masters in Organizational Psychology. I am a seasoned business woman with over twenty years Fortune 50 and non-profit human resources management and business consulting experience.
Companies wish you didn't know the following information about your job because it would give you a greater position of power, knowledge on how to keep your job and stand out from other employees. Here are answers to employment questions employees often have:

• How do you keep what you have? By being an invaluable asset to your company and someone who knows how to get along with others,knows their rights and makes wise decisions.
  
• How do you stand out from other employees? By becoming a go to person having listening,writing, and the latest computer skills.
  
• How do you become a “go to” person? You become a conduit of informal information about what is going on in the company for management (informal information about employees, problems, and clients). Also by being very efficient in completing and getting supplies needed for projects and employees obtained.
  
• What things should you do to prepare for performance evaluations? You should maintain documentation of your work performance:noting all deadlines, projects, and tasks you complete, days you take off, any complaints made and awards, compliments or acknowledgement you receive for good work done. At least two months before your performance evaluation, ask to review your employee file and modify any incorrect behavior noted in your employee file.
  
• What are the five things most people do everyday that give employers reasons to fire them? Use company property for their personal use (copiers,fax machines, computers, telephone), steal office supplies, participate in illegal activity on the job (e.g. sou sous, and network marketing schemes), come to work late, attend meetings late, and act insubordinate to their manager.
  
• How do you manage your employee file? Ask to see it, make rebuttals to memos,letters, and performance evaluations you don't agree with, and make copies of your documentation.
  
• If you are having problems on your job,with co-workers or your manager, how do you manage the situation?The three D's: Diffuse,Document, and Deal with the Difficult Person. Diffuse: You diffuse the situation by remaining calm in the midst of the conflict. If the person starts yelling at you, don't engage them by yelling back. Request that they stop, if they don't, walk away. If the behavior continues to happen, report the behavior to Human Resources. If a co-worker or manager hits you, don't hit them back. Walk away. Go to human resources and report the incident. Most company have policies in place that if both people engage in fighting they both will receive corrective action. Document: Document all incidents both in your employee file and in your own personal documentation at home. Deal with the difficult person by speaking to them in a direct manner and asking them to stop. If their behavior persists, arrange a meeting where you speak to them with a manager or human resources present and request that the behavior stop. If the behavior continues, you may request a transfer, report retaliation to human resources or look for another job.
  
• How do you keep your job if you become sick? If you have enough time on your job, go out on Short Term Disability or take a leave of absence through your company's Family Medical Leave
  
• The company just downsized and you have more work than before, how do you manage your new responsibilities? Get an increase in salary? Ask for a new title? Document everything you do starting at the beginning of the change in your job responsibilities. Send status reports to your manager via e-mail every week updating your manager of your projects, task, and days taken off. Ask for a salary/title review in six months in the beginning of the new work assignment. For the next six months, do a great job that leaves no question that you should receive the requested salary increase and job title adjustment. 

Lady Charmaine Day is a Pastor, publisher, published author, motivational speaker, business consultant and radio host/producer of the Christian Talk Show Taboo Talk (www.blogtalkradio.com/taboo-talk and www.youtube.com/tabootalk) who specializes in helping individuals transform their mind, body, and spirit utilizing the principles of Jesus Christ.” For more information, please visit: www.ladycharmaineday.com.