Preparation in advance: the first step towards performance at the workplace
Preparation in advance might seem as a time consuming procedure at a first sight, but in fact its main purpose and output is efficiency, along with professionalism. Above all other aspects, preparation in advance is in fact the proof and at the same time the maintenance of a good, even great, time management.
This process of preparing in advance, if applied with conscientiousness will become a routine, and a productive, not a boring one. These characteristics of productivity and agreeable activity are due to the fact that one does not always prepare for the same operations, practices or business situations over and over again. As an employee receives new responsibilities or has to face different tasks, he will easily stand up and deliver great results when the milestone was a preparation in advanced.
For employees, facing new challenges can be overwhelming or at least can bring some interior tensions. Either way, individual performance and, therefore, business performance can be negatively affected when preparation in advance is disregarded and permanently passed by. While an employee that meets requests without a preparation in advance can be taken by surprise when turnarounds interfere and have a reaction that does not lead to desired outputs or outcomes, employees that prepare in advance push themselves to anticipate different scenarios, take into consideration what could go right or wrong and in this way they try and manage more easily to make the best out of an uncomfortable or less pleasant situation.
Persons that prepare in advance always seem to have the right words with them, give an immediate and effective solution or not taken by surprise when turnarounds occur. Such employees or potential employees can be easily identified within interviews, meetings, brainstorming sessions or conferences, due to their specific characteristics.
Although employers are in search for candidates that already had assimilated this custom of preparation in advance, it is also recommended for them to develop and maintain this practice within the company. In this manner, an uniformization at the organizational level, regarding this matter, can be reached and practiced upon. It is important for companies to encourage and support their personnel when it comes to preparation in advance, and for this to happen, employees should have consistency in their responsibilities and leaders should delegate tasks towards subordinates within a reasonable timeframe.
In the same time, employees should remain loyal to advance preparation as it speeds up their work activity, while offering an overview of responsibilities, which helps in prioritizing tasks and increasing productivity. In today’s business environment there are less and less people that can claim having a good time management or an effective prioritizing strategy, because most of them do not consider or preparing in advance. Preparation in advance is an organizational skill that both employers and employees should focus to develop for a effective and lean business processes.
References:- University of Kentucky (2009), The successful person’s guide to time management
- The Saylor Foundation (n.d.), Principles of management
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (2010), Good organization, management and governance practices
