Driven by new technology, increased competition and customer choice and the relentless pace of change, the business world and workplace is changing – FAST!

The things that helped people to job and career success in the past have long gone – no one should expect a ‘job for life’ any more. The stakes have changed.

It’s now far more about demonstrating your ‘employability’ – the unique value you can add and contributing more than you cost. Now if you read in the news today, private-sector employers are expecting to increase employees’ pay by just 2% during the next year, the same rate of increase seen over the past three years, according to latest research. This being the case, employees across the private sector are likely to be disappointed that their employers still don’t feel in a position to award higher pay rises than we’ve seen over the past few years. But this doesn’t mean that promotions and pay rises won’t happen. A really capable member of staff who has really made a difference may get a promotion, or a pay rise, just perhaps not to the level or amount they would have liked.  What they had hoped for could still happen in the future, just not right now. It’s not all doom and gloom, if you look at it like that!

So with this in mind, here are our 5 Top Tips to put you ahead of the game:-

1.Work with change

We can cope with, adapt to, or exploit change – however all of these are reactive.

Be the architect for your own future. Learn to create change and be proactive.

Change is inevitable, relentless. Don’t fight it – partner with it, capitalise on it.  

2.Focus your energy

The push us on to pick up the pace, more, better, faster.

Your energy level if absolutely the single most important factor for career success.

Law of Physics: doubling your speed actually quadruples the energy demand.

You can’t do it all, so prioritise and learn to channel your energy towards the things that matter most.

3.Stay optimistic and opportunity minded

Change grabs people’s attention. And our reactions to it usually reveal more about us as individuals than about the situation itself.

Optimism versus pessimism? A positive emphasis on opportunity, as opposed to a negative focus on problems.

It’s a simple difference in outlook – but has a profound difference in how it affects your performance.

What’s your bias when change hits?

4.Help create value

“Shareholder value” is fast becoming a primary goal for large organisations.

Value creation is a key factor in how the marketplace keeps score on a business.

Learn to recognise how YOU as an individual can create and add value.

How can YOU cut costs? How can YOU generate more sales? How can YOU boost productivity? How can YOU delight customers? How do YOU make a difference?

Raising an organisation’s prosperity is the surest way to raise your own – as employees, our futures depend on contributing more than we cost.

5.Balance the wheels

As our world speeds up, so time seems to shrink.

We’re caught up in this “age of instancy” – feeding the feelings of stress.

As the workforce gets wired, work follows us home, and home goes to the office. Work time and home time are blurring together. It’s all too easy to over-commit.

It’s also important to note that so much of our work is now knowledge of work – using the head – thinking. That takes a lot of mental energy and is not a task that we can leave easily at the office.

So learn to re-balance the wheels: start less…finish more.

Learn to say no…mainly to yourself. Do something you want to do…every day.

For more Top Tips on putting yourself ahead of the game, visit the Creativedge ‘Top 10 Tips’ mobile App available for iPhone and Android smartphones:-

Appstore – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/top-10-tips/id796349890?mt=8

Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elixsoft.creativedge.top10