It’s not a situation that anybody wants to think about but all businesses are at risk of falling on hard times and having to lay people off. If there is another global financial crisis that will become a reality for a whole lot of people. Companies will always try to get around laying people off but sometimes it’s the only way that they can stay afloat. When that situation arises, bosses have to start making difficult decisions about who to keep and who to get rid of. They’ll start by going through everybody one by one and deciding who is expendable and who they can’t afford to lose. If you want to keep your job, you need to be the latter. You might think that you’ll be safe because you’re doing your job well, but that’s not always enough. Most people in the company will be competent at their jobs so you’ll need to go the extra mile to make yourself invaluable to your boss. These are some of the easiest ways to do it.

First Aid Training

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All companies need to have a certain number of people that are first aid trained working in the building. When they’re losing people, that’s something they’ll take into account. If they get rid of somebody with a CPR certification, they’ll have to pay for one of the remaining employees to get trained up, otherwise, they’ll be breaking the law. That’s going to cost them money and in times of financial trouble, they’re going to be trying to avoid any extra expenses. If you’re one of the people that has first aid training, it’ll make it a lot harder to get rid of you.

Come Up With Projects

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If you’re an employee that gets to work, does their job and heads home, you’re easily replaceable. Your employer can just train somebody else up to take on those responsibilities. However, if you’re always coming up with new ideas that help push the company forward, that creative thinking isn’t something that can be replaced so easily. Also, if the company is part way through revenue generating projects that you came up with, it’ll be difficult for them to finish without you. If they get rid of you, they’ve wasted a lot of time and money on half finished projects that they see no return on. Coming up with great ideas is one of the best ways to prove your value to your employer.

Identify Problems

People are often afraid to go to their boss with criticism because they think it’ll make them dislike you but often, the opposite is true. Employers are always looking for ways to make their company more efficient and, in turn, more profitable. The employees that are willing to go to their bosses with problems that they’ve noticed around the office and help work with them on a solution are the ones that are improving the company. That’s an asset that they won’t want to lose. That doesn’t mean you should start being critical of the company for no reason but you should raise any helpful suggestions that you have.

Avoid Office Politics

The office can be a pretty hostile place and people aren’t always going to get on. When employees have disputes and there are rumours flying around about who said what, it can easily distract people from their work. When employees have to start making decisions about who to get rid of, it’s going to be the people that are always gossiping and creating disputes around the office. It’s an easy way to get rid of somebody that causes a lot of problems around the office, so make sure that’s not you. If anybody tries to draw you into any discussions about other employees or even worse, your boss, just politely tell them that you don’t want to get involved and end the conversation. If you hear anything that you think might be a problem around the workplace, you should quietly let your boss know; it shows that you put the interests of the business above everything else. Just be careful that you’re not constantly going to your boss and bad mouthing other employees, that won’t do you any favors.

Embrace Change

When a company hits hard times there are going to be a lot of changes around the workplace. Things are going to be altered to improve efficiency and make savings and it’s a real pain for employers if they’re being fought on these changes at every stage by members of staff that are stuck in their ways. Before they start laying people off and making some of these alterations, they’re going to start looking at people that they think might make the transition difficult for them. You should always be making an effort to show your boss that you’re willing to embrace change so when the time comes for a big shake up, they’re not going to consider you an annoyance that they might need to get rid of.

Improving Your Skills

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The best way for bosses to get the most out of their employees is to keep up constant training to develop their skills, but it can also be expensive. However, if you start improving your skills in your own time, at no extra cost to the company, they’ll love that. If you come across a problem in your day to day work and you don’t have the skills to solve it, you could go to your boss and ask them. But it looks a lot better if you spend a few evenings at home doing some research and learning the skills that you need for yourself, without hassling your boss with it. Employees that are low maintenance, self-sufficient, and constantly improving themselves are far less likely to get laid off.

It’s never an easy situation when companies need to start laying people off but sometimes it just needs to be done. Your boss is going to choose to keep the people that have proved most valuable to them in the past so you need to make sure that you’re that person.