Hello my friends. In my previous article (Better you series #5) I write about how to have fun at work. One of the tips is to build relationship with your colleague. Now I will share to you the benefit of doing that. Without further ado, here are some benefits:

You know who to look for when you need internal assistance to finish your work.

Have you ever in a situation where you need assistance from other departments but you do not know who to call for? You are lucky if you have a boss or colleagues in your department that have been working long enough so that you can ask them to connect you. But isn’t it much more convenient and easier if you know personally the person so you can just give him/her a phone call. What I am trying to say is: personal connection makes it easier, faster, and smoother when you need internal assistance so you can be more productive in your work. Do not forget to assist them in return when they need you.

You know who to ask or look for internal job vacancies.

Have you ever felt you are stuck in your current position? You want to explore other role but you still love the company you are working for. You are thinking of rotating to another department to get more new exposure and new challenge. If you know more colleagues, this process can be easier to do. You can ask them the available job vacancies in their department and even ask the further information such as the personality of the boss, working dynamics, etc. I bet you cannot get this kind of information if you do not have the personal connection. But hey do not forget you need to notify your current supervisor first before you decide to jump department. Good luck!

You get a grip of what is going on within your employer.

This might be the most interesting benefit. By being well connected with many colleagues we get the access to informal information going on within your employer. When you are working in a big organization, you do not normally know what is going on in other business units. It is refreshing to know this information so that you do not feel you are too caught up within your own work your department is doing. You get the bigger idea on how your employer is doing as an organization. Trust me you will get useful insight when you want to make a move regarding your career progress. Therefore set 1-2 days in a week to have lunch with your colleagues in other departments/business units and trade information. You might get juicy gossips as a bonus.

Morgan Perdana