Letter from the President - September 2016
BENEFITS
This month’s issue reveals the results from AUGI’s Annual Salary Survey. I first want to thank all of you who participated in the survey. Your responses form the bedrock of something that is difficult to find in our industry.
One of the areas the survey looks at is that of benefits. Benefits are important to us. Most of us do not want to work for just a paycheck. The benefits we are provided make a difference in our happiness, satisfaction, and health.
Does your employer provide some form of educational assistance as a benefit? If so, have you ever taken advantage of the benefit?
I’ve said for years that the day I don’t learn something is the day I die. In other words, we all can learn something each day we are alive. Granted, many days it is something small or what might feel insignificant. But we gain experience and wisdom as long as we pay attention to the things we learn each day.
What better way is there to broaden your horizons than to actively pursue new knowledge? Take a formal course at a school or college in a subject that improves your professional skillset. There is also a wide variety of online training resources, with an equally wide range in value. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of the educational benefit that your employer offers?
One very common reason is that you are simply too busy. It is a valid reason. Our lives are just as busy as we make them. Another way of saying that is we make time for the things we want to do. Going to a class might mean giving up something else for a while. But the time is not going to magically make itself available. You have to find the time. It could be time well spent by opening new horizons to you.
What if a learning benefit is not offered by your employer? Does that mean you are stuck? Obviously not, since you could just pay for the classes yourself. (I know… easier said than done, Bob.) Yet there is a way that your employer can offer a learning benefit: seek out a mentor.
There is a vast amount of experience sitting around you in the office. Are you tired of doing the same thing every day? Why not seek out someone in the office to give you an extra challenge? Maybe there is something you see others doing that simply fascinates you. Muster up the courage to approach them and learn from them. Chances are they would be happy to provide some mentoring in the things they do.
Who knows? It could be the start of a new direction for you.
