"In my most recent position, we had a consistent problem with employees arriving late for their shifts or calling in sick at the last moment. Rather than writeups and reprimands, I decided to work with our management team to develop a reward system.

We offered shift preference, time off, and monetary rewards for various attendance and accountability achievements. The rewards cost much less than the lowered productivity due to absent employees. The program was a success, and upper management chose to keep it implemented for another six months. We will re-assess in December, but it seems to be working very well."

"One of the product development concepts I learned in college was continual improvement. Processes are fluid and small changes can reduce waste and improve performance. I try to look at anything I do in the workplace through that lens so that we can improve our processes before they become problems. I reflect weekly to think about what I could improve or what I have observed others doing well that I could incorporate into my approach.

For example, I asked if I could be included on my team's daily status call when I was an intern. I was not originally invited, but I was often asked to take on tasks discussed in the meeting. My teammates would then have to bring me up to speed on what was discussed.

The process was inefficient, and attending the meetings sped things up a lot. I was able to stay in the loop and regularly offered to take on tasks that I knew I could handle. I took notes for the team, and they also found that helpful."

Remember to consider times when you improved performance. Coming up with ideas to increase productivity and efficiency and save time and energy is a great way to make an impact on your coworkers and the company. The ability to see problems before they become problems is a skill that can make you an essential asset to a company.