Help Getting Yourself Help

Often the most difficult task an employee in the workplace has is simply getting help to do his or her job. As is true with so many workplace difficulties, the answer lies with instituting a successful communication process.

Key points in this process are the following:

• Who is the proper person to contact?  
• Is there a company policy or approach to be followed when seeking assistance?
• When should the request for help be made?
• If the help is not useful, how else should one search for assistance subsequently?

A strategic approach to requesting assistance at work is often warranted. Without such an approach, one runs the risk of creating an uncertain reputation amongst one´s colleagues and management.

When adopting a strategic approach, the first step is simply to identify the need which must be fulfilled: is it a piece of information alone, or is it an entire process? The scope of the information needed then drives the manner in which assistance may be sought.  The next issue is selecting the proper resource for the assistance sought.  With these two pieces of information, the proper type of communication should be selected.  In general, a WRITTEN communication expressing the type of assistance being sought is preferred.  Why?  Because a written document gives weight to the request.  Also, it provides a verifiable track record for the writer that assistance was indeed sought.