To be indispensable at work is a great goal at the best of times. We are not in the best of times.  Here is the list I have been thinking about over the last few weeks  (over and above the obvious stuff like doing your job well, being a decent human being etc). For what it is worth here is my tuppence. Love to hear your advice.

Network - this is difficult when we are mainly not physically at work.  So we need to ensure we do this virtually.  As well as using internal tools like Slack, use LinkedIn.  Be sure to connect with all your colleagues, clients and prospects. Be sure to support them by liking, commenting on and sharing the useful content they have shared.  You might also follow them on Twitter if relevant.

Share useful content on a one to one basis.  At Passle we have our ISTATOY (I saw this and thought of you).  If you do not have that simply copy and paste the url into an email of something you read or watched and explain why it might be of interest to your colleagues.  Do this when you do not want anything from them and be genuine.

Own a process or useful piece of technology.  Learn how to use infrastructure that your team, your boss and/or your company all rely on.  Be the go-to person on your CRM (if it is used), your billing software, marketing analytics,  your content creation tool.  With Passle we always recommend our key client contact provides useful feedback, video explanations, tips, and recommendations. 

Add value to the investment the firm has bought.  Learn how to report on the data you get in whatever position you hold.  We have a lot of data in our organisations but my experience is that it can always be packaged to display what the business needs to know more effectively.  Focus on trends and patterns.  

Even better show how you can join up and integrate different kit (for example we recommend providing feedback from Passle, Google Analytics and Lexology)

Reciprocity is a real thing.  By helping out you will be helped out.  This is true with colleagues as well as clients - which will help with building your position internally.  This is a great little video explaining how reciprocity works and why it is so important.

And finally (probably the best way to be indispensable) is Help other people to become indispensable.  Build a network of go-to experts in your business.   Help, advise, mentor and ask for assistance.  The article below references Bruce Tulgan's book The Art of Being Indispensable at Work: Win Influence, Beat Overcommitment and Get Things Done where he recommends building a 'super-network of go-to people and a culture of “go-to-ism”, which can be a great asset for the entire business'.  

Of course, none of this guarantees that we are indispensable but seems like a good idea to make a plan and do what we can.