Untrained Professionals

[The word ‘professional’ has formal connotations of education/ training, skill, position; attitude and a range of other characteristics. It also is a very loosely used everyday word, used in its various work and behavioural contexts. While dealing with various people, when we see something strikingly different in their attitude towards work; we invariably mutter this word, to positively describe them for their service standard. But then what goes into making a common worker a professional.....]

The sky outside was still dark. In the dimly lit corridors facing the ICU, the mixed sound of voices and various activities made me aware that the hospital was waking up for the next day.

Their scheduled cleaning and sanitizing of the floor and the adjacent walls had started. I saw a lanky and sprightly man cleaning the space right in front of the sitting area. He was one of the janitors, uniform, gloves protecting his hand and with his moppers and dusters in his hand, he was going about cleaning the floor, shifting chairs and pulling it back to the positions once he was done. He went about cleaning the continuous surface and vanished into the other end. I went and checked my patient’s status from the doctor on duty and upon knowing that things were fine, thought of having a cup of coffee at the cafeteria downstairs.

When I returned to my seat, I saw him again with a different set of tools and tackles and this time cleaning the windows and the sill. He cleaned one window and went to the next and then to the next. And not a single time breaking the sequence of his actions and almost repeating the motion mechanically. By then I had developed a strange curiosity to watch him work almost in rhythm and to know him more.

There was a strange air about that person quite unlike his co-workers. He was quite robot-like and had not paused even once to look at the people by his side or to talk to someone or most unusually to receive a call from the ubiquitous cell phone. Appreciatively I looked at him and turned towards my co-attendant who hadn’t recovered from his sleeplessness and muttered “He is a thorough professional’ under my breath. My neighbour alerted from his stupor, looked at me bleary-eyed and then to both sides of the corridor to see that ‘Professional’ whom I had commented about a few seconds back. On seeing the janitor only, and not the typical ‘Professional’ he had pictured in his mind, he chose to go back to his stupor. I chose to walk up to the janitor to talk to him.

He was quite taken aback by being complimented for his work; his poker face gave way to an embarrassed smile. He could just tell me “I like doing my job”. What I could gather from him was that he was from one of the coastal districts, hadn’t had much formal education beyond primary level and his exposure to this work is from of the initial training he had here as a part of the SOP. I asked him how did he do it so well when others didn’t? He was at a loss of words for, he perhaps realised for the first time that he was good. Without taking much of his time, I went back to my seat and started musing over this experience.

Business Dictionary describes the Professional as,

"A person formally certified by a professional body or belonging to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of studies and/or practice. And whose competence can usually be measured against an established set of standards. And, a person who has achieved an acclaimed level of proficiency in a calling or trade".

Did he fit into the above description? No formal education. No certification of his skill from any school or body. No one to provide oversight for his work or no one to measure his performance; I am sure there would be no reward for his better work or any prospect of promotion. Then what makes him give his best without waiting for any external motivation or reward?

In the course of our day's work we come across many people who depend on us for their needs and we on them for our specific work. He may be a doctor a gardener or a salesman on a shop floor. Overall it's the interdependency on one another that has developed an unwritten code of behaviour to ensure that the interests of both are protected. That is what is called as a ‘Professional Code of Conduct or Professionalism’. Typically we can’t see this code in action but can feel when it is. If we go back to our past experiences, while dealing with some people was a pleasure, with others it was a hair-raising experience. Unless you are left with no alternatives, you should try your best to avoid hiring them.

So, then what sets few apart? What are the behavioural characteristics that give you the desired comfort that you need after having entrusted the work? To anyone, it’s quite basic. It can range from honouring your commitment to start the work at a particular time, then covering the complete scope or work to the best of your ability, then signing off with the outputs neatly delivered and leaving the workplace clean.  

Sounds easy? If it were, then why the percentage of such people are so low? To me, it requires cultivating and nurturing a huge amount of positive attitude towards your own commitment which you have agreed to deliver. This attitude is something that separates one from the other. I feel the attitude lies hidden somewhere when the janitor says ‘I like my work’.

Unfortunately, our professional courses, which are designed more towards transferring knowledge and skill, never address this simple but important issue. For without the right attitude, skill is of no meaning. While we churn out thousands of skilled professionals through our educational system, it’s these invisible, untrained professionals operating at the fringe of economic marginality, who continue to amaze us and make us happy with their commitment to excellence in whatever they do.