Say Cheese

This will come as a bit of a surprise, but I do not like having my photograph taken. Let me put this into context, a casual candid snap while on holiday is fair enough. Images captured in my work environment put me off balance. I hate the idea of being watched while at work. Someone wanting to record the moment is even worse. Yesterday we had a photographer in taking photographs of our division. This included a mixture of individual, team and then company photographs. Why, I am still quite unsure as to the reasons behind this, I'm informed my image will not be used on the company website. For this I am glad, for our company website, has cheesy photographs, which could have been taken in 1982. The last company I worked for, blue chip corporate, strongly focused on security, my photograph was taken for my identity card on the first day. I had to carry this with me while on the premises and it could be checked by security at anytime. While here, I do not have that big brother style eye watching over me, I do wonder what the purpose was of these photographs. Many companies, big and small, have opted the same approach as schools and colleges, to display a rogue's gallery in the reception area, with the names of at least the managers. Some companies include everyone, other companies only include those Employee of the Month. Stay tuned, I will keep you updated on the situation. You never know, I may even upload an odd photo on here.

This job is the one thing I have left, with myself in control. For the rest of the time, I have to compromise with others on what I want. Work does fill in the time between weekends, but as those weekends themselves are quite empty, what is left? I suppose having a focus, is not a bad thing. It can be the motivation, the springboard on to bigger and better things. Whatever happens, I will document it here, somehow.

Work has settled in the past few weeks, with the emphasis changing from quantity to quality. Closing calls within the agreed SLA rather than just a sheer numbers game. I do not see this as added pressure, just a need to keep all parties well informed and be aware of when to escalate calls to the relevant colleague. There is more of an urgency to follow the right procedure, than to get the job done as quickly as possible (which they expect you to do anyway!) The long term aim, I believe is to stamp a personal management style on the service desk function. So, no matter who the client is and which flavour of our software they are using they can expect the same level of service. While I feel this is an achievable objective, I feel it will only come about with a change of culture 'downstairs'. As a wise friend has often told me, cultures, in their very nature, are big monsters and can not be changed over night. It will be at the end of this process, this translation that I will know if this is a company I want to stay with or perhaps move elsewhere. Perhaps when that point in time comes, I will have the required experience under my belt, to move on without much fuss. Taking into account recent events, would London be the ideal destination for me? Andrew, enough of this defeatist talk, We Are Not Afraid!

Sounds Like A Maverick

Reserve judgment? Do we truly ever do that as human beings? No, I think not. I think we hide behind the pleasantness of social interaction, not wanting to offend. If we were more honest with each other life would be a much better place. Yet, this blog is not the place such things of great importance to the fabric of our society. No, this is just a simple trip into the professional (for the lack of a better word) world of my work.

Driving home this evening, I was pondering the comments made by the Development Manager. Could it ever be possible to create perfect software? Software that maintained itself, that was 100% idiot proof, safe from corruptions to the operating system or the installation of other software? If this ever came about, my position as a support person would be extinct. Defending myself, and the support function I argued that developers were not doing a good enough job, for the software still had around 150 outstanding calls, there was plenty of work to be done. The thought stemmed on toward a life beyond support (some would argue after). What do I want to do with my life? How did I find myself in IT? These are just some of the questions I have been asked this week. The honest answer to them all is I do not know. While most will know me as ultra control freak, when it comes to the unseen future, I have no idea of what I want to do and where I want life to take me. Suppose, I have been following this almost purposeless path since I left school. Is it such a bad thing? Some would argue, that without a goal, man has no need to breathe the air of this planet. You just need to appreciate than while some of us know from a very young age, what their mission in life is, for the rest of us, spent our entire lives trying to find our own.

A client contact made a surprising comment or rather judgment, before actually meeting me (which she did do several months later). It was the first time I had heard such a phrase, "Andrew is either really arrogant or extremely shy..." As she left to return to her office, she made up her mind, that I belonged firmly in the camp of the reserved individual. Never want to give the impression to anyone, particularly just over the phone that I'm a bit of a maverick.

My manager was trying his best to motivate the team, and was quick to remind us all that there is no 'I' in the word. Sure enough, cheeky alec over here had to say, but there is 'me'. Having said that, I feel a sense of relief, a small burden lifted off my shoulders, with a second line analyst starting this week. While the majority of the time I was able to deal with the support calls, occasionally I was stretched. New blood brings with it new energy and the desire to continue to build on the achievements of the past. So, after a four month wait, the support desk, is back to the number to the level of man power, it should be. The numbers game continues for a few more weeks, but my focus now moves to providing the high quality service. I know that I am capable of delivery.