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!