Wednesday, August 17, 2005

While the Cat's Away...

You know how the saying goes. The moment the boss' back is turned the workers start slacking. While on a week's holiday, you would think the helpdesk team would make the most of it. The fact that other members of the hierarchy were also away, increased the opportunity for despondency. Yet, there is no fear for such things. I am focused and in control. Working hard, even with the absence of a heavy number of calls to the desk, meant we could focus on our mission, our target. By the time my first full month was over in this company, there were over 400 calls in the helpdesk call management system. (A tenth of which lay in my personal queue!) It seemed like a endless task, with a heavy influx of calls. Like being on the Titanic, with only a bucket of water to throw the water out, to stop or rather delay the inevitable.

Thankfully we had found a captain to turn this sinking ship around. For far too long the burden had fallen upon me to cut the number of calls pending. Management is a difficult role. There is a heavy expectation for results, while in the same vain, you do not wish to lose the motivation and banter of your team. What is my manager like? Probably the best manager I've ever worked for? Probably.

Unfortunately, having met our target of less than a hundred calls in the system, the goal posts have been moved. The job enters a new era, with a greater emphasis on closing calls in the required SLA. While I have nothing against such a system, I feel there will be additional pressure to make sure we reach a minimum standard, which in my case is 75 per cent. There is also going to be much more performance analysis beyond the simple numbers game, it will slowly move into a target driven exercise. The saying goes with great power comes great responsibility. I beg to differ, as I am living in the reality and not the world of a comic book hero. With great responsibility comes greater accountability. The next few months will be interesting. When is the next Bank Holiday, Trig?

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Boys Will Be Boys

I have worked in quite a few offices, in the handful of years in the so called, 'real' world. None match the atmosphere of my current workplace. Everything has fallen into place, in such perfect fashion. The dynamic of an organisation is based more on the employees than purely the industry it operates in. Working for a small law firm with a predominately female makeup, ladies of a certain age, gives the impression of perhaps an organisation, rather stuck in the mud and reluctant to change. Then taking a contract role at one of the biggest law firms in the world, with over 600 employees, advising prestigious clients with household names, clinching multi-billion dollar deals. All while you replace their aging Compaq for a brand new HP d530.

So here I find myself, part of a fresh, up and coming help desk team. All of us, around the same age, recently departed the corridors of academia, filling in the time between weekends, answering the phone. A sense of camaraderie, has built up quickly over the past few months, as we learn to work with each other. Sure, we focus on the task at hand, but still have a laugh and a joke. As the saying goes, work and no play make Jack a very dull boy. The reason, boys will always be boys simple. The road less traveled is frightening and requires some intelligence and maturity (something we try to avoid for as long as possible).

While I do fancy myself as a bit of a smooth operator, when it comes to the crunch, I can rarely pull it off. Even today, when I got back into the office, beaming with a cheeky grin, which said everything it needed to. Sometimes, even I cannot believe the lucky hand the man upstairs deals me. Have I finally landed on my feet? The phrase perhaps befitting, is the motto of this log. Maybe I should be more grateful of the opportunities that have come my way, rather than forever consoling myself in those that got away.

The lesson of the day is simple. If you want something go for it, no matter who or what obstacle may stand in your way. You never know whom you may meet. You never know which door may suddenly open.