I'm having one of those days where even though I have made it well known I will be gone Thursday and Friday and need to complete updates (which are necessary for everyone else to complete their timesheets Friday) by mid-afternoon today, folks are reworking stuff or bringing me additional stuff after the deadline I set. And since I am actively job hunting with little luck because there is nothing that doesn't require a 45 to one hour commute, I was thinking of things I'd like to lay down the law on with a potential employer and came up with the following. I don't know that I would every actually say all of this or even in this tone but these are things with my current and/or previous jobs that causes me quite a bit of frustration. I thought I'd post to see if anyone had anything they wanted to add.
1) I believe rework should be the exception not the rule. I make every effort to obtain all information and the correct information I need before completing a task so that the task is done right the first time. This saves time and ultimately money because you are able to complete more projects instead of constantly “re-working” the same tasks on the same projects. I do understand that rework can be necessary if information changes but with proper planning, these instances should be far between.
2) I believe the general accepted idea of what constitutes multi-tasking is inefficient. For me, multi-tasking means being aware of the status of each project and what is needed to proceed – not constantly stopping and starting multiple projects throughout the day. I prefer to gather all information possible and then proceed in a logical fashion. This allows me to complete a task quickly and accurately.
3) I make a point of being aware of the general workload and deadlines of my co-workers as they relate to my work. By doing so, I can ensure that I complete my portion of project in time for them to get the next step done on time. I expect the same of my co-workers – especially with tasks that are on a consistent deadline that rarely changes. An example of this would be when I processed timesheets at Tindall Corporation – timesheets were always due first thing on Monday morning so they could be entered, any questions resolved and hours released to HR for payroll transfer to the outside processing vendor by noon. Any delays meant that paychecks may not be received by Wednesday for sorting and distribution on Thursday which was payday for 200+ hourly employees. All foreman were aware of this deadline. In turn, I made a point of being aware of when they may not be able to meet this deadline and encouraging them to complete the task early or delegate the task to someone else.
4) I expect adults to behave like adults. I don’t hold hands – I am here to support and assist, not babysit. If a person receives information from me, it is up to them to read and understand the information. My workload is just as important and it takes valuable time to have to explain something to someone who has not shown me the courtesy to read an e-mail I send out explaining the same topic. Along the same lines, if I give a deadline, I expect my co-workers to be aware of that deadline and meet it, not wait until the last minute and look for me to drop everything to help them meet it. As an example: we had a deadline for our self-reviews to be completed. To complete the self-review required logging in with a pre-existing company e-mail address and password. Because we used the client’s e-mail system, many employees did not use our company’s system even though they were strongly encouraged to log in at least every 2 week as lack of activity caused the e-mail address to be deactivated after 30 days. Employees were reminded that reactivation could take up to a week and to let me know if they needed theirs reactivated as soon as possible. Many checked right away and while inconvenient, reactivation was able to be completed well ahead of the self-review deadline. However, others did not read the full reminder e-mail and waiting until the day before the deadline to discover they could not access the system and complete their self-reviews.
5) I do not come to work to socialize or make friends. If I find a friend, great, if not, I don’t worry about it. I don’t engage in gossip nor do I share detailed/intimate information about my personal life. I make a point of getting along with everyone but do not want to hear what problems a person is having at home.
6) Overtime – I am willing to work overtime on an as needed basis to meet a deadline. However, I do not believe 5-10 hours of overtime each week is necessary. If constant overtime is necessary, then the workload of the position should be evaluated to determine if additional help is needed (ie: reallocation of tasks between employees or hiring of a part time employee to take on a portion of the work load) or a process can be streamlined. However, just because I am an efficient worker does not mean I want to do the jobs of two or more people.
7) In the interest of a true-work life balance – once I leave the office, I’m off the clock. Unless there is a true emergency, I expect to leave my work at the office when I walk out the door. When I am on vacation, I expect that I will be allowed to enjoy my vacation and will not be disturbed by co-workers or supervisors with questions they should know the answer to. I do my best to ensure that my supervisors are kept up to date on my tasks and to leave enough information behind for my back up to be able to complete a task in my absence. Failure of said backup to follow the directions left or their unwillingness to understand the scope of a task is no reason to disturb me at home.
I keep information to myself unless someone needs to know. This is determined on a case by case basis as it is often not my place to tell someone something but the responsibility of a superior. Because of this trait, I have often been entrusted with sensitive information by my superiors because they knew I would keep my mouth shut until they were ready for it to become general knowledge.
9) If I have to follow a process/procedure, please apply that requirement to everyone. Nothing is more frustrating than to try to adhere to a mandate only to have every other person, including you the manager, try to circumvent the process because you don't want to follow the steps or didn't allow for the timeline created by the process in your planning.
It actually felt pretty good to get this all out.
Michelle
