Hi,
Sorry all. I really was using my blog before I guess as an outlet for all the stress (and yes to reduce the 12000 all the same questions I got from people). Not say I don't have stress at this moment, or the last 6 months since I wrote but it's almost seemed to personal. Maybe becoming more African than I expected. You just don't talk about things here. I find that sort of disturbing sometimes.
To back up to Feb. Work has been crazy busy. I got to re-write my 2012 Work plan about 6 times because my boss threw a lot of different things at me and well life in business is just like that I guess. The big thing was all of a sudden there was a conference announced and we decided to put a booth in - lost about a month just for that. The fundamental plan didn't change: I decided we need to get ourselves sorted or there wasn't any point in adding anything. So I put in place a series of projects to get us on solid ground. Slowly they are playing out, not without their headaches. In the midst of getting started, my Technical Director passed away while he was home on vacation. So we had 3 months of chaos and sitting on the downward spiral. I thought I again was going to lose my mind. We have since found a replacement, and I also hired a supervisor but then I became boss and mommy as I held people's hands getting them started to learn their new jobs. We are still not quite there as neither of these people have ever done a job like this before (i.e. no management experience). The internal politics are becoming almost unbearable.
Projects are as follows:
1) we're doing ISO 9001 - this developed because I decided we don't have proper procedures in place and organically turned into the full meal deal. I'm to start it and then it will be implemented at HGS across Africa - this by itself is a massive undertaking in terms of the time required of me. Having said that, I'm hoping that eventually it will lead to saved time and less headaches which I am totally for! ;
2) I'm re-writing all our contracts so we are compliant with the law here, which also involves writing a 30 page document on disciplinary procedures that has to be reviewed by staff, facilitating the voting in of a employee rep-to-management and getting a work inspection done by the ministry of labour. This is has been the biggest headache as my workers seem to think that it's an opportunity to discuss salaries again which it is not. I did up most of the salaries a bit anyway but somehow it's just never enough. Ended up that not only am I having to write all this other jazz (fortunately the consultant I hired is really good and did a LOT of the leg work for me!) but I'm having to write a manual on how the kids know when they can graduate from level to level. How do I know what that is?? I'm writing the soft stuff, like if I can trust you to show up without standing over you allows you to move up a level. I re did all our evaluation documents and now the training manual. I am hoping my technical collegues with feel motivated to help. I certainly intend to lock them in a room with people waiting to write down their every word until it gets done.
3) we're renovating our office, knocking down walls, redoing the yard outside, changing all the furniture and the like; That will be very fun. I love living and working in chaos! NOT!
4) we're implementing a new module of our accounting software so we can track everything on it instead of on Excel means going through 2 years of accounting and re-inputting, verifying/validating, after we get trained on it we now have to re-create all our inventory and make sure it's all correct. But it means that with the press of a button, I can have up to date client invoices, all my financial reports and know exactly how much stock was on each site at any given moment! Well in theory!
5) I'm implementing a new HR program for Performance Evaluations and Career planning. Meaning I have to hire a Director of Human Resources who will be responsible for all of Africa.
6) we're opening a new office in the west so have to do reconnaissance on what industries there are, where to locate, and I have to do a whole restructure of our staff as I will have to send some of our experienced staff there, meaning I need new technicians (who take a year to train), an area manager and another supervisor and admin assistant, I need to buy 4 vehicles and furnish the office and living accomodations.
7) We are the authorized distributor for 14 different brands, and tout ourselves as a provider of hydrocarbon solutions. But we have never sold anything here for at least 6 of those brands and the others we aren't even close to minimal performance so implementing training and sales program for my staff on different product with sales incentives. We lost one of our contracts this year - a big one. My goal is to still double our sales. So far a little behind but it will come.
I have 3 weeks til Ben comes home, until I have to revert to Mommy and have half my working braincells focus on something other than work. I miss him and it will be good to get me out of this non-stop working mode but man I feel like I actually got something accomplished rather than feeling like I'm snipping at the heels of my problems at work.
Something else that was quite important is Loren and I went through a sort of pre-marital counselling. I say sort of because I think it was helping us decide if we wanted to get married. It was really good for us and we sorted through a lot of huge issues between us. It's like night and day. It was really hard and made both of us think REALLY hard about what we wanted and what we were willing to give/give up. Wow that's a tough lesson to learn!! Loren has been working at HGS which has given us an interesting perspective on each other (how many men have enough balls to have their "wife" as their boss?!). I think that as much as anything influenced the huge changes.
And finally because I didn't think I had quite enough change going on, I decided to sell my house in Ottawa. The deal is done, and I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about it. Sometimes I feel a loss because I REALLY liked my house! but other times it's just a relief not to have to worry about it anymore! My stuff is still all in the basement, but the family (my tenants) have kindly offered I could leave it there for some time as I had no intention of coming back to Canada anytime soon. Probably next summer but I dread the idea that I might spend acouple weeks in the summer, locked in my basement sorting stuff I haven't looked at for *(by then) 4 years, instead of spending it with family and friends. We'll see how it goes and what we decide to do. May just send in my sister with the instructions to "be ruthless". Good Will is going to make a killing! Anyway, don't have enough brainspace to really contemplate that.
I was in the US for a course - just needed a break. Saw my friend Christine and we had a short but fun time together. I am planning on going, I think, to Spain with Kanchan in October for 10 days. We'll see if Ben gets to come or not. We were considering Morocco, but I think I'd rather not see Africa on my break especially right around Tabaski (Muslim Easter).
