Take the job

"Take the job". That was about the last thing that I conveyed at the end of last week. Boy! Last week was hectic. With this new $20K ruling from CFP Board, lots of investors are rushing to invest. Volume was high but I must admit that we did pretty well. There are some "issues" that we faced and some still need resolution. However, it went pretty alright in these circumstances. We basically did not collapse. On top of that, I was doing the yearly performance appraisal. I planned an hour for each staff but turns out that I do need at the very least 1.5hr. Usually it was about 2 hours and for some, it was 3 or maybe more!

It was a good time to listen and to re-direct, on top of reviewing 2007. Somehow, maybe the fact of having a performance review makes such discussion different from the numerous I have along the way.

One thing that was re-inforced in me was: whatever might happen, will happen, at the worst time! And, I am even more convinced that documentation, planning and process re-engineering are perhaps some of the core activities for an operations department. Doing things effectively and efficiently is important. Low-volume period is a good time to practice or try new things and this becomes handy during high-volume period. Additionally, whatever can be done, should be done as soon as possible. Sometimes, we have are lulled into believing that we have time (in low-volume period) and when a high-volume period hits us, everything piles up!

Anyway, about the last thing at the end of the week was to have a chat with a candidate that we have offered a position. She was offered but have not yet decided. So, I had a 1 hour chat with her to let her know her specific role in the department should she join us. Also tried to allay her fears and concerns. And obviously, shared with her the various possible routes she can take within the company. I think the odds were increased but at best, it's probably 50-50.

Can't blame any candidates for telling interviewers how much they want the job, how must they want to switch fields (from say engineering to finance), how they believe that operations is a good place to start in a new field, how they will not flinch when you tell them how hard it can be, that the possible long hours can "kill", that there might be screw up and that problems exist.... and when they are offered, they kind of "think again". Can't blame them to think about positions, money, learning possibilities, title etc. It has probably always been difficult to recruit good people in operations, and keep them!

So, I'm hoping that she'll join us. If she joins us, I know she's joining us for the right reason and has the right expectation; the good and the bad and the prospect.

Oh, actually the last thing I did for the week was to finalise my own self-appraisal and emailed it.