Summary - my first week at HCN
I made it through my first week :)
I'm getting more excited about this job by the day, because it's a stretchy, thinky and challenging job! There is appreciation for my experience, my contribution and the assumption that not only do I have a brain, but that I can USE it! *shock horror*
The project team is personable, and lovely. The Project Manager (my next to direct supervisor) looks like John Sims - and has the accent to go with it *swoons just a little*. My direct supervisor, is a lovely guy that is not PD but is just... lovely, very easy to work with :) He's only just started, as he's been trying to get Justice to let him go on secondment... 9 weeks of uphill battle, but finally there.
I've spent a lot of time in meetings, including planning sessions. The project is basically to implement a new HR/Payroll system before the main system supporting everything else becomes unsupported mid next year. Originally the OSS/Oracle solution was meant to be implemented - but as yet they've failed to produce anything that can be used for the Health Department. Mind you - that was never going to be an easy task... I've just spent x meetings learning about how involved and varied, strange, stopgap, complicated and a host of other things I can't voice adequately the system is...
It's any wonder people are stressed and such... there's little in the payroll culture to support them (on top of everything else). Still... the basic aim is to standardise things as much as possible, make things work for all the different sections the way they need and expect it too, and to offer reasonable alternatives for those things that aren't going to be interfaced and work. Really the biggest and scariest part of it is going to be a) the data cleansing - that could be a four year project on its own; and b) ...i just forgot b. Damn.
At the moment I'm on a two month contract with the recruitment company, then I'll transfer over to Health's books and an unexpected payrise. If all goes well the project is four years long and there's every reason to suggest that I could be on board for the whole lot. It's the right kind of job to develop my experience further, to challenge me and give me the background and experience and expertise in this kind of role. I also get to benefit from the experience of a number of high level, key project people who have the kind of experience in the project arena that makes my jaw drop and my mind go wishful. Also, it's likely that I'll get a chunk of the training I've been after *fingers crossed* and if not... i can salary package it.
Also, I don't have to worry about being the exuberant, outgoing and energetic person - there's the HR/ES Change Manager who's been at Health for 15 years, who well and truly has that covered - she's awesome! Blunt, knows the health payroll system back to front and simplifies things, moves them forward and concentrates on doing them right, the first time, without having to cut unnecessary corners.
I feel excited, and valued and interested in it all... hopefully everything continues as it has been, and the stroke of luck that brought the job to my attention and the fact that I got it - that it continues being awesome.
The only downside is how militantly their network is locked down. My first act on any new work pc is to go to the display properties, change the application background colour to be grey as opposed to bright and blinding white, and the background colour to be black. I can't access it here, so I have the brightness turned down ridiculously so that it doesn't hurt my brain - i find it greatly reduces the severity and frequency of headaches, and tension in my neck. Still, it's sorted, and far from the end of the world... I have no reason to complain.
It's now almost 2am and I should be in bed! Hopefully I'll get to watch more S7 West Wing - depending on e_dan's schedule, as well as go to the gym and have a minicon meeting.
I'm getting more excited about this job by the day, because it's a stretchy, thinky and challenging job! There is appreciation for my experience, my contribution and the assumption that not only do I have a brain, but that I can USE it! *shock horror*
The project team is personable, and lovely. The Project Manager (my next to direct supervisor) looks like John Sims - and has the accent to go with it *swoons just a little*. My direct supervisor, is a lovely guy that is not PD but is just... lovely, very easy to work with :) He's only just started, as he's been trying to get Justice to let him go on secondment... 9 weeks of uphill battle, but finally there.
I've spent a lot of time in meetings, including planning sessions. The project is basically to implement a new HR/Payroll system before the main system supporting everything else becomes unsupported mid next year. Originally the OSS/Oracle solution was meant to be implemented - but as yet they've failed to produce anything that can be used for the Health Department. Mind you - that was never going to be an easy task... I've just spent x meetings learning about how involved and varied, strange, stopgap, complicated and a host of other things I can't voice adequately the system is...
It's any wonder people are stressed and such... there's little in the payroll culture to support them (on top of everything else). Still... the basic aim is to standardise things as much as possible, make things work for all the different sections the way they need and expect it too, and to offer reasonable alternatives for those things that aren't going to be interfaced and work. Really the biggest and scariest part of it is going to be a) the data cleansing - that could be a four year project on its own; and b) ...i just forgot b. Damn.
At the moment I'm on a two month contract with the recruitment company, then I'll transfer over to Health's books and an unexpected payrise. If all goes well the project is four years long and there's every reason to suggest that I could be on board for the whole lot. It's the right kind of job to develop my experience further, to challenge me and give me the background and experience and expertise in this kind of role. I also get to benefit from the experience of a number of high level, key project people who have the kind of experience in the project arena that makes my jaw drop and my mind go wishful. Also, it's likely that I'll get a chunk of the training I've been after *fingers crossed* and if not... i can salary package it.
Also, I don't have to worry about being the exuberant, outgoing and energetic person - there's the HR/ES Change Manager who's been at Health for 15 years, who well and truly has that covered - she's awesome! Blunt, knows the health payroll system back to front and simplifies things, moves them forward and concentrates on doing them right, the first time, without having to cut unnecessary corners.
I feel excited, and valued and interested in it all... hopefully everything continues as it has been, and the stroke of luck that brought the job to my attention and the fact that I got it - that it continues being awesome.
The only downside is how militantly their network is locked down. My first act on any new work pc is to go to the display properties, change the application background colour to be grey as opposed to bright and blinding white, and the background colour to be black. I can't access it here, so I have the brightness turned down ridiculously so that it doesn't hurt my brain - i find it greatly reduces the severity and frequency of headaches, and tension in my neck. Still, it's sorted, and far from the end of the world... I have no reason to complain.
It's now almost 2am and I should be in bed! Hopefully I'll get to watch more S7 West Wing - depending on e_dan's schedule, as well as go to the gym and have a minicon meeting.