Day: July 19, 2018

We made it! Time for everyone’s favourite!

Think about ONE co-worker who really excels at this job, goes above and beyond our expectations, or brings a unique skill set or worldview to this position. Shine a light on those little things that might not always be noticed, but that definitely make The Commons a better place. Spread the love!

I’m pretty sure lots of people share the feeling I have about this being the hardest challenge. If could, I’d definitely pick at least five co-workers who I think went above and beyond this term, however, I gotta say that Raahyma deserves the warmest of fuzzies. Although we haven’t shared that many hours together, her dedication to work has left a mark on me. For starters, she is probably the one person who actually does rounds every 30 minutes and refills the printers every hour! She always treats clients in a very professional and polite manner and is extremely confident and effective when dealing with policies and procedures. I find it amazing how, even with her busy schedule this term, she manages to keep everything chilled and in order and is always willing to share her knowledge on stuff. I also think she’s an awesome person to share a shift with; she can literally make any topic sound fun and interesting and she has an amazing taste in food, which always makes me hungry when we talk about it. I couldn’t ask for a better coworker to start off the week with and hopefully we’ll get to share a few more shifts in the future!

This work diary will give you the opportunity to reflect on your coworkers’ performance this semester. Your comments will give the supervisors a fuller picture of everyone’s work performance.

Everyone will be expected to review two of their peers. I am contacting everyone VIA EMAIL with the names of the coworkers they will be reviewing.  I want to make every attempt to keep reviewers/reviewees confidential, so please do not share the names of the coworkers you will be reviewing.

Feedback will be shared anonymously with each of you during final feedback. Bearing this in mind, the emphasis here is on CONSTRUCTIVE feedback – what are your coworkers doing really well, how are they meeting (or exceeding!) Commons expectations, and the solid, practical ways they can improve for future semesters.

Please think critically about your answers, and provide as detailed a review as you can. Don’t assume that everyone should receive 10’s across the board. When assigning scores, assume that everyone starts at a 0 and work your way up through the scores. Give us lots of specific examples of why you are giving the scores that you are.

Here are the peer review questions. Please complete a separate form for each coworker you will be reviewing! Out of fairness to your coworkers, this work diary is mandatory.

Confidential stuff.

What degree program are you currently completing? What is one skill that you are developing through your program that has benefited you as a Commons employee? How has your time at The Commons benefited you in your academic program?

What degree program are you currently completing?
– I am currently doing a B.Sc. in Computer Science.
What is one skill that you are developing through your program that has benefited you as a Commons employee? 
– My program has taught me to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions for complex problems.This has been extremely useful at The Commons whenever clients seek help with unusual questions.
How has your time at The Commons benefited you in your academic program?
– Working here has helped me with my time management, my commitment to self-improvement, my customer service skills  and constantly helps me to perfect and consolidate new and old knowledge.

Focus your energy by setting a goal for yourself this semester. This goal doesn’t need to be technical, but it does need to be SMART:

S – Specific

• What exactly do you want to achieve? Why do you want to achieve it? HOW will you achieve it? Be specific.

M – Measurable

• How will you track your progress? How will you know when you have achieved your goal? What is the concrete evidence of success?

A – Attainable

• Is this goal something that you can realistically achieve in the defined time frame?

R – Relevant

• The goal must be important to you, right now. Decide on something that’s meaningful to you.

T – Timely

• Give yourself a deadline – for you, it’s the end of the semester! Select a goal that can realistically, measurably be achieved within the next 10 weeks.

SMART goals are very specific (for example: “I want to learn more about the digital media programs” becomes “I want to become more adept at using the gradient mask tool in Illustrator by the end of the semester. I will do so by completing the following tutorials, and working on a final image to be included in my digital media portfolio.”)

S – Specific

• My goal for this semester is to dedicate myself on completing the DMC challenges and becoming more familiarized with the tasks performed at this area

M – Measurable

• The mid-semester and end semester feedbacks will be an effective and reliable way of measuring my success.

A – Attainable

• I’ll be taking enough hours at the DMC in order to achieve my goal.

R -Relevant

• It’s definitely relevant for my professional career as I will learn extra skills. Furthermore, it will help me on becoming a more flexible worker at The commons, since I’ll be more than fit to work either at the DESK or DMC.

T – Timely

• I feel like an entire term gives me more than enough time to complete all of the challenges and learn many of the intricacies involved in the area.

How long have you worked at The Commons? What is the biggest challenge you have had to overcome in this job? What has required the steepest learning curve? How have you overcome these challenges?

I’ve been working here for 1 year now and I think that the steepest learning curve I had to go through was regarding the policies and procedures. Like for some here, it took me a while to realize who to go to when certain issues occur. Most of the things, however, are actually best if learnt from practice, so I never minded not knowing what to do in certain situations because there has always been someone around that was either more experienced or that at least could share the responsibility of finding out what do to as a team. That said, I think that biggest challenge for me, on that respect, was to properly connect with co-workers and seek out help when needed. In that sense, all the warm-hearted people here at the commons helped me on overcoming those difficulties 

Have a read through the Ten Keys to Handling Unreasonable & Difficult People. Which of these tactics do you tend to use when dealing with difficult clients? Which of these tactics hasn’t worked for you, and why?

I can only think of two occasions where I needed to make use of those tactics, although unconsciously. A while back I had a client who came for support really stressed out. Since he was able to clearly express what annoyed him, it was a lot easier for me to disconnect myself from him and follow a “Shift from Being Reactive to Proactive” guideline, especially because I knew that the sooner I solved his problem everyone could get along with their lives once again. I’ll always refrain from confronting or even connecting with that kind of client because you’ll never be able to relate or understand where he’s coming from, remember that stressed people are almost always illogical. That said, I don’t think I would ever use tactics like Separate the Person From the Issue or  Confront Bullies (Safely) for tough clients. Lately, I’ve been also dealing with a client who’s often very stubborn and inflexible. Most of the times that he asks for my advise he just won’t listen or he’s unable to try and solve a few issues on his own. Personally, I think that this is one of the worst kind of clients due to their indifference towards the service being provided (which kind of makes me feel like I’m his personal slave above all else); that’s why the “Fly Like an Eagle” is perfect for cases like this. So I normally just give in to my distracted mindset and let it wander off somewhere to a deserted island to the sound of the amazing song that inspired this approach 
…
I wanna fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
‘Till I’m free (see how it’s a perfect fit?)
..

If we could improve on one thing here at The Commons, or if we could add one service, what would it be and why? This could be from a client or an employee standpoint. Be honest and specific.

For those who joined us after last September, Learning “Day” (which usually takes place on a Friday night) is our annual staff training session that takes place during the first few weeks of September. We always want you to find the session as engaging and informative as possible, so I’d like everyone to come up with one topic they’d like to see covered (this can be technical, procedural, or customer service related). If you have a great idea for an engaging team building activity/ice breaker, please feel free to share that, too!