Is there any such thing as a typical HR or a typical L&D job? Probably not as organisations, and teams, are so different in their size, structure and makeup.
I love my job but suspect it is highly atypical. I am a compliance training manager in a Quality dept. at a manufacturing site. My job involves a huge variety of things. I was told to make it what I wanted when I was appointed and have taken my boss at his word. (Due to restructuring I have had 3 bosses in the 2 years I have been there.)
I love my job because of the variety of work and because the people I work with are great.
This week I have:
- facilitated e learning courses and have been checking out new potential approaches for future mandatory training.
- been helping loads of people with the "development" aspects of their pdp, working in areas such as Quality, warehouse, blends and manufacturing at managerial and operational levels, so I have had to be researching lots.
- been assisting with the investigation of an incident (which may lead to disciplinary procedures depending upon the outcome.) I was note taker and "conscience" of the meetings held.
- Coached a new team who will be an interface between operations and policy managers
- Launched a pilot trial of a new course that I developed and started gathering the feedback
- Formalised my own team's performance objectives for the year and their development plans
- Been working on a presentation to help me communicate the initiatives I am hoping to deliver
- Been talking to lots of staff about how best to tweak our procedures in the light of our new structures
- Been talking to chosen individuals about communications around my work for this year
- Been assisting a new HR staff member to understand where we are with something she will work on (review of site job descriptions - which I worked on 2 years ago when I was new)
- Been setting up a "shadowing" opportunity for myself, to spend some time with a really good factory shift manager in April. This will help me with something I currently struggle with, which is communicating with our shift managers. I need to fully understand their diarised day and the pressures they work with so I can see how I can provide info in a way that they can use it immediately.
- been assisting another dept director to manage his dept team's training plans
- had my own 1:1 meeting with my new boss
- launched our new "course feedback" forms that my team have developed
- learnt to use our new time management system
- chased IT about a couple of outstanding issues
- agreed to assist in the programme of the site "GEMBAS with a purpose" (they are kind of low level in house quality audits) as well as the auditing programme
I'm sure there was more as well, but every week is different for me. This keeps me interested and coming back for more!
Having done all that I'm off partying this weekend, hurrah.
So do you love your job, and if so, why?
I'm really looking forward to hearing what everyone else does :)
Comments
oops the order of that reply didn't come out quite as I wrote it...I must have accidentally moved the mouse - but I'm sure you get the gist!
Yay, thank you everyone for your replies. I was very excited to find them! I'm so glad that there are others who love their jobs. What really interested me is the different way in which you each explained why you love your job.
Jillian, I am really sorry that your job will cease to exist. I hope you have a plan to use your experience, new qualifications and your enthusiasm to good effect in a new role, hopefully one you will love as much, if not more.
Ady, I think all of us are with you in that "challenge" and "responsibility" are key motivational factors. (flexibility is a bonus that allows work life balance I presume and empowerment is a must, otherwise how can anyone make best use of their expertise for the benefit of their employer?) I did write a long reply to your motivational theory blog but I unfortunately lost it all in the ether - I was new to the site and hadn't realised you can't change pages and retain your text in a draft reply. I didn't have the time to retype it, sorry. But perhaps I will try to revisit it when i have a few mins spare. :)
Thanks again every one for your great replies.
Mike, it's amazing how you just stumbeled upon your calling like that and brilliant that you have found a job that provides the perfect outlet that makes good use of your skills and talents. (I used to be a teacher and at the time found it amazing how many teachers were the children of teachers - nature or nurture?)
Interesting blog Alison and I know I'm one of the lucky one's who do genuinely enjoy my job. Ever since joining L&D in 2006 I've loved what I've done and what I do. There have been challenging times of course and I've had a number of roles but I am driven by a desire to help people and become better at what they do.
I'm from a family of teachers so it makes sense that I loved coaching and it's a natural fit with learning & development. My career really started to develop through in 2007 when I attended the Learning Technologies Conference, I was introduced to the 'networked organisation' and something in me clicked!
It made absolute sense to connect people using technology and making work more social, helping people generate content and share knowledge easily rather than locking away training 'solutions' in an LMS. Create communities where people can connect with one another, create learning environments and conditions where learning happens every day and becomes part of the fabric of the organisation. I'm not sure my career would have developed as it has or that I would love what I do without social technologies / media.
I created a Prezi of how social media can support professional development using my own experience which, you can view here
It was this path that led me to DPG and provided me with a blank canvass to develop the DPG Community. The community has developed organically but we had a clear vision of what we wanted it to become and we're well on the way. My role has been one of support and guidance and I've loved seeing people start to share and contribute to it becoming a vibrant community of practice that really adds value - that's my WHY.
My old mentor once told me that you can either have a job, a career or you can find your calling.
I'd like to think I've found my calling and who knows where it will take me next!
Hi Alison
I love my job. I'm gutted that it doesn't exist at the end of the month :(
What i like about my job is that it has been a challenge for me & on a day to day/weekly basis it's quite varied. I get given a project (or three!) with some key things it needs to achieve then i spend my time researching best practice, consulting with employees, drafting recommendations & collaborating with people at all levels of the business. There's a lot of self-direct work, which is good. i like the autonomy & the trust my manager places in me.
I've have been through a lot of training, qualifications & development opportunities over the last year which has kept me motivated & interested. Constantly learning is something i value so this role is great in that respect!
Picking up on what Ady said below - things like pay and conditions are fine & I've made some firm friends here (which makes life at work fun) - but for me it's not about the money it's more that i feel this job is stretching me & I'm achieving a lot, which is something i havent felt in any job before.
Jill
Hi Alison.
I do LOVE my job. Answering the question as to why has made me think about Hertzberg's motivational theory that I recently wrote about on this discussion.
Certainly, the satisfiers on the left hand side are present. Pay, benefits, working conditions, co-workers are all in order and certainly SATISFY me.
But the test for me in terms of my loyalty has been when opportunities to move elsewhere have recently presented themselves. Opportunities that sounded really good, offered a slightly higher level of pay and additional benefits, yet I couldn't even be bothered to update my CV and apply. In exploring the reasons behind this I turned my attention to those motivators on Hertzberg's theory shown on the right.
For me, there's a whole load of JOB CHALLENGE in building our L&D function and it's quite exciting. I can see plenty more to do over the years to come. There is also the RESPONSIBILITY I have to create and introduce new learning concepts and the autonomy to do so. I get to make use of talents I have. It's one of the roles I've had in my history where I've enjoyed some of the fastest pace, most relevant development.
So for me, there's a lot of mileage in what Hertzberg said. Pay, benefits, etc are important, but flexibility and empowerment seem to outweigh the few extra quid that could be available elsewhere.