Deb xox

Hi.

Welcome to my new-ish blog.
I write about a mish-mash of things, whatever takes my fancy, when it takes my fancy. I am working on consistency though… 2022 is my year, right!

I don’t think I’m anyone special, I do love a good story though.
I firmly believe we all have various chapters in our lives that we progress through. We can’t skip pages, each one we turn reveals something new.

I just want to share some of my story without being a slave to providing content or trying to influence anyone about anything.
My opinions are my own and this is my experience, nothing more.

I try to read a lot, usually have music in the background, and I’ll break into spontaneous dance if the song is a good one.

I practice what I preach: kindness and coming from a place of love. I’m a gentle soul for the most part, working on self love, healing, and growth.

I’ve removed a lot of content from over the years giving the website a refresh, keeping things relevant, and building upon new knowledge and experiences

I hope you’ll stay for a bit and enjoy reading me.

Thank you.

Honesty in Work Surveys

Honesty in Work Surveys

Deb xox
Work & Study

I have a confession to make… I answered an Employee Feedback Survey honestly and I’m talking 100% brutal honesty. There’s two keywords to focus on here - Brutal and Honesty.

I was BRUTALLY honest!

Have you ever done that?

I’ll admit that for me this is the first time with such conviction and well, no holds barred. I not only went in with both barrels blazing, I had spare clips of ammunition, spare guns, a rocket launcher, and a tank as back up for what was probably just a knife fight, really.
Oh, and I did it on a weeks worth of sleeping a maximum of 5 hours a night.
Perfect storm really.

In the clear light of the next morning, as I’m writing this, I’m asking myself am I stupid, naïve, and about to be flagged as a trouble maker to be watched, or am I being assertive, cool, and proactive?

I don’t have an answer for myself yet. I think it will be an evolving thing based on the fact that I also checked the box that asked if I would like HR to contact me regarding my responses.
Yes, yes, oh, oh, oh, YES! I agreed to identify myself in the process.

This is kind of turning into a potential train wreck isn’t it!

Should I be panicking?

Should I dust off my recently put away resume, I’ve only been in the role for 3 months so maybe I’ve gone a bit too hard too fast? Gah, so many questions and so much doubt in what I’ve done now.

I’m in two minds about it all. The first being I’ve truly stuffed up, okay let’s not sugar coat it, I’ve royally F’d things up….

OR

I’m being a mature, professional adult and taking ownership of my opinions.

As a new employee I can see huge areas for improvement in the training and induction of newbies. Being older and experienced in many jobs, various roles, levels of authority, with some involving facilitating and mentoring undergrads, I bring this experience and knowledge with me so I do feel valid in the comments I’ve made.

God, (feeling a tad nauseous) they’re written and documented now!
My anonymous survey responses are now MY survey responses.
I’m gonna need a paper bag to breathe in for a bit.
Give me a minute will you.

Okay I’m back. I’m calmer. It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay.
Yeah, it’ll be okay.

I mean, intellectually I rationalise it this way: for change to occur then people need to be honest in these types of surveys so organisations/departments become aware of areas their employees see as needing attention. And if it is an area affecting employee satisfaction and having a huge impact on retention of good staff, and return on employee investment, then value should be placed on honest responses and courage to step out from behind the ‘anonymous’ response default.
That is my hope.

I have been told someone in the HR Department will be in touch with me regarding my responses within five business days… yep, I’ll update you below with the outcome of it all. Hell, I might even be starting on my adventure of being a full time writer because I no longer have a job so will be able to update you on things on the regular (insert nervous laughing). Yeah, I’m so freaking hilarious!

Update - 8/03/2022

I got finally got the phone call… four weeks later. Long enough to forget there would be follow up.
I immediately confessed I was nervous discussing my feedback but the HR person did a great job in reassuring me. We took a deep dive into my feedback, my experiences, and my suggestions and I’m pleased to say I remain employed, and it was a very positive conversation.

It was reiterated often - if people don’t speak up, how will changes ever be made? So, a 15 minute discussion became a 45 minute one, and I think a lot was covered.
And in a good way.

Update - 10/03/2022

Got ANOTHER survey!

Not the same, but definitely similar.

Hmmm, not sure if there is planned action on the past survey, maybe this one is deeper information gathering, I don’t know?
Maybe there is a survey quota?
I’m trying to remain positive that this is what happens for change to occur - evidence gathering and all that.

Once again I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and continue being honest. I’ve reached the conclusion I’ve nothing to lose and hopefully those who come after me will have a better beginner experience and I can contribute to that positively in some way.

Once again I have owned my responses and am open to discussions on my feedback.
And once again I wait… and there is that part of me that wonders if there’ll be ANOTHER survey, and how many will it take for change to happen?

I’m Not Okay

I’m Not Okay
My First Tattoo

My First Tattoo