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Apr. 10th, 2008 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gothams3rdrobinIt was SGM time at work again today...*yawns* Though at least this time my lot didn't have to make the coach journey to Swansea, since they split both groups in half, for 'equality' or some such nonsense.
Started work an hour later than normal, since the SGM wasn't scheduled to end till an hour after my shift ends. Didn't really get lunch either, as I spent it in the Spar cornershop on St Johns St (that used to be an Orange store), grabbing a drink and some chocolate to keep me awake. When I got down to St Davids Hall, where the SGM was being held due to the need for lots and lots of seats, the queue was right the way back to the doors of the St David's Centre. Thankfully I was able to find some of my team, so I planted myself alongside them in the line so I could sit with them.
In any other senario, that would have been incredibly rude! *grins*
Getting into the building was a nightmare, of dangerous proportions. Imagine, if you will, a small ballpark's worth of people filing into a building and up sets of escalators and stairs, pausing halfway up. By the time we got to the top of the final escalator, to the cloakroom level, we were having to push people out of our way in order to get off the damn thing! The floorspace was almost completely packed with people, and there were stationary queues up the stairs too. Why, I do not know, since St Davids Hall has several levels. Once they finally started letting us into the auditorium, me and my lot had to walk right even more stairs to the very top level anyway. *shakes head in bemusement*
So the SGM started about twenty minutes late, which did not bode well for me since I was going to have to run out to fetch Rowan as it was. The CEO's first words were "Well, it's great to see so many people here. Now, do you think we could all file back outside again and see if we can do it in under fifteen minutes this time?" *chuckles*
Obviously, I can't really describe what was discussed - even if I could remember half of it! - but it was a mix of facts and figures that don't mean that much to me (though we are apparently doing very well in the overall market) and outlines of the new changes they're implementing this year. Apparently they've decided they're going to phase out the distinctive brands within the company - at least amoungst the workforce, the general public won't notice any difference - and we're all going to be either Sales, Customer Service or Renewals. This means we're going to have to learn the various differences between each 'brand', in order to deal with the extra calls and emails from customers other than the ones we were originally employed to deal with. In a way it makes sense, when you consider how often one brand's staff can be sitting twiddling its thumbs while another is completely overloaded. It's just...y'know. Change. Me no likey *sigh*
The highlight is, of course, the little 'movie' that gets produced to show at the end of the meeting. It's done by various staff within the parent company, and features anyone from the CEO himself (he and the other top management are so up for it, each and every year) down to the regular workers like myself. My team got included this year, on a piece about the jigsaw puzzle peices the CEO gives each new employee (We're all 'part of the puzzle'...) - I'd made a point of running out the door on time that day! I'm even less photogenic these days than I was back when I was a media student and being in front of the camera was almost commonplace.
I really wish I could share the film with you guys, though most of the jokes and references would go completely over your heads as they're fairly unique to our workplace. There was a very amusing handful of sketches though, based around the classic 'Carry On...' movies (If you don't know the reference then you really need to educate yourself, posthaste!) The series was loaded with sexual innuendo while cleverly appearing to be totally innocent. Example from the SGM; a well-endowed woman is walking through the office, and a man says to her "Nice jugs!" He, of course, is refering to the coffee carafes she has in each hand! Right? ;-) Even my uncle-in-law - who works in the maintenance department - got involved, asking his co-worker if she had room for his tool in her box, to which she replied that it might be a bit of a tight fit! She, of course, was refering to his electric drill, which might not fit inside her toolkit box. *grins*
I'm still working on recreating the videos I helped make for the brand-specific SGM a few years back. They were a lot of fun too.
Unfortunately, because we ran late starting, we also ran late finishing too :-( So I had to dash out as the credits were rolling on the film, in order to avoid getting stuck trying to leave the building, and head for the bus as fast as I could. On the way to the bus-stop I called the school and spoke to Rowan's teacher (it was well weird, getting transfered directly to her. Didn't help that I was cold-transfered, so neither of us knew who was on the line at first...) to let her know I'd be late. She was lovely about it though, and got him helping her with some end-of-the-day errands *grins* Though we did have a minor panic when he decided to hide away in the roleplay corner and we hadn't a clue where he was - the little rascal! *chuckles*
No work tomorrow, thank goodness, though I do have a few errands to run - rent, etc. Then I need to work on getting Rowan's room straightened up. Wasn't in the headspace last weekend, and he's not sleeping too well 'cause of the state its in *rolls eyes* Told him a million times to clean it up... Not going to get the chance to do any housework on Sunday, as he has a birthday party to attend. Gotta get the present for that tomorrow too....
Started work an hour later than normal, since the SGM wasn't scheduled to end till an hour after my shift ends. Didn't really get lunch either, as I spent it in the Spar cornershop on St Johns St (that used to be an Orange store), grabbing a drink and some chocolate to keep me awake. When I got down to St Davids Hall, where the SGM was being held due to the need for lots and lots of seats, the queue was right the way back to the doors of the St David's Centre. Thankfully I was able to find some of my team, so I planted myself alongside them in the line so I could sit with them.
In any other senario, that would have been incredibly rude! *grins*
Getting into the building was a nightmare, of dangerous proportions. Imagine, if you will, a small ballpark's worth of people filing into a building and up sets of escalators and stairs, pausing halfway up. By the time we got to the top of the final escalator, to the cloakroom level, we were having to push people out of our way in order to get off the damn thing! The floorspace was almost completely packed with people, and there were stationary queues up the stairs too. Why, I do not know, since St Davids Hall has several levels. Once they finally started letting us into the auditorium, me and my lot had to walk right even more stairs to the very top level anyway. *shakes head in bemusement*
So the SGM started about twenty minutes late, which did not bode well for me since I was going to have to run out to fetch Rowan as it was. The CEO's first words were "Well, it's great to see so many people here. Now, do you think we could all file back outside again and see if we can do it in under fifteen minutes this time?" *chuckles*
Obviously, I can't really describe what was discussed - even if I could remember half of it! - but it was a mix of facts and figures that don't mean that much to me (though we are apparently doing very well in the overall market) and outlines of the new changes they're implementing this year. Apparently they've decided they're going to phase out the distinctive brands within the company - at least amoungst the workforce, the general public won't notice any difference - and we're all going to be either Sales, Customer Service or Renewals. This means we're going to have to learn the various differences between each 'brand', in order to deal with the extra calls and emails from customers other than the ones we were originally employed to deal with. In a way it makes sense, when you consider how often one brand's staff can be sitting twiddling its thumbs while another is completely overloaded. It's just...y'know. Change. Me no likey *sigh*
The highlight is, of course, the little 'movie' that gets produced to show at the end of the meeting. It's done by various staff within the parent company, and features anyone from the CEO himself (he and the other top management are so up for it, each and every year) down to the regular workers like myself. My team got included this year, on a piece about the jigsaw puzzle peices the CEO gives each new employee (We're all 'part of the puzzle'...) - I'd made a point of running out the door on time that day! I'm even less photogenic these days than I was back when I was a media student and being in front of the camera was almost commonplace.
I really wish I could share the film with you guys, though most of the jokes and references would go completely over your heads as they're fairly unique to our workplace. There was a very amusing handful of sketches though, based around the classic 'Carry On...' movies (If you don't know the reference then you really need to educate yourself, posthaste!) The series was loaded with sexual innuendo while cleverly appearing to be totally innocent. Example from the SGM; a well-endowed woman is walking through the office, and a man says to her "Nice jugs!" He, of course, is refering to the coffee carafes she has in each hand! Right? ;-) Even my uncle-in-law - who works in the maintenance department - got involved, asking his co-worker if she had room for his tool in her box, to which she replied that it might be a bit of a tight fit! She, of course, was refering to his electric drill, which might not fit inside her toolkit box. *grins*
I'm still working on recreating the videos I helped make for the brand-specific SGM a few years back. They were a lot of fun too.
Unfortunately, because we ran late starting, we also ran late finishing too :-( So I had to dash out as the credits were rolling on the film, in order to avoid getting stuck trying to leave the building, and head for the bus as fast as I could. On the way to the bus-stop I called the school and spoke to Rowan's teacher (it was well weird, getting transfered directly to her. Didn't help that I was cold-transfered, so neither of us knew who was on the line at first...) to let her know I'd be late. She was lovely about it though, and got him helping her with some end-of-the-day errands *grins* Though we did have a minor panic when he decided to hide away in the roleplay corner and we hadn't a clue where he was - the little rascal! *chuckles*
No work tomorrow, thank goodness, though I do have a few errands to run - rent, etc. Then I need to work on getting Rowan's room straightened up. Wasn't in the headspace last weekend, and he's not sleeping too well 'cause of the state its in *rolls eyes* Told him a million times to clean it up... Not going to get the chance to do any housework on Sunday, as he has a birthday party to attend. Gotta get the present for that tomorrow too....
