Bila la mau menang jackpot ni...

Last couple of days..I've been discussing with my manager about rescheduling shift to accommodate every possible unattanded shift...

This idea come across to us...

Someone..a team perhaps to work continously on evening/night shift...sigh...I've always trying to be flexible with the time and working hours as I don't have any obligation at the moment (single)..although it has been 3 weeks continuosly working on evening/night shift...

We are going to implement a person/team to work evening/night shift the whole month or more...the only interesting part of this is that, you will only need to work 4 days out of 5 days a week...with 'extra' evening/night shift allowance..I'm sure anyone would be happy to collect extra money at the coming month (a month in area) There's no catch here though...I'm sure anyone would be happy to have an extra RM1000 or more allowance every month having to work hard covering evening/night shift....

Is this the kind of vacation I need????

As for me...I've been working pretty hard for couple of weeks trying be a 'nice' employer to our current lack of staff...accepting almost anything making other's life easier and making things more easier to be dealt with...well, if I say no..still, the management has something to say about it...being mature and an experienced staff is sometime very difficult...I found it ridiculous to know that new version is being released to customers yet so many fault/bugs that should have been resolved in previous release occur in the latest version...I've started making internal complaint myself as it doesn't help on improving customer base at all...I'm getting fedup of this!

In a couple of week more, new colleague will be joining me (after he has passed his training then another one is joining soon in a week time) and I will have to monitor his work as well as performance...In other word, it would affect my own performance...I don't know what to expect and I had warned my manager I would not tolerate any irresponsible habits from new colleagues...If I think they don't even try to make some effort to improve theirselves...I would have to make the first move....

Last couple of weeks ago, I spent a time with a friend Mr Gee (he came to Penang for a seminar) then last week with Mr Jew who returned to Penang in monthly basis....at least I have some kind of mind relaxation whilst I was with them....I've now spent more time at home resting and relaxing...some other time, I would go out for a ride or drive when I feel like doing it....I really need another vacation....or how I wish I could win a jackpot and enjoy what life has to offer...huhu...

It's the end of January..can I me'rambling'?

In theory..having someone (a buddy) to work along with you would actually lessen the number of responsibility…instead, this contributes to further extra responsibility….

Perhaps having someone new….who’s learning and coping would not count…well, I’ve said it (to my manager whilst they were on training) month ago that I was a little disappointed by their performance…frankly speaking, good on papers but not in real life…that’s the bottom line here….years of experience working in customer service field and what does that makes you? Ain’t you supposed to be someone of, a better customer support? Within over 5 years experience..what have you learned?

I’m just so tired and tired and busy and busy….with the present issue we’re having with one of our customer in Oz…it’s not going to be easy to baby-sit new colleagues….still, it’s my responsibility to ensure new colleagues able to work independently…or else, I would not be able to apply leave carelessly…The manager will be on leave for 2 weeks….my other successor is on leave next week…then I will be on leave the next after (Kinabalu Trip)..within this 2 weeks period….I’m hoping things will be alright…I’ve been given 2 days next week to train my buddy colleague of all the customization work for Oz’s customers….Invoice Claim Module (consist of 7 sub-modules), Pay Award Module, Customized Reports (7 reports), Export Module (2 sub-modules) and few more of work procedure practice..i.e.Software supervisor’s user name is admin in Oz but root in UK and etc….I took even almost half a year to really get to know all these customization and now I need to do a brief presentation on all these within 2 days? How’s that going to happen? I can briefly say that, this and that…. The objective is to ensure they get the information and understand them well up until they are able to guide and support the Oz's customers....I would not know how am I going to do this..I will think of something…and hopefully I would not be tied up with development work as well….

People tend to change their career from one company to another company with lots of excuses….from a smaller company to a bigger company or vice-versa….hoping to get some kind of a career boost…there have some people would blame the company for not taking care of their employees’ welfare…its management either at a department level or overall…some due to family commitment…but the most interesting excuse of all time would always be the money….yes! I would agree with this one but still…how can someone feel happy of getting better job offer when he/she’s not even near to that particular quality of performance….I would be happy for having a better job scheme; better pay..better welfare..better in every aspect you would dream of in your career..but I would not be happy if I knew that I would not be able to perform up to that standard yet..especially when I’m not even in a comfort zone with present company…a comfort zone where I confidently think that I have achieved the higher level of respect with vast knowledge in current work of line.... it is not a good move to jump from present company to another just because a better career enhancement….perhaps, your present company is not meant for you?Do you really believe this shit? And you really believe you were meant for something greater like becoming heroes? Well, perhaps your luck and your effort are not well received at your present company but that does not mean a STOP for your career there…I love to think that whenever I’ve made a mistake, I will apology and promise to myself that I’m not going to repeat the same mistake twice or more…I motivated myself to take it as a challenge that I can be someone who knows to deal the pressure, responsibility and work it out for my career improvement….and that’s one of a reason I’m sticking to this present company…I’m getting more pressure and responsibility, which made me to think that I’m gaining more benefits of enhancing my own skills within this small company…there’s plenty more I need to learn…

Career or Sex change?

I spoke to the Tech Director last night..he phoned in from his house just to catch up with the current progress of new colleagues and wanted to ask my view point of this particular Oz’s customer that causing pain in the ass earlier this year…he gave me several managerial advices before we ended the conversation…thanks and cheers!

The insider..

Well peeps..I really don't know how to start this one..I'm really not OK with what had happened yesterday...as if I'm nothing to the team? or he doesn't know the procedure as well as the purpose of me being a Team Leader here in Malaysia? I think you may have predicted the story here....aren't you?

Yesterday..I came in to work thinking of no works orders that were assigned to developers..but to my surprise, the newly appointed Product Delivery Manager (in my previous post, he was mentioned as Development Manager but..that's not the real post he's holding..still he's the person I would be dealing with in works orders allocation and delivery this time..) had allocated 1 work order to the female developer the day before..the problem was he didn't mention it at all to me....

How did I know she had a new works orders? Whilst checking my email..I saw one email from her, asking further requirements for the works orders that I have never heard of or never been informed...I then said to her that I will look into that and get back to her....so my first 40 minutes in the office was spent for reviewing that works orders and shared my thought with her...she was in the process of writing a TDD documentation for customer approval....

Half an hour before i left the office last night..that was somewhere around 11:30pm....I then sent an email to this Product Delivery Manager again if there were any works orders or tasks that I can allocate to developers here...again, to my surprise..he had allocated 3 works orders to the female developer earlier today..without letting me know!!!!!!....I asked him the works orders ID also asked if any works orders for the male developer...he gave me the IDs and replied none WO for the male developer..he then asked me to take any of that 3 and allocate to the male developer...I was like..blur?? NO!!...this is abs-fucking-wrong!!!!! I ended up working extra 1 hour to further my investigation on these 3 works orders...and earlier today..I received a call from my colleague..the support staff..she's having problem with one query...at the same time, the male developer asked me if I could check my email..checked my email..he's having problem to understand the sample handouts given to him...I just replied..I don't have enough info at this moment but write your TDD documentation using your best assumption..we will discuss further when I come in....that's how messy thing is when I'm left behind in the process...I should be able to collect as many information when I work during the UK shift as I can give a call directly to customer and gather as many requirements I needed...

The issues....

1. What am I as a Team Leader if I don't know anything about any works orders or tasks that been assigned to our developers here in Malaysia?
2. Where is the procedure that every works orders or tasks should go through me even if the works are coming from the Tech Director?
3. How can I help or guide or best to manage my team here if I'm not being informed of their allocated works orders or tasks?
4. Is he trying to make me stupid or sabotage my responsibility?

If this keeps happening I will have to escalate the misconduct procedure to our Tech Director...because if I don't..I know I will be the one to blame in any delay or poor performance...darn it!
On Monday, I received a birthday card from the UK colleagues that have 28 signs on it....missing 6 more..well they were on holiday..huhu..I actually receive a birthday card every year..I had thanked them for their wishes and to one particular colleague who has been very nice to me since the beginning...she was the one who came up with the card and signs..cheers mate!

A brighter day...

TGIF!!!Kehaa..

This whole week was a bit slower than usual for me (lots of chatting though with the manager)..perhaps because I had only couple of things to do in the office..(not quite right)..I was actually quite busy but I managed to complete them within the 8 hours of my paid working hours...at least less than 9 hours..I'm actually trying to manage my time more efficiently..it's not that I don't know how to manage them..but after the recent one-to-one discussion with my Tech Director..I told him that I'm having problem managing my time when the Development Team as well as the Support Team are forcing me to expand my working hours in order to ensure quality and delivery are met....I wasn't complaining the whole idea of more responsibility..it was more likely of seeking some brilliant advices...perhaps it was my mistake and am trying to make a better ride this time...I'm not going to let myself to be sucked away into things that are not my responsibility..especially guiding and advising the 5W1H thingy to developers which they should have already knew 6 months ago.....I was usually disturbed by the fact that they keep on asking almost the same question over and over again which they already had been explained..anyway, things are getting better this week and we have a new Product Delivery Manager in the UK taking over the work load from the Tech Director....

I'm quite happy today..well, it's Friday and why shouldn't I be happy kan..hehe...I spent 2 hours of my time today chatting with my manager..he's flying to UK on 21st Oct so he gave me a brief update what would going to happen in couple of weeks time....the CEO/Founder is visiting as well as conducting another round of interview later on 28th Oct (He's currently in Sydney..I had a chat with him earlier today, in relation to the departure of the new staff on Wed as well as updating me on several crucial plans for the Penang office within 6 - 12 months time....just a brief one)..in case, if he can't make it to the Penang office..the newly appointed Product Delivery Manager will pay us a visit on 3rd Nov..conducting the delayed interview...my manager's mood seemed OK today..we renamed most of our PCs to have the country's state names i.e. mine is Sabah..the other are Penang, Johor, Kedah, Kuala Lumpur etc..if we have another 5 PCs then we're a complete country..huhu..

Last night when I log into my friendster account...whilst checking the message received, I was smiling when looking at one of the sender...although it was a short message but it was so meaningful..to me la not to you..hehe...Oh yes..starting next week..we will be allowed to wear a casual attire only on Friday...the last time I tried to get this done was 2 years ago..especially working at night...Finally huh...actually the manager was trying to implement a similar practice as in the UK office....that's great news! I can wear jeans on Friday!..ya la...maybe you're not excited as me...sebab kamu buli pakai jeans hari-hari....haha...want another great news? I discussed with him if I could implement the idea of developers supporting the Oz's customers....perhaps in an emergency case if the support staff were having some problem and he/she were left with no choice other than taking an emergency leave....he advised me to ask my team..I then asked the team if they think they're able to..they gave us couple of excuses..I then explained (supported and agreed by the manager) that developers in the UK are supporting the customers from time to time especially junior developers in order to enhance their knowledge about the software....left with no choice, they agreed and said they would try...the manager will then assured me that he will escalate the issue to the management later in the next meeting...earlier in the morning, when there were only me and the manager in the office, we had a quick review on their works and characteristic....and I shared with him my concern/worries when we spoke about their knowledge on the software...after a year they had not been that far than the junior developers in UK.......I then came up with that idea (developers should be able to support customers if required) which I think will eventually build up their skills including their communication skill as well..cross finger!!!..if my proposal is being approved...then I may not felt guilt nor worry anymore to apply and enjoy my 25 days of annual leave....

Many thanks to those who have contributed on the making of 50 comments in my previous post....you words and advices will be remembered as well as appreciated..Cheers! Happy Weekend!

Take me out...

Yay! I'm off today!! ha.ha..after 2 weeks of being a dark night..sorry, not that I become a Batman huh..I were actually teamed-up with my Manager in UK covering the UK shift for 2 consecutive weeks..and great thing happened when lots of compliment were received from other colleagues in UK especially the high post ranking officer...our Business Development Manager in UK were complaining that we (Malaysian) does not contribute that much in supporting/consulting our UK customers..Hell he's wrong! we both (me and my manager) knew that there's a gap between us to them..language barrier is common and we're trying to overcome this as well...how would you react when you can't even understand what they were saying to you..especially Scottish!! We are also lacking in knowledge to some plug-in applications of our product..the likes of Sage Line 50 or Sage Payroll, Postcode and Routing or most known as AFD software, e-monitoring system via telephone call that includes SMS Alert services...we have seen the e-monitoring services but never for the other 2...still, we have to consult our customers to the best that we could although we were not trained or familiar with these plug-in applications...working my as* up-side-down was hell of a ride...monitoring and guiding our Malaysian developers, call in-out consulting customers and QA'ing works order were the things I did..the first 2-3 hours in the office mostly spent with our developers...requirements gathering and resolution to existing issues on their reports...mind was so tired..surfing internet was not an option during these period but thankfully I managed to monitor my own blog as well as do some sort of "makan angin" viewing my fellow bloggers....and glad that at night I was able to rest my mind watching the Olympic events especially swimming...Still, earlier today, I have to check my email from home and discovered they were having problem with their works, asked them to give me a call and spoke to both developers regards to their current task....then after about 2 hours the other lady called again to reconfirm the correct expected output..thankfully she made it correctly..

Wednesday, 13th Aug..I'm the first Malaysian staff to hit the 1000 calls being entered into our Customer Database..I still remember when I first joined this company..to deal and consult as well as entering hundreds of calls was hard enough but not now...my manager will follow suit later as he is now over 200 calls behind me..then followed by 400-600 calls behind is my successors...ha..ha..I didn't even realize it at first, but when I was doing my daily calls in-out report, which I need to report to our Customer Relationship Manager and checking all the company and customers that I had dealt on earlier then I saw the total of 1007 calls entered under my name...it's a boost for me! Well, I may have more calls dealt with compared to others due to the fact that I need to speak to customers regards to development works as well as consulting them with their arising issue...

Today is my day off..what am I planning to do? I'm expecting my half-brother from KL later...he might arrive at around 3am the next day as he's to depart from KL with my old-time friend (ex-school mate) at around 10pm today...I was supposed to go there to fetch him but I just couldn't...coincidently, my friend is coming to Penang and I asked his favour to bring him along...I'll need to pay the expenses though!!!!..how about weekend? We were said to have a farewell party of my dear house mate Mr. Jab tomorrow...I'm not sure how it will go but I do hope it will be a nice event to be remembered......

Thanks to my fellow bloggers who have been spamming my chat box..ha.ha..who have been missing me as well who have been demanding to post about my ghostly experience..ha.ha...I may have something good for you..what would that be huh...?? all your time and love..very much appreciated..Cheers!

While I was gone...

Yesterday I was on holiday and today I went to work hoping that everything would be fine. Well, all were fine but I was a little disappointed when I found out 2 days were spent to figure out how to make a simple amendment *sigh*...that can be done within an hour or two including QA...Then when I was informed (by my Manager..because all development works need to get through to me).....they have not finished anything yet..it actually became worst than expected..my first respond to my Manager was something like this..."oh..isn't that simple...it only involves the script.." then my Manager explained what had happened earlier...(I think he didn't really believe what I was saying)..we received a request from one of our customer in Australia to amend their report...(customised report..) The plan was...if the development work itself is not over than 2/3 hours..we're not going to charge them..which I think my Manager also believed our team can do it within a reasonable time scale...unfortunately..with their kind of approach and thought..they failed..not 1 day..2 days and came up with nothing..

So..my Manager wondered then asked me how..I then explained to him (and the team..)..what and where should the amendment took place..it has nothing to do with the report file (Crystal Report) .... because it was delayed for 2 days..I offered him a hand to do it myself including QA and at the same time (diam-diam) asking our team to continue.. my first 30 minutes in the office today was spent on this stuff then passed over to my Manager..he will do another QA prior to release tomorrow... Frankly speaking, this kind of stuff should have not be a problem for my army to figure out then provide a solution..it just that they have this typical kind of Malay habits..lackadaisical..with their skills..it is unacceptable to not be able to do this simple task..because of the habits of being discourages and un-committed..their willingness to learn, their effort to master in-out about the company's product have created a huge gap between people with skills and people with experience... I hope they would not be reprimanded by the Manager tomorrow regards to this avoidable weakness...usually people with experience wouldn't have a sophisticated solution compared to skillful people of whom have a brilliant imagination also mind then make something out of the extra-ordinary...*difficult made easy*...If you were a Manager who is given the power to hire a new staff..would it be somebody with experience or skills?

Before my Manager left..he asked me if we should charge them or not..well..obviously we shouldn't..mistake was at our end...wasn't it.....He also said that he would probably go to UK earlier than expected (16th June) which indicates it's not going to be easy anymore for me to apply leave...the Management had planned earlier this year that he would be there for about a year to contribute in the User Acceptance Test process...