Helping Out
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Helping Out
It's been home improvement lately at my ranch with lots of improvements on the schedule or underway. When we bought the house last winter we knew there were some things we needed to do and
So while working along putting grout in between tiles in my sons' bathroom, I started thinking about my honey-do list and I was thinking about how I could get some help. I don't mind hiring people to do some work, but I want to be efficient when I spend the money.
So for this week's poll. Imagine that at work they put you in charge of improving productivity. They give you a budget for one full-time person to help out.
What helper would you hire?
I'm looking for some creativity, what would help the most? Assuming they'd get their supplies, who would help the most? Would it be a librarian/technical writer to manage all documentation? Would it be a massage therapist to relax your staff? A professional game player to give everyone one a break with LAN party or a ping pong game?
Personally I'd hire a chef/cook. Granted I'm in a home office and deal with kids after school, but getting meals cooked on a regular basis and letting me concentrate on work, exercise, or writing is important. And in a bunch of offices I've worked in, I think a chef/cook would have been a great addition. Even if it was burgers or pizza, just having someone else get the food prepared is valuable.
So who would you hire? Car washer? Valet or chauffer?
Bartender maybe for Friday afternoons?
Steve Jones
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I'll take a software engineer. I've got good code that needs to get written. BTW, who's paying for this person?
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I think a life-coach would be really useful. Someone who can help me keep accountable for taking the next step towards the goals I want to achieve. In fact, I'm going to actually ask a few friends if we can do that together as a group. And it's not a 1-way thing. I will help them out in the same way.
On a more practical basis - when I was a kid, my mum (that's mom for you Americans) used to do housework/chores with a friend. They'd spend one day doing stuff at one house, and another day at the other. It took my mum a while to stop cleaning house before her friend came over, but pretty soon, it became a great way of keeping accountable for getting stuff done. And if one house didn't need so much time one week, they'd do some of the other things that needed doing, like gardening, washing the car, whatever.
Rob
Rob Farley
LobsterPot Solutions & Adelaide SQL Server User Group
Company: http://www.lobsterpot.com.au
Blog: http://blogs.lobsterpot.com.au -
But... this is something that doesn't involve spending my budget of one person. I think the most effective 'help' isn't a full-time person.
To use a person who was full-time, I would get a contractor in, have them go around the company talking to people about what they would like. People are much more productive when they're happy. But don't get me wrong - work is much more likely to get done when there are two people doing it. Paired-programming can work really well, and painting the fence is much better with two as well.
Rob
Rob Farley
LobsterPot Solutions & Adelaide SQL Server User Group
Company: http://www.lobsterpot.com.au
Blog: http://blogs.lobsterpot.com.au -
Bags I a beaurocracy shifter to deal with all the required civil service paper work and red tape needed to get some code implemented.
Then a software tester because the users don't test things - they say they have, then complain when it's live!
Then a few clones so I can enjoy life while still working/ doing home chores etc
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Let it be known that if anyone wants to hire the "professional game player" guy - I'd be happy to fill that position...
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People, People, People, you're not thinking smart enough
I'd have to go for a sweedish au-pair if I could only employ one person, or twins sweedish au-pairs if I could get then to agree on a lesser salary.
Then again, you're right, there's no way on earth that my wife would go for it
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I've fantasised about this for so long that I don't have to pause to think - a FACTOTUM - affectionately called "Facty" - my genie that I shall summon simply by rubbing that very dusty lamp lying in the basement - Facty will ingeniously be both Jack & master - of any and every trade - cook, Swedish au-pair, software developer, tester, smack that impossible user, fire that manager jerk, make sure you stay within your calorie count, chauffeur the kids, keep those bloody Marys coming - you name it & Facty will unobtrusively, unintrusively appear by your side, do your bidding and vanish - HAPPY DAYS!!!
Back to earth - sigh - "If wishes were horses....."
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
Gotta have a concieriage (forgive my spelling).
Somebody to go and run everyday errands that would normally pull me out of the office. Oil-changes, trips to the post office, run stuff up to school, dry cleaning, DMV, drop off the car for maintenance, etc.
That stuff drives me crazy...I have better things to do with my time.
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A clone of myself
We'd get on so well and get the work done in a 1/4 of the time
(I already do it in half the time
)Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon. -
Martin - if you mean a "concierge" he really doesn't do all the stuff you want done - wrong person...I've already hired the person that you want...maybe I'll rent him out to make some money on the side..
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
My David...aren't you a right old Narcissus ?!?! Where's all that understated British modesty that we hear so much about ?!
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
...old Narcissus... 
Less of the oldIt'll be more like Sycophant
...understated British modesty... 
I possibly couldn't comment
Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon. -
I'd hire a "nudge" (pronounced nooj; I'm not sure on spelling) - it's a jewish concept for someone who bugs those people who haven't kept their commitments to you. Then I'd sic them on all the users who complain that you haven't fixed the problem they told you about "ages ago", but never want to sit down and discuss what they need (your supposed to read their minds, I guess...)
Oooh, a mind-reader would be a good choice to!
Here there be dragons...,Steph Brown
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definately not a mind reader, especially not with my twin blonde swedish au-pairs
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