Chart Topping

When I got to the office on Friday, I was there early and so I just continued researching toys and trophies we could give to the children for the family day. When Erin came in, she asked me to write a piece to introduce myself to the company. She then added to it, taking out the part that I was actually doing work experience for them and sent it out to everyone in the mailing list, including sites. 

One part that she added, is that I will now be the editor for their internal employee magazine Unearthed - the dirt. This will be great practice for my writing skills. She also showed me that I had been put on the organisational chart as Communications Assistant. I was really excited to feel like part of the team and not just the "Work Experience Kid." After my initial excitement I calmed down and got back to work on the toys and prizes.

Later on, there was a meeting mid morning about the new Employee Rewards and Recognition Programme which Erin will be presenting with the help of the HR Department to Pat Ellis, the  General Manager (GM) this week. It will be a monthly certificate and a $250 given to employees who goes above and beyond in the call of duty. This will become an integral part of the Leighton way and will encourage employees to work improve their performance at work. We sat there thinking of a name we could call the programme. I mentioned that one of the components of winning an award was that you should initiative in one of the core values of Leighton and that we could use Value somehow. From this "Value You" which  was then changed to "Valuing You" was born.

Also on the agenda, was an overview of the Employee Recruitment programme, which is where employees are rewarded $3000 for recruiting new staff themselves when a position becomes available. "Sharing the Love" had been decided at a previous meeting, but all of us in the new meeting recognised that that slogan did not suit a mine site environment. The new slogan we came up with is "Mining for Talent."

After the meeting it was back to toy shopping. I presented Erin with a report and examples of the toys I thought were appropriate for different age groups. I can't do much more, until the ages and sexes of the children are collected from the RSVP's. For the adults, I picked out a few examples of winner's trophies and a wooden spoon trophy for the loser. This will be sure to make a great day for the staff and their families.

At 4pm there was a business update to the whole office by the GM with drinks and nibblies. It was a chance for Pat to chat to the whole office about what's happening in the company. Such as upcoming business ventures, changes, and new staff. (Even I was introduced to everyone as the Communication's Assistant. Big Smiles!!) It was great to see a GM chatting with all his staff and having an open forum about everything that's happening within the business and across all the sites.

I came away from the week feeling confident about my role at Leighton Contracting and I really can't wait to get back there. I think it really says something when I don't even mind that I'm not getting paid!! However I am planning to be on the books when I finish up the Diploma!