Yes it does...

An update- since I have been a bit of a slacker on the blogging front- thanks for the prod Bluenoser. 


The day I finished up at work, I received a call from one of the managers in the section of the business responsible for the training of staff. Bear in mind that I worked in that section in 2006/07 delivering training in one of our specialised (not the bike brand) customer management applications and there are over 2500 employees with access/user permissions and new employees/users coming into the organisation on a regular basis. There has not been anyone filling that role permanently since I left.


The call was almost a plea- "Could I come back and deliver the training? We have nobody qualified- and the only people who have been doing any training will not be released by their business unit to train anyone else." Talk about "silo mentality".......


So how do we get around the restrictions that are in place for employees who take a redundancy? Normally you may not come back as an employee or a self-employed consultant/contractor for a period of up to two years. Easily done says the manager- "just come back through a labour-hire firm. Here is the contract manager's name and number- we'll call him and let him know you are coming in to register."


This was on Friday. On Monday morning as I am getting in the car to head to said firm to register, I get a call. It is the labour hire firm. "Ahh yes we had a call from Ms X that you might be coming in to see us. Is that still your intention?" "Yes- I am on my way. See you in ten minutes."


So I sat down and filled in forms and provided them with an hourly rate and daily rate for my services. They add their percentage on top and bill the company accordingly for hours worked and pay me directly. No invoicing required on my part- no dealing with Accounts Payable.


I set my rate at what I thought might be a bit high but after discussing it with some of my former fellow-employees, they said I should be pretty well on the mark. The company didn't even blink and have started the other necessary paperwork to bring me back in as a non-employee and to set up the training sessions. I would expect it will be a couple more weeks before training activity starts in earnest. Venues need to be booked, attendees confirmed, travel and accommodation arrangements made, etc....


I should add that in between registering and submitting my rates and getting notification that things were moving ahead, I had a call from another former manager who, like me, had taken a redundancy and is now working for an independent electrical contracting company as their new regional manager. He needs a work planner/scheduler/estimator- would I be interested? Paul and I had worked on a project together in 2006 and he was always straight and fair with everyone on the project. So I agreed to meet with him and his local manager the next day. 


The Readers' Digest version is that the job was mine if I wanted and they would match my previous salary. "Let me have a think about it." The end result is that I turned down that offer and have decided to go with the training delivery. In retrospect, I think some of the most satisfying time has been training and assisting people in their roles and that coloured my view heavily in making my decision.


In the meantime, I have lots of things to keep me busy around the house and lots of km's to put beneath the wheels of my bike.....


Cheers- ride safe
BoaB