Employment Review Conversation: Ken Latham

Notes from the meeting held on 2024-04-16 with.Miranda Girdlestone (Meeting House Manager) and Henry Thompson (Convenor, Meeting House Management Committee)

Nature of the job:

Does your job description accurately reflect the nature of your duties?

Not entirely, but not sure: I don't need to think about it, the work
just happens.

What have you done in your role that has made you feel proud/been
pleased with? 

Keeping up with what groups need/want and supporting them: it works
nicely.  Adding "Where are the toilets" signs and seeing that work.

I have a good picture in my head of what the Meeting House should look
like, I get satisfaction from keeping it so.

[Miranda: You've done a good job at training Ellie]

Training casual staff: it goes as well as they can handle

Was there anything that felt less than successful when you attempted it? 
And what did you do to improve the situation?

Getting my head around the booking system was hard.  Worried as about
to do something I may be breaking something that someone else is
already working on.

Aside from not being involved, not sure.

Not done it often enough to be confident what happens when in the
workflow.  Information is in multiple places, computers _and_ people's
heads.

Putting things in the calendar is fine, but the Hallmaster/money
dataflow is hazy.  Worried that, for example, if someone asks to add
AV, aside from just leaving a note for Majk, not sure what is needed
to be sure it doesn't get lost

ACTION: MG and KL to meet to get a clear story about what KL should cover
and how to do it

What changes have you implemented and how do you think they went/were received?

Moving the library chairs under the stairs when not in use, working
well.

'Staff drawer'

Designed, trialed and made work having refreshments just outside the
Meeting Room.

ACTION: MG Review cleaning sheet

Obstacles and support:

What extra support would you like from me as your manager?

Have you encountered any particular difficulties where you would have appreciated more support?
Can you say why you didn’t ask for support at the time?

Food Hygiene specifically, more generally what am I in charge of?  Do
local Friends know that.  Some things are undefined, for instance who
sets up tables...

ACTION: MG, KL, James to coordinate
        [MG to give a short presentation to PM about this]
        [HST to gee up Elders to revisit the [live] Notices]

Quaker Ethos:

Do you think the Quaker ethos is nurtured in your work and your workplace?

Yes

Working relationships:

How would you describe the relationships you have built with your
colleagues and users of the building?

Good with colleagues.  On the same wavelength with Ellie.

Some users give nice comments or a smile, occasionally things go wonky
and people get stressed.  People may have lost track of what they
booked, or was booked for them.  People feel relaxed, which can lead
to them treating things more like home than somewhere they've hired.
Mostly a good thing.

How do you see your role within the team now and how would you like it to grow?

Not keen on "getting hold of a pile of admin clutter in my head" [AVP]
But it is part of my job, so if there were a way to make it more
doable for me I would get on with it better

Work environment:

What do you like or dislike about your work environment?

Wrt to being open to the public, if it's not a busy time, handling
enquiries is good.  If the timing is bad, it can be a challenge.

------------------HST steps away-----------

Do you have any suggestions for improving it?

Management/ supervision (if applicable):

How effective is your supervision of the staff for which you are responsible?

Are any changes in approach desirable?

Training and development needs:

What training have you undergone during the year?

Are there any training opportunities you would like to pursue? Or any skills you would like to develop?

Overall:

If you could change anything about your role or the way the team operates, what would it be?











ACTIONS AGREED (including who and when)