Week 3: Day 2-5

During the week, my teammates and I received several text messages and e-mails from both my supervisor and the Director's executive assistant. The executive assistant’s messages to us were an equal combination of hilarious and helpful. They always started off with a variation of the line, “Guess where I am this morning.” Her sense of humor helped my teammates and I cope with the isolation a lot easier. She would then joke with us about the officials who did not want to attend the training. My supervisor’s messages coincidentally built off of hers. They often told us where we could find the few remaining officials who were not required to attend training. My teammates and I spent the majority of Monday and Tuesday scheduling meetings for both that week and the one after with the officials that we needed.
The first official that we were able to coordinate an interview with was Jack. Jack is the supervisor of the Human Capital group. When my teammates and I walked into his office on Wednesday, we were surprised to discover that he had one of the best offices in the building. His window directly overlooks the street below at a flattering angle. My teammates and I looked at each other, exchanging feelings of light envy. Our office window is half the size of his and overlooks a dirty alley.
Initially, he was very polite, yet stunningly quiet. When we tried to make small talk with him in order to clear the air, he responded to our questions with uncomfortably short answers. After gauging the frustration on my teammate’s faces, I decided to take control over the conversation. I decided to try a new tactic: I asked him where he attended school. When his answer was, “MPA Key Exec from the American University”, I knew that I had established a connection. We then began to talk about our shared experiences and teachers, joking about the difficulty of paper writing on a weekly basis.
After we cleared the air and got to know each other better, I informed him that we would be mapping the Training Procurement Process. The truth is that I had no idea what a Training Procurement Process was. I hoped that he would eventually reveal what the process does during our conversation. I received the answers that I wanted after around twenty minutes. The Training Procurement Process is the methodology used by the Human Capital group to pay for an employee’s continuing education. Jack explained to my teammates and I that the BEA is well known and respected for funding the education of their employees. He further clarified that it is part of their strategy to build and retain their workforce over time.
When I told Jack that we were ready to map the Training Procurement Process, he let out a hearty laugh. My teammates and I were initially set off guard, confused as to whether he found my statement amusing or if he was berating us. When the laughter stopped, we all sat there in awkward silence. He then lightly lifted himself out of his chair and pointed to the back of his office door. We were surprised to see a draft process map on his door that he completed by himself. He then pointed to each step that he wrote on the map, explaining to us how it worked, who he worked with, and how the process was implemented. He then looked each of us in the eye and explained how much he respects what we do. His other parting gift to us was a list of contacts that we should interview to compile further details on the process map. When I left the meeting, I felt reassured, knowing that I was valued as an employee. My teammates and I spent the remaining two days of the week tweaking Jack’s process map and perfecting the Status of Funds map.