Ok Ok Ok... I have been hearing from all your Targeteers that you want to hear about work/the office...Here goes... (The rest of you can just skip down and read Tom's latest blog:) )
Breakfast, Coffee/Tea and Lunch are free, but you cannot take it outside the cafeteria. That's ok, because the cups are the size of dixie cups, so you finish them before you get to the door anyway. Plus, both coffee and tea come with boiled milk and sugar unless you specify not to. So, its a little caffine/sugar jolt in a cup. The breakfast and lunch are traditional vegetartian Indian food. I happen to love it! They have been playing around with a new caterer each week. Its causing quite the hallway gossip as you can imagine. As anywhere, you cant please everyone and water cooler talk abounds.
We lose people if we dont give them a raise or promotion after about 6 months. The pay hike is about 10-30% each year industry wide. Yikes!
Phones do not have a voicemail. You just keep calling and if its important you leave a text message. Most offices dont even have phones, so we all call each others cell phones. Since we all sit on one floor and its about a quarter of the size of a TPN floor, its rather comical to call your counterpart on their cell.
International calls need to go through the security/front desk. Rather frustrating.
Office hours - 9:30AM to 6:30PM, officially. Unofficially, dont schedule any meetings before 10:30. Lunch is around 2:00 and most folks are here until well after 7:30. The 1st few hours of the day are really really quiet, everyone working at their desk. Then after lunch, people get more social and by 5:30 (when MPLS starts to get moving) things are positively buzzing around here (or maybe its just the 3-4 dixie cup shots of coffee/tea we've all had by then...)
Parking is provided. Provided you have a car or motorbike...which no one does.
Conference rooms are named not numbered (FFF, Speed is Life, Innovation). They are reserved by putting a sitcky note on the outside of the door.
Speaking of, its seems that Outlook calendaring is optional. They use it when dealing with us Targeteers from the U.S., but dont use it otherwise. This is very strange. Given how technologically advanced the city is, they dont use a basic tenent of business. Think back to TMail or Message Exchange for those of you who hard been around as long as I....
The 2 pyramids are Technology Services and Business Services. Within Tech Services, the division used to be based on technology like Java, ETL etc. Now the division is changing to align to TTS pyramids. Similar on Business Services (my side). I have Merchandising, Distribution, HR, Marketing, Target.com and TSS/AMC. I currently have 26 people on the team reporting to me with 17 openings... Send references if you have them!!
It is a slightly different corporate culture and a very different overall (ethnic) culture. The team is super high energy, smart and engaged. But, they dont want to say "no" to you (culturally its very rude to say no). So... you hear "yes" a lot and then nothing happens. Also, they are used to getting permission to do everything. So, even small emails are sent to us for "approval" to send out. It seems to pay to be very positive and encouraging. That's when people will work the hardest (as in anywhere I suppose:) )
They are WAY FFF. Once a week we have a whole team event. Everyone participates and has fun. (No really, its not required fun here, they are really having fun!)
We are sitting 1-2 people in cubes and 3-4 in offices/conference rooms. Nothing is private and its not unusual to have 2 separate status's going on in the same office.
Speaking of no privacy. Everyone compares salaries and everyone knows your age, martial status, where you were born, where your family is from and how many kids you have. Again, they feel that things are very telling things about a person.
Office supplies are non existent. Finding copy paper or staples is impossible.
Having a big team report to you is also a status symbol so its highly coveted.
Great Team cards and notes of appreciation are worshipped. People post them on their cubes, they are posted in hallways, team members stop by to congratulate you, etc. And, if you happen to get a Great Team card from MPLS, its a big big deal...........
That's all I can think of for now.
More after my next shot of coffee...