Loads of assistants but no assistance

Now there is proof that the out-of-office unhelpfulness stems from the top. Having sent Mr Walkley an open letter, to follow soon, about what he should do about the Ed Lester ( Student Loans Company ) non PAYE problem which has been heavily used at Barnet Council, Mr Mustard received an out-of-office message from the top banana, non-stick Nick Walkley. Perhaps he is off at a job interview, you will have to hope Nick that no-one checks you out on the famous five Barnet blogs to be in with any chance of getting a new job.

I am out of the Office on Friday 17th February.
Jeff Lustig (Director of Corporate Governance) is deputising for me. For any urgent items please contact the Executive Office on 0208 359 7001.


Nick Walkley
Chief Executive

Now hold on a minute. You have a personal assistant as you can't be expected to type your own letters, make tea, arrange meetings etc etc. Shouldn't the email have been looked at by him/her and some action taken?

You have a Deputy Chief Executive. Is he out of the office today also?

And what about your Assistant Chief Executive. Is she out of the office also?

Perhaps there is an awayday to dream up a new name for One Barnet (and don't go with Sustainable Communities Strategy as it isn't true or pithy enough)

So Jeff is in charge, but he doesn't seem to deal with things so that is pretty pointless and you don't say if the email has been forwarded or not. Mr Mustard is not here to organise your inbox for you, although your day would be a lot different if he did. 

So Jeff, here is the email that Mr Mustard sent you on 21 July 2011  (what's that, you have been a little busy, OK but perhaps you could get around to reviewing the wording as promised by one of your underlings, say by July 2013)

---

21 July 2011

Dear Mr Lustig

Although they differ the footers on many emails from the Council enclosing FOI replies contain the following phrase

Information contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot be guaranteed.

You are hereby placed on notice that any copying, publication or any other form of dissemination of this e-mail or its contents is prohibited.

Given that the Council is supplying information that it is obliged to provide on what basis is the prohibition in the final sentence being made ?

Yours sincerely

Mr Mustard

---

So on the bottom of Nick's message was the even longer dire warning.

The information in this e-mail is confidential and may also be the subject of legal privilege. It is intended solely for the addressee. If you are not the intended recipient please reply to the sender. It is an out-of-office message. Why is that confidential? It is an out-of-office so of course Mr Mustard is the intended recipient.

Information contained in this e-mail may be subject to public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot be guaranteed. What a pointless pair of lines. The word "may" renders the whole first sentence useless. If released the email will be redacted within an inch of its life anyway

You are hereby placed on notice that any copying, publication or any other form of dissemination of this e-mail or its contents is prohibited. Whilst every endeavour is taken to ensure that e-mails are free from viruses, no liability can be accepted, the recipient must use their own virus checking software. On what grounds is information provided under FOI or under Business as Usual (BAU) prohibited from being published. That virus message is a statement of the bleeding obvious.

So there we are, proof from the top that it is OK to do nothing whilst you are out and to suggest other staff in your out-of-office who won't do anything either. Part of the ruthless drive for efficiency that is just a mantra and nothing else.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Endemic out-of-office laziness

Just so you can see that Mr Mustard was not having a go at Mr Lai the poor unfortunate manager whose out-of-office so annoyed Mr Mustard last week, but at the system, here are 3 more examples from more senior people who really should set a proper example. All of these are from 12 February.

First up: 
Declan Hoare
Assistant Director Highways and Transport

Please be advised that I am away from the office until 20th February 2012.

In my absence please contact the relevant service manager:-

Bernard McGreevy, Transport and Fleet – bernard.mcgreevy@barnet.gov.uk
John McArdle, Parking Enforcement – john.mcardle@barnet.gov.uk email John and get another out-of-office, oh what fun.
Mervyn Bartlett, Transportation and Regeneration – mervyn.bartlett@barnet.gov.uk
Neil Richardson, Traffic and Development – neil.richardson@barnet.gov.uk
Paul Bragg, Network Management – paul.bragg@barnet.gov.uk

Alternatively if the matter is urgent please ring Lucy Law, Executive Assistant to the Director of Environment, Planning and Regeneration on 020 8359 4196 and she will arrange for someone to deal with it.

If you need to speak to somebody as a matter of urgency outside office hours, please telephone Customer Services on 020 8359 2000.

Alternatively I will respond to your email upon my return.

Kind regards
Declan Hoare

Next; Martyn Carter, Procurement Manager, Commercial Services

I am currently out of the office and shall return on 13th February 2012 . If your enquiry is urgent, please contact any of the following:

John O'Dor 020 8359 7023
Nasreen Tayab on 020 8359 3367
Susan Lowe 020 8359 7212

and finally: John McArdle, Parking Manager

Thank you for your e-mail but I am out of the office until Monday 13 February so will not see it until then. Unless it is some matter that I need to deal with personally it may be better for you to contact instead one of the following:

Akmal Shah
Information Manager
IT systems, communications, and related matters

Akmal.shah@barnet.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8359 7852 Mob: 07827 873 718

Jose Garcia
Enforcement Manager
All enforcement matters

Jose.garcia@barnet.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8359 5001 Mob 07787 266422

Mick Dolan
Interim Parking Maintenance Manager What exactly is he maintaining now all of the meters are bagged or removed?
Maintenance, finance and procurement

Mick.dolan@barnet.gov.uk
Tel: 02083595161 Mob: 07903109744

James Norman
Information Team Leader
Penalty Charge Notice processing

james.norman@barnet.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8359 7799

Geraldine Edwards
Information Team Leader
Complaints, FOIA requests, and all non PCN correspondence

Geraldine.edwards@barnet.gov.uk
Tel: 020 8359 7542

I apologise for any inconvenience

So there we have it. As it happens Mr Mustard's email was for information only so it will keep but it might have been an urgent matter and it would have been much better if all emails were forwarded to another officer to screen. Here is how the Univeristy of Huddersfield likes to deal with things.

Good practice

We would all agree that any communication to the University should receive a proper reply. The use of the external out-of-office message ensures that the enquirer at least knows why a proper reply cannot be sent, but it really has to be seen as second best. It is far better that someone else should be able to deal with the message and respond to the enquirer’s satisfaction. For this reason it is University practice to avoid the use of individual mailboxes for course enquiries, so that a group of people can share responsibility. It is also possible, and simple, to set up a temporary arrangement for another member of staff to check our mailbox when we are away, ensuring that important items are dealt with properly. This is a simple process, set up from within Outlook, which doesn’t involve giving anyone else your password.

That said, the out-of-office does ensure that the enquirer gets a reply, and should perhaps be used in tandem with a cover arrangement.

 

Maybe Barnet Council could learn from the University of Huddersfield.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Email Out of Office - Symptomatic of what is wrong at the council - no-one gives a hoot

http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/

Today Mr Mustard sent an email to

Mr Michael Lai

Group Manager
Waste & Sustainability Team
Environment, Planning and Regeneration

He is one of the 462 managers at the council. 

It looks like he has gone on holiday and so what will happen to the email between now and when he comes back. Nothing at all.

Thank you for your email. I am out of the office until 21 February 2012 and unable to respond at this time. Please note that your email will not be forwarded. 

I will review your message following my return on 21 February. If you need immediate assistance please contact the Waste & Sustainability Team on 020 8359 7352, or email recycling@barnet.gov.uk

Thank you

Michael Lai

Maybe Mr Mustard's email isn't that important but Mr Lai doesn't know that until he comes back and he obviously doesn't care nor do the more senior management otherwise they would squash this practice. It isn't only Mr Lai who indulges in this dilatory behaviour, it is common practice. It is simply not good enough; it is not providing a service.

The council have a target to answer correspondence within 10 days. This will be missed for this item of correspondence. Perhaps it will simply not be counted at all?

What should happen in a well run workplace? You delegate your emails to an assistant, a peer or your senior. You do not make the customer do the running around. You forward all of your emails automatically to a colleague to deal with if possible.

Is his phone going to voicemail as well? 

Sort yourselves out Barnet Council. You compound problems by not dealing with them.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard