Is Reception & Facilities a combined role in most Civil Service Departments?

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 10:08am #1

Hello there,

I am just looking for some feedback. I am wondering is Reception & Facilities a combined role in most Civil Service Departments? Also, is it a Clerical Officer grade?

I am or should I say,was a Reception & Facilities Officer at CO grade in my Department. This was the first time this role had been created & was badly needed. I have now been promoted to EO to another department & have to complete my Exit Interview form. I really want to give honest feedback so the next person in my role can benefit.

I feel & KNOW this combined role is too much. My flexi time total stands at 67 hours which I will probably never get back. I would come in early before 8am to do admin & facility tasks done before everybody else in the office arrived. I also stayed late after everybody left ,again, to get admin & facilities tasks done. Once the office opened at 9am,it was full on reception so no time for admin or facilities. This was a continuous pattern for two years -just to stay on top of things-on a Clerical Officer wage. As a result, I was completely exhausted at weekends & would just rest & recuperate,foregoing any social life. I do realise this was my fault as well for not setting boundaries. I had never worked in an office before & did not know this was not normal…

I started looking for other roles in the CS. I found two adverts from two other CS departments where the role of reception was solely that-just reception not facilities officer role as well. Also, Facilities Officer is an EO role in some departments…Can anybody please provide details of what it is like in their department?

I know that it is too late for me to improve my experience. However, I genuinely want to complete a honest worthwhile exit interview form which would give the management pause for re evaluating this role. I really would not like another person to go through what I went through… I would be extremely grateful for any feedback/advice.

One thing I have learned-although it took me two years-is to set stronger boundaries in my new role. I desperately want to have a work/life balance which I didn’t in my previous role.

Aisling(",) · 16-05-2024 11:01am

In my department reception has been external security place in every office I've attended.

Our facilities/building management team are a mix of grades from CO to AP.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 11:45am

Thank you for replying Aisling. We are a very small department which is why I think they thought they could combine the role…however, if you have a broken toilet,broken air con etc for 500 people, it will still be the same task & manpower for 40 people. .i don’t think it is malicious-they just never had the role before. It was created to take the pressure off the Corporate Services team. Also the AP of the Corporate Services team is new to the Civil Service… I was informed they are working with a very limited budget. Yet they have somehow found it within their budget for two other new roles on the team this year …. I realise I can’t change what happened to me but I want to document it so it is taken onboard for future candidates for the role.

dylanyahoo · 16-05-2024 11:50am

I'm in a fairly small place ~240 people. Reception is a Clerical Officer, Facilities is a Service Officer. Also the building provides some service assistance.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 12:02pm

Dylan, may I check, are they two

Separate roles not one combined role?

noodler · 16-05-2024 12:14pm

Think reception is generally staff officer in a lot of cases

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 12:47pm

noodler, thank u for replying. May I ask,is staff officer in the Public Service the same as Clerical Officer in the Civil Service? For me,it’s not so much the grade, it is the fact that it is two combined roles with a huge workload for a Clerical Officer grade. It was impossible for me to get everything done in my working day hence the coming in early every morning & staying late every evening.I want to ascertain whether it is two separate roles in most CS departments. I know it is not going to make a difference for me now.

However,it might do for the next person who has the role.

Ezeoul · 16-05-2024 12:57pm

In my Dept reception is strictly a Service Officer role. Multiple buildings, same in each one.

And if anyone else did it, the Union would get involved very quickly on the grounds that it was removing service officer roles.

Never heard of a facilities officer before.

wench · 16-05-2024 1:00pm

They are separate roles in my building.

Service Officers cover reception, and do most of the manual handling type jobs.

Facilities has a couple of COs and EOs, and they handle most of the admin type jobs

noodler · 16-05-2024 1:03pm

facilities (or FMU) usually a unit in my exp

Staff Officer is a grade slightly below CO

Ted222 · 16-05-2024 1:24pm

The time to have made any constructive input to what you think is an unreasonable job is when you were given a job that you subsequently found unreasonable. I don’t know why you’d be more concerned about the capabilities and welfare of your as yet unknown replacement than you have been about your own.

Take your promotion and enjoy it. You seem like a diligent hardworking person who will do well. But don’t worry about the organisations you leave behind. They’ll cope.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 1:30pm

thanks Ezeoul. In hindsight, I should have approached the union as I am member. However, I had never worked in the Civil Service before so I did not know this was not the norm-two roles combined in one. Also, I was reeling from a forced statutory redundancy & had mega imposter syndrome having never worked in an office before.The experience hasn’t been all bad though - made very good friends who supported me & encouraged me to go for promotion. I know some people might think I am taking this exit interview too seriously but if it prevents the next person from going through my experience, it will be worth it. I just want to leave with a clear conscience, hopefully not burn bridges but give honest, constructive feedback. Thank you to everybody who has been replying.

hungerjames · 16-05-2024 1:33pm

Government Departments all run differently so you'll get multiple different answers depending on where people are based. The main feedback you need to give is that for YOUR office it's too large a role for one person and would benefit from a business case being written to split it into two. They can run with that then afterwards or not but you've given them your honest views and that's all you can do.

Nigel Fairservice · 16-05-2024 1:42pm

I would have thought Service Officers or private security would have manned desks. I've never seen COs or Staff Officers on reception desks. Staff Officer grade was amalgamated with EO as far as I'm aware.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 1:42pm

hungerjames, that is really good advice. Even just suggesting a business case -I wouldn’t have thought of that-thank you. I want them to take it seriously not just the comments of a disgruntled employee. It IS & WAS too much work for one person-the fact that I have 67 hours of flexi time on my clock speaks for itself I think…Does anybody know if I can take that with me to the new department?

jonnybangbang · 16-05-2024 1:48pm

Congrats on the promotion @definantdancer 🎉

All i can do is agree with what @hungerjames has said and say all Depts will be different. In my department which would have multiple buildings, Service officers on receptions at doors and Property Management Unit would look after general maintenance of buildings.

If you've been coming in early and leaving late each day it should be no surprise to anyone that the workload is too great for one person. There is no harm in reinforcing your belief during the exit interview. The problem with you doing your job so well and going over and above for the Department means that they never had to address it before now.

jonnybangbang · 16-05-2024 1:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122145396#Comment_122145396

Staff officers yes were aligned with Executive Officer

Service Officers is still its own grade.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 1:51pm

@Ted222 I did give feedback several times both verbally & in an email. I also attached adverts from two civil service departments where it was two separate roles -reception & a separate role for Facilities Officer. I was told we are a small department & we can’t get the budget from out parent department. However, in the last three months, two new roles have been created on the team-neither of which took any work off my plate. I obviously didn’t shout loud enough or didn’t shout into the right ear. I do appreciate your advice & you taking the time to write it. I need to concentrate on moving forward now.

dylanyahoo · 16-05-2024 2:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122144951#Comment_122144951

separate

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 2:44pm

@jonnybangbang thank u for your kind words. I am very much a just get on with it sort of person so I just got on with it. I never told anybody the toll it was taking on me personally😔Also, as I said earlier, I was suffering massively from imposter syndrome as I had never worked in an office before. My self esteem was also on the floor as I had lost my previous role due to the pandemic. So, I was just very grateful to have a secure job. Ironically, since I announced I was leaving, other people from other teams have come to me -not just my friends in the office-& said that they are delighted for me and they felt I had been taken advantage of…I do know I have to move on now but I just want to give an honest account in my exit interview which hopefully they will take onboard.

Yeah Right · 16-05-2024 3:01pm

In my (civil service) place, and in a few close by, reception and internal mail is all covered by Service Officers. Delivery of files, boxes, mail and collection of same is all covered by these lads (not one of them is female). Answering of phones is done by a dedicated team of telephonists, separately. Out of hours, the phone is diverted to the reception desk.

In my previous (public service) place, there was a need for the receptionists to have at least basic knowledge of the core business of the organisation……to help direct calls, answer queries, receive documents that were being lodged by members of the public etc., so the desk was manned with staff from a grade equivalent to CO. There were two of them on the desk at all times, with the rest of the grade covering breaks and lunches on a rotational basis. They also handled all phone calls.

There were no Service Officers or equivalent. All internal and external mail was handled by the post room. Facilities covered all the usual stuff, as well as everything to do with printers, copiers and other machinery…..mostly because IT were a bunch of lazy bastards and the head of IT was buddies with the head of corporate affairs, so pawned off the horrible jobs. The only ones excluded from the rota were those working in Accounts (to prevent fraud) and those working in IT (because……..???).

There is no way anyone could cover both a receptionist role (tied to a desk) and a FM role (need to move about to address issues), at the same time……there's simply no way either role can be fulfilled adequately if you were doing both. In my current place, which has NO public interaction really, there are a team of 10 service officers covering the two front desks/internal mail stuff and another team of 8 in the FM unit. There's just no way one person could do it.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 3:29pm

@Yeah Right thank you for this. You have nailed it right there-it was absolutely impossible😔I was run ragged most days. So hence, I just started coming in early & staying late as once 9am came, it was non stop at Reception. Ooh, I forgot to say, I manned the phones,directed all calls & managed the general inbox as well. I will put that statement about impossible to do roles well at the same time-impossible to do facilities tasks when tied to a reception desk.

Ted222 · 16-05-2024 7:22pm

while your interest in your eventual successor is commendable, I think you’re taking matters far too seriously for your own good.

You’ve worked above and beyond, you’ve tried to affect change and you’ve earned a promotion. You’ve done your best. It’s all you can do.

For your own sake, concentrate on the things that are within your own control and which benefit you at least to some extent. Otherwise, you’ll be continuously taken advantage of by people willing to allow you make up for their own shortcomings. There is no shortage of these people in the civil service.

defiantdancer · 16-05-2024 7:33pm

@Ted222 thank you-that is good advice.

Is Reception & Facilities a combined role in most Civil Service Departments?

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