There's nothing like being short-staffed to motivate me to learn new things. For the last few months I have been without my Premises Manager and boy have I learnt a lot.
I was joined at my most recent premises meeting by our governor with responsibility for Health and Safety. In her report back to the full governing body she commented on how impressed she was with the detail with which we discussed Legionella prevention and Asbestos management. My improved knowledge has really come out of necessity but if I'm honest I actually find it really interesting. It gives me the confidence to be able to monitor the checks taking place and point out things that at are not quite right. One piece of advice I was given early on in my SBM journey was "make sure you know everything that your Premises Manager should be doing". I'm not sure I will ever know it all but I'm getting there, for sure.
So now I am trying to turn my hand to project managing and what a minefield it is! Previously I would let my Premises Manager take the lead on liaising with and overseeing contractors but I'm now having to take that role on myself at the moment. It's a steep learning curve but I'm taking one day at a time and making sure I lean on the right people for advice and support.
Once again I find myself counting my blessings at being part of an SBM Twitter community where I know there will always be someone ready and willing to point me in the right direction. I'm ready to face the challenges of project managing my new playgrounds knowing that once I get that skill under my belt it will be a case of looking around and thinking "what's next" because let's face it, there always is something else just around the corner to keep me on my toes! With the SBM role being so wide ranging there's no guessing what form the next challenge will take.