Apologies for the time taken in publishing your positive PMO stories [1]. Here we share the first of the many stories received: one highlighting where the complex landscape of the PMO could easily work against the well-being of anyone who has to interact with it, particularly in situations which are already stressful. Here we take the time to appreciate how much the good functioning of those systems can depend on the goodwill of our PMO colleagues an on their willingness to intervene manually to fill the gaps between different (sometimes incompatible) IT systems and processes.
I had a very nice experience with the PMO file manager who handled my file. I recently transferred from another institution where a different HR application is used. Therefore, entering all the relevant/up-to-date personal and financial information into the Commission’s application requires close attention to detail, patience and accuracy to ensure that all information is complete and error-free. The PMO colleague displayed not only these competencies but above all, was very kind, understanding and genuinely interested to help. Transferring from another institution is, as such, already a big change and a jump into the unknown/uncertainty. In particular, I felt a bit nervous since my rights needed to be re-established/determined [justified via the correct documents, not reassessed] and, on this, my family health insurance / coverage through JSIS depended on it.
The PMO colleague, however, was extremely professional and made me feel that I’m in good/safe hands from the beginning we had contact until the very end when my file was fully ready and encoded in the application and even called me to clarify my personal situation, thereby ensuring that all information is correct. I’m very grateful to her and would like to thank her again for all her help and support!
PMO colleagues were proactive here in anticipating incompletely transferred files and in doing everything necessary to ensure that the colleague in question did not miss out on any entitlements, particularly those related to health cover during a time of ongoing treatment.
Thank you, PMO colleagues, for making such a transfer as easy as possible and for removing much of the fear!
Your stories matter, and our colleagues deserve to be recognised.
As always, we appreciate your feedback [2].
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004 [3].