By: Sandra Duchesne Communications advisor Your colleague located in a regional metropolis
Have you seen micro-mission offers come along and wondered if it was worth it? My answer: definitely! Explanations.
Background
It’s well known that federal public service employees tend to be divided as follows: those in the NCR and the others. I’m one of the others. Like NCR employees, we have a duty to keep up to date on major joint projects initiated by the central agencies.
In my position in Montreal, I’m part of the Web team, in Communications at Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions – a specialization that is rather rare in the regions. So as an employee, how do we stay up to date, other than through webcasts and conference calls? Answer: by finding unique opportunities, such as a mandate-related micro-mission in a central agency.
The DTO
This was how I ended up joining a team from the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Digital Transformation Office (DTO). I worked part-time for three months, from my regular office in Montreal, during a web content improvement project with the Canada Revenue Agency.
My objectives:
- to learn about the approach taken by the DTO for improving content on Canada.ca
- to better understand the role of a team that develops guidelines that we have to adhere to
- to contribute to the project to the best of my ability
I met some remarkable people there: competent, available professionals with an effective team dynamic, a well-established work structure and a solid solution-based approach. It was a privilege to have access to that experience, and I learned things from it that are applicable to my current duties.
The manager’s perspective
I’ll turn the floor over to my manager.
“A part-time micro-mission, from your substantive position, is a winning formula for everyone. For us, it was an opportunity to support the professional development of a teammate without losing sight of her. Our colleague was able to participate in an exciting project while continuing to work on her priority files.
But most importantly, the employee was able to expand her network, deepen her knowledge and apply her expertise. She came back full of ideas and projects to implement within our team!”
A micro-mission is useful
In short, a micro-mission can enable the participant to:
- become familiar with aspects that they don’t have the chance to explore in their usual job
- get to know other employees, other organizations, other ways of doing things
- stay connected to their community
- bring expertise back to their own team
Our employer benefits from it as well.
If ever the opportunity presents itself to you… seize it!