This post was suggested by:
Y6:

What we need is a Director with special management skills to change the way things have been at FRO, a Director who’s got balls and would spend sometimes moving between floors and paying surprise visits to staff to see what really is going on instead of relying on phony reports or closing eyes on the shit that’s getting worse everyday. We need a Director who cares about the well being of his staff by listening to them and addressing their issues.

The current Director never leaves her office except to go to meetings or maybe to the washroom. She is one of the most arrogant individuals in the government. Try to talk to her or bring an issue to her attention and you’ll see what I’m talking about. She knows that most agents dislike her for that attitude.
She hasn’t done anything to improve the working environment for the frontline agents. In fact she’s made their lives miserable by siding with managers. She ignores (because she’s ignorant) that the best way to improve the public service is to first improve the working environment of those who serve i.e. frontline agents.

When she came to FRO a few years ago, she thought that by befriending service managers, she would have an easy life until she retires. Well, this might be true, but only for a short time because many frontline staff are among the best in the OPS and some may even qualify for higher positions than hers.

Everyone on the 6th floor remembers how she became friend with Josephine, a manager who was promoted thru corruption and bribery. The Director received free coffee every single day from her and I’m sure behind close doors, you can imagine what happened until she promoted her to a permanent job.

What the Director needs to do is pack and leave, the same way finance Director did a few months ago when he was faced with lots of criticism. Of course there is no similarity between the two. In fact, finance Director left FRO after having done the best he could to clear the mess he was left with.

Shit happens at FRO because the Director allows this shit to happen.

Hello all.

Happy New Year from FROntline blog team.

We started this blog a few months ago when the situation at FRO became unbearable for many, due to the unfairness and the bullying attitude of some management staff. We thought to provide a way to the hard working frontline agents to express themselves without fear of harassment.

One of the hot topics that were treated was the hiring process at FRO and we believe that the message got where it was supposed to get. We will continue to publish your comments on this. Furthermore, as some have suggested, and as long as the Government does nothing about it, we will consider publishing details, including the name(s) of whoever gets a position at FRO through special connections in any future competition!

For the record only, we had to exclude quite a few comments because they were too improper in terms of the language used. So, please (agents and angry managers!) keep it as clean as possible.

Also, remember to share some of your stories about the hard work you do to serve our clients.

Thank you and all the best for 2009
FROntline blog Team.

This blog was supposed to address Frontline staff issues, but it looks like everyone has real issues with managers only. Hopefully things will change and like someone has stated, we all want to belong to a serious organisation. Now talking about managers/staff relations. Here's a question we might need to treat:
Every Xmas, we see a number of staff sending emails to colleagues to collect money for a special gift to managers, including watches, expensive stationary, gift certificates, etc.
I find that it is just another a** kissing habit. What do you think?

FRO Hiring Process.

I’ve been with FRO for at least a decade, during which time I’ve witnessed the cruelty and perversion of its hiring process and phony competitions. Unless you are well connected by blood, ethnicity or personal interests to someone in the hiring panel, which is 99% of the time, composed of service managers, the chances to get the so desired job are sooooo slim. This has always been part of FRO culture and no damn thing has ever been done about it.
There is nothing more inhumane than the hiring process at FRO. I didn’t know what they were talking about when they celebrated the Employer of Choice last week.

FROntline are the best

The intent of this blog is to provide a free and safe platform for all frontline staff at the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), so they can share some of their stories, and let the public know about their stress and frustration, and how they really care about the people they serve.

With due respect to all agents, Frontline are the hardest working of all FRO staff, yet they are the least appreciated, especially by the Office managers and sometimes the public. The sad truth is neither managers nor the public really understands what it means spending hours on the phone, listening to the most miserable stories in the country, very often told by desperate, angry or sometimes abusive clients.

The authors of this blog are current and ex FROntline agents who believe in a different FRO that can make a difference.

So don't be too shy. Share your thoughts with your colleagues and the public. Tell everyone how you contribute to make many children smile everyday.

Cheers!