Hi everyone,
I wanted to throw this question out for wider rumination, as it's something that came up for me recently. I know a lot of us act as database managers for a variety of reasons, and may be the only person with a semblance of 'back end/technical' skill at the organization. But we're also humans and can get sick, or (gasp!) go on vacation. So, who covers YOU? I found myself writing a very lengthy out-of-office message, linking to all kinds of documentation and websites, hoping that nothing blew up while I was out of reach of my computer while away for a few days. Luckily all was well, but it got me thinking - how many of us are in the same boat, and how do we deal with stepping away for a few days/week or two?
Kathleen,
Love this question. And for many of us, there are NOT back-ups. And I would say that is indicative of the non-profit arts game in general; many positions do not really have proper "back-ups". The one thing I found myself able to do to help back up myself arose merely out of chance and opportunity. Very late into 2019, I had identified one of our FT box office supervisors as having a VERY adept mind for technical sorts of issues and logic problems. I got with his direct report and VP and asked them, hey, if he is into it, would maybe he be up for some on the job staff development in learning SQL with learning sessions once or twice a month. The bosses were okay with it as we are always looking for good staff development ideas, this one was cheap (already paid for, at least), and the staff member was asked and got excited.
So basically, I created a hyper-focused to a class of one curriculum in SQL directly for him. Started with "this is called a query" and taking him through SQL and the sorts of things that I do step by step. We started in early 2020. Then the pandemic happened. Which meant a lot of things for a lot of people, and we were an organization that was fortunate to be able to keep people employed for part or full time the entirety of that period of time. Given that we were unable to present live performances for much of that time, we spent a lot of time as an organization going through backlog type things, but also staff development type things. So that ended up being exceedingly helpful in my being able to spend time with him working through things from the basic level up through more advanced things. I showed him how I do things, we had discussions, I gave him some homework/practice assignments, the whole shebang. He of course also did plenty of work on his own. He went from an absolute beginner to someone whose skills are absolutely independent of mine and RARELY asks questions of me anymore.
He was then able to use some of that skill (as well as the absolutely fabulous amounts of skill and talents he brought to the job long before I ever started working with him) to secure another position in our organization that was a little more technical based and sits now as the absolutely logical #2 and back-up to myself for all such issues. So, I suppose the moral of my story is to use what you are given. Not that this is some big secret I have discovered, but staff development is the real deal. If you happen to notice that staff members are particularly apt to something, work with them on that (and certainly this extends far beyond just SQL and technical things).
I got lucky that such a fabulous person was nearby and ready and willing to learn, so now I have a wonderful back-up, and I DO go away on vacations, etc... with quite a relaxed approach knowing that he will be there to answer questions/deal with issues and that he knows enough to know when I might actually NEED to be bugged on vacation. Otherwise, I can trust my coworker and know that all WILL be well. But I certainly know that many are not as lucky as I here. And sorry, I again typed for too long.
John A. Moskal II