The Splitz — How I joined a Band and got involved at Work
Who’d have thought that getting a “regular” job at a “regular” company would dramatically improve my health, introduce me to volleyball, cause me to join a rock band and revitalize my soccer “career”, but that’s what Agilent did for me! And all these things allowed me to create a social network at work that has made this a much more rewarding and enjoyable place to work.
I initially came to Agilent in 2000 as a full time consultant in the startup Microarray group. This was an interesting business in that it acted and felt like a startup, but was internal and backed by Agilent. After 4 years working here I converted to a full time employee, working as a Software Team Leader in this manufacturing group. My previous employer was very small. I was not familiar with, and somewhat nervous of, the large company experience. It seemed that not many people in my department were in touch with the more social aspects of Agilent so initially I really only knew people in that group of about 50 people.
However after a little while I noticed a group would play volleyball most lunchtimes outside the cafeteria. I’m a sporty person but I’d never really played the game. After a while I got the nerve up to ask to play and was welcomed. I was able to get by and received, mostly, encouragement and tips from the existing players. Quite a few people played in the summer but through the winter a smaller core group stuck at it and through this I became very friendly with a few people from other departments that I would never have encountered otherwise. This was step one in building my social network.
In the early 2000’s I got into music, learning to play some instruments and eventually recording my own music at home and running a home recording podcast. A couple of volleyball players had interest in music so that started to broaden my horizons. Around 2011 I visited the Cedar Creek site and noticed some drums and a mixing board in their conference room. I asked around and found that production manager, who I was working with, had a similar musical background to me and had formed a workplace band (Cedar Creek is pretty close to Austin, TX) and had received backing and support from Agilent to purchase equipment and use conference rooms for practice.
Well this was all I needed. I returned to Santa Clara and immediately asked for the site newsletter to include an item for people interested in forming a band. Initially there were about twenty people interested and, that by itself, once again broadened my horizons and made me some contacts and friends in other groups. Eventually the band slimmed down to 5 or 6, with some change over the years, but this allowed me to build friendships and contacts in many other groups including IT, HR, and other business divisions.
Around the same time (2011) I saw a sign for soccer players. You guessed it, the same process happened. A group got together, Agilent purchased us some goals, balls and jerseys and I developed a whole new range of friends. People from all parts of the organization. Now Wednesday soccer is one of my favorite times of the week, good for my health (as was volleyball and the gym), and good for my work satisfaction. Add to that, after reading last months blog post, we’re all ready for our European tour!
Even using the gym can be a good opportunity to get social. Talk to people you meet and join some classes to meet more people. Even when you don’t discuss work in there it still allows you to see and meet people that you encounter later and you have a little bit of a relationship that can really help. I have made two or three pretty good friends by regularly going to the gym and just talking to the people I see in there.
So my advice: join a group. If you can’t find one you like then form a group — broaden your horizons. If you’re in a group then talk to other people, particularly about their work. Learn where and who they work with, ask for a tour of their area, and just learn more about the people you work with.
One way or another these contacts have proved invaluable in making it fun to come to work AND in allowing me to get things done, knowing who to talk to, what is going on in other groups and resources to help you solve problems. Above all that, it makes coming to work a more pleasurable experience. You have many varied friends, there’s always someone to have lunch with or chat to about a broad range of subjects. I’ve been able to quickly clarify HR issues, learn about what other groups do, and resolve IT issues with these contacts. As an example, a member of my team plays in the golf league, another fantastic opportunity, while playing he mentioned an issue our manufacturing software was having and within a day he was provided a solution.
It’s ironic that before writing this article, and perhaps by design, I consider myself as not much of a joiner. I like to go home when work is over and live my non-work life. But recently, and particularly by writing this, I have come to realize that I am quite the social networker and butterfly, but not by design. I do it because it makes work an enjoyable and fun place to be. We spend a good portion of our waking lives at work and making it the best possible environment for us we can is essential to life balance. Agilent values and support life balance, and that’s a great thing. I used to be an overweight guy who didn’t do a lot. Now I am in shape, in a band, play sports regularly and use a gym. Without realizing it I wrote, a lot of this thanks to Agilent.
Editor’s Note: Tony is an Operating Manager responsible for Manufacturing Software in the Microarray Order Fulfillment and Supply Chain group. He is a self-taught, home recording musician, retired podcaster, XBOX gamer, and TV watcher. He has 4 dogs, 1 wife, and 2 children (both of whom just left for college).
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