I say "I guess" 'cause this one's quite the weird one indeed. I'm partially convinced I'm being tested to see if I can handle unusual situations. Or maybe, like an immersion program into the mind of the developmentally challenged, I'm thrust into a realm of innuendos, half-truths, obfuscation and just overall wacko communication.
I went to interview last Thursday for the Group Home Manager position I'd applied for. I applied online via Indeed and was called the very next day. Dude introduced himself as Silas, no last name or title and set me up on an interview for the 18th at the Avon Park group home. The interview was very relaxed and Silas seemed impressed by my experience. A woman named Kim was present sitting at the kitchen table with us with a laptop in front of her for most of the interview but then another applicant came in and she took her to a back room beyond the kitchen.
Silas was all over the place. He asked about me and I dove into my "from the age of the dinosaurs" bio. He seemed delighted by the decades in the biz, Kim seemed well, less thrilled. Maybe that's just her way? Both of them, like me, were in their 50s (well, maybe Kim is in her 40s) so they seemed knowledgeable about the industry and the changes and dynamics over the years. Okay, so far so good, they're feeling me out, we're talkin' "big picture" talk like empowerment, enrichment, positivity, yada yada.
When I try to hone in to what the job would be, Silas mentioned things like shuttling the residents to day program, doctor appointments, etc. (okay, so some daytime hours direct care, I can live with that) and the usual management stuff like grocery inventory and shopping, in-service trainings, new hires (and, undiscussed but the logical other side of that, disciplinary actions and firings) but also included back office stuff like payroll management. I never had to do that in group home management before, but I'm open to it; I did it at Sears, it's no big.
As we keep chatting and I drop hints of my "by the book" not entirely laid back management style, he seemed to be backtracking on the Avon Park location. He mentioned he had another home in Sebring (ooh, even closer to home) that had legacy staff that were lazy and unmotivated. (He didn't say those words but I got his meaning) He also mumbled about his plans of having a position managing a day program (ADT) in Sebring, but that would pay a little less since it would be M-F fixed daytime hours with no "on-call" and now is when I got the impression...this guy is higher up than residential manager, he's like the big boss, isn't he? I asked him for his title and he seemed to joke with Kim as to what he should call himself to which Kim chuckled. I think he mentioned Kim was Program Director and so he would be Chairman of the Board. I checked him out online afterwards and he wasn't shittin'. He's the President and CEO, and, I guess, Chairman of the Board. Well this guy's the most down-to-earth Chairman of the Board I've ever seen. T-shirt, jeans, older looking iPhone with a peeling plastic protector film and the one car other than obvious group home minivans in the driveway was a non-descript red sedan like a 2000s Kia or something. Not a "CEO car." (Lookin' at you Helen with your Mercedes and Jake with your Caddy XTS)
Kim cut into our reverie filled super-chill interview and mentioned now another candidate was coming in so we were "stacking up" so Silas brought it to a close, had me fill out a single page info sheet about me and gave me a listing of things I needed to get done. Sounds fine right?
But after I left and got home and reviewed everything, I scratched my head: Was I hired or were these the preliminary steps before that since some things, like the FBI and local law enforcement background checks had to be done before working with folks? And what position? We talked loosely about at least 3 and I more or less indicated I'd be open to any.
On Monday I went to Highlands County Sheriffs Office, a brand-new looking modern building in downtown Sebring and got the background check. The nice lady also made copies of my passport (which I provided for an I-9) and my high school diploma (yeah, this company actually wants a copy of that. Luckily, I have held onto this and have it readily available although it is 39 years old). I called Silas and he told me that Kim would text me the location of the Live Scan place to do my fingerprints for the FBI background. He apologized I had to drive all the way up to Lakeland. Kim soon afterwards called me and said she would text me the address (to which my non-modern, Boomer mind kept thinking..."Why not just tell me the address and I can write it down with pen and paper"....but I guess things aren't done that way anymore.) I told her I had the other preliminary paperwork as well and would I be able to drop it off at the main office while up in Lakeland. She thought about it a second or two and then said she'd text me the address of a Lakeland ADT I could drop it off at.
Now here's the thing about this end of the story...
After the interview I did my usual internet detective routine and found out both Silas and Kim's full names (which they never gave me), their respective histories and positions with the company, and the locations of the company offices, including the "main" one. The main office was located about 2 miles north of the Live Scan office I needed to go to, but Kim sent me to an ADT another 3 miles north of that. So rather than have me show up at the "main" office, she sent me farther away from both the Live Scan site and my return back to Highlands County.
Knowing the Live Scan check could take a few days, I didn't call back figuring surely, they'd be calling me. You know, with info like more appropriate new hire paperwork, training, preliminary schedule and time frames for getting into a regular schedule at the group home. Oh, I almost forgot regarding this position. Now back in the day when I was promoted to Group Home Manager at Amego, I had already worked as an Assistant Program Manager in the home so the transition was quite quick and seamless. New schedule and new duties but same coworkers, same residents, etc. With NRIARC, I was hired on as a replacement manager for a group home. I already had an Assistant Manager under me (Cooper) and filled the shoes of a predecessor, namely that white-lipsticked hippy chick who was doing double duty managing Gaskill and her primary home. This place though, Silas said there wasn't a manager. The home had been in the care of a foster family until they got old and sold it to Silas.
This morning I get a call and it's this lady named Lisa and she asked me if I "talked with Kim." I told her I had and she proceeds to tell me where I need to go today. I tell her the last I spoke with Kim was on Monday regarding the Live Scan. Lisa says Kim wants me to come into the Sebring ADT and complete the application packet. (What? There's more preliminary paperwork?) The location is in the same plaza as The Wild Hawg. (I didn't mention I was familiar with that local watering hole) I get there and it, like the Lakeland ADT, is a pretty small day center, set up like a classroom. I saw clients pretty much just milling about like I saw in Lakeland. In fact, throughout my hour/hour and a half completing the forms, the staff barely interacted with the clients. Not gonna pass judgement at this point being poorly informed. The forms were poorly copied, sometimes barely legible, and all dealing with sensitive subjects like sexual abuse of clients, bloodborne pathogens, food safety, and reporting abuse. Now, of course, I'm familiar with all these subjects, but even still, I was expecting the paperwork provided would be a basis for actual training session in-services for the topics. Nope. I was told by Lisa that I should sign and date each page where indicated now, just after reading through the material. So this is how they do new hire initial training? For me, a well experienced vet, no big, but what about the average newbie off the street? And as I carefully read each page, though my experience informed me ahead of time as to what to expect, I was being rushed to complete. I think they wanted me out of there before lunch. Lisa did say there would be more comprehensive training in these areas later on in the 90 day probation.
I called Kim after leaving the day program and asked her what's next. She said "Next you start work on Monday, wear tennis shoes." I asked her where, she said "the ADT I was at." I asked what time "Oh, 8:00 should be good."
So now the issues with all this:
Though I was given a W-4 and an Allstate company provided life insurance policy (for only $15,000) form, I wasn't given a copy of the Policies and Procedures, a form to indicate direct deposit or even an idea of how we are paid (bi-weekly or twice a month?), what day is payday, are lunches unpaid, or even if I was hired as hourly or salaried? Silas had already written on my paper during the interview the hourly rate of $16. Is this confirmed in anything other than his scrawny handwriting? Or for a janky, fly-by-night, probably milking the system outfit like this, is that enough.
We'll see what Monday brings.