The first week at a new job site is often uncomfortable. An employee must quickly learn the culture of an organization in addition to the duties of their role. The second week produces better results. At the point, the employee has a better understanding of their workplace and where their role fits into it.

My second week at Local Matters adhered to this generalization. I entered the organization with a baseline knowledge on how non-profit organizations function and how Local Matters carries out its mission. I spent most of last week gaining more perspective on the operations of my new workplace. Because my task is to write an operations manual, identifying the positives and negatives of current processes and procedures is an essential first step. I began my second week by attending a series of meetings and taking notes. I made sure to take note of anytime there was confusion or inconsistency among team members on procedure. As a recent college graduate, I feel strange seeking out flaws and problems in an established organization run by professionals in the industry, but my team members reassure me that this will only help them in the future. 

As I continued with my week, an important realization fell upon me— I did not understand what an operations manual entails. The concept seems self-explanatory but is more nuanced in reality. I thus spent a day researching what went into such a document. I analyzed templates and advice offered by operations management professionals to help formulate a plan. The Director of Operations at Local Matters recommended that I first create a manual for the Programs team, which is the largest group, and then modify it for other divisions of the organization. In the coming weeks, I will draft a two-part manual: the first part applies to Local Matters at large and the second part lays out policies and procedures of the specific teams. This task forces me to think critically in a new way to solve problems, which excites me.

I finished my week by volunteering at the Veggie Van. The Veggie Van is a cornerstone operation of Local Matters. Each week, the van brings fresh produce to various under-resourced neighborhoods  in Columbus. Getting to see the work of the organization at the grassroots level helped put my work into perspective. As discussed in this week’s Fellows Learning Session, the “why” driving one’s actions is a critical piece of their work. Seeing the impact of food accessibility efforts by Local Matters allowed me to see the importance of their work firsthand.