Sakhalin Island Outpost

I haven't had much time to blog lately due to my taking on the Sakhalin Island Outpost Focal Point job.  Since it has recently been consuming my life, I thought I would devote this blog to telling you what Outpost is all about.  It is a sort of long post and may be boring to some, but there are a few links you might find interesting.

Outpost is a Shell sponsored global network that provides information and services to Shell expatriates and their families all over the world.  There are over 60 Outpost offices in 35 countries around the world.  We provide information and help people find answers to questions relating to everyday life in their new or potential location (both pre-departure and during settling in).  We also provide information, advice and guidance to help partners meet their career and development needs. This includes providing information on employment, personal development, self-employment, voluntary work and educational opportunities.

Here is a link to the Shell Global Outpost Website.  Every green dot represents a Shell Expat/Outpost Office location.  If you click on the Sakhalin Island dot, you will see our location's information, including a link to our local website.  I'm not listed as the focal point yet as I have to sign a confidentiality agreement.  Red dots are locations where Shell expats are, but no Outpost Office exists.  Shell Global Outpost provides guidance, marketing information and consistency to all of the local Outpost organizations.

Here is the link to our local Sakhalin Island Outpost website.

Including myself, there are 10 Sakhalin Island Outpost volunteers.

Some of the services that our Outpost provides include:
- An Online Team who answer emails from people who are contemplating a move to Sakhalin or are actually moving here.  We provide them with an Inside Guide that includes information such as can I import my car, how do I bring my pet, what should I pack in my air shipment and my sea container shipment, banking information, airport information, description of the housing, school info, etc. - everything that a person might want to know about Sakhalin Island before they move here
- A Meet & Greet Team who welcomes each new family, answers their questions and takes them on a shopping trip.  A food package is placed in their house prior to their arrival, as people are tired, don't know where to shop and don't have a pass to get on and off the housing complex.  An information pack is provided including a welcome letter, information about setting up their internet, a map of the complex, a bus schedule, a phone list, and a very detailed Guidebook that lists places to shop, restaurants, services, recreation, etc.
- Wednesday Coffee Morning where spouses/partners of working expats get together to network and visit.  Every third Wed of the month prior to Coffee Morning we have a Newcomers Information Meeting.
- A Supermarket Shopping Tour and a Local Products Shopping Tour. (I'll have a separate blog about these tours.)
- Organizing cultural events, such as museum visits, tea ceremonies
- Outpost Library with books related to Expat Life, books on travel and career development
- Showing people around who come to Sakhalin on a familiarization visit
- Monthly Outpost newsletter
- A recently launched Outpost Sakhalin Facebook page.  We have an events calendar, polls, and a classified section....all new, so not being used that much yet.
 - Projects in work such as a Career and Development Guide and an Outdoor Guide (Guide to all of Sakhalin's wonderful outdoor activities).

The Focal Point (me as of March 1) has to keep up with all the above (and more), plus:
- Make sure all documents mentioned above are kept up to date
- Interface with the Shell Global Outpost
- Have monthly meetings with the local Sakhalin Energy HR representative and write a report of the meeting
- Hold monthly team meetings, write minutes, keep an action item list
- Keep track of all newcomers and their housing (harder than it seems) and notify the team of their arrival so they can arrange the welcome and food pack
- Keep track of expenses, do expense reports
- Motivate the team (plan team lunches/dinners, provide gift certificates annually to the team)
- Write an annual report to Global Outpost
- Project future activities and expenses and prepare an annual budget (next one due April 1, 2011 for 2012)
- Keep procedures up-to-date
- General office stuff (buy paper, toner, make business cards for team, keep internet account topped off, etc.)
- There is a lot more, but I'm sure you're bored by now

Here are a few pictures of our Outpost Office.  We don't actually spend a lot of time there and it's only officially open for 1.5 hours a week.  The Outpost Office is in a building called The Hub.  It is sort of a community center of the Zima Housing Compound where we live.  It has a restaurant, a pub with pool tables, a library, conference rooms and the Outpost office.  The Hub is going to be renovated starting this month and the Outpost Office will likely move to a different location in the building.  This is hopefully a good thing as we really want to redecorate the office to make it more inviting.  Of course this is more work for me as I have to figure out where to have coffee morning, what to do with the equipment, etc. 

For the past few weeks I've been meeting with the current Focal Point a lot, trying to learn as much I can as she left a few days ago for a month long holiday in Australia.  Thankfully, she's staying on the team as online member, but I'm on my own for the next month.  In some locations, the Focal Point is a paid position.  With as much work as I've been doing lately, I may look into this for our location.

Once every few years, Global Outpost holds a Global Learning Event.  This is a conference where representatives from all of the Outpost offices come together to learn about ways to provide better services for our clients, work with team members and our local HR.  This year the conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Maylasia, and it starts next week!!  I'm very excited to be going to this conference with another lady from our Outpost.  Max teases me and says that he has been here for a long time and actually works for Shell (succumbed to Sakhalin Energy) but hasn't been on a business trip (from Sakhalin) yet.  I've only been here a few months, don't even really work for Shell, and am already going on my first business trip.  I've also spent a lot of time the past few weeks preparing for the conference.  We've had to develop a large poster describing the ways we work with our clients, team and HR.  We also have a table at the conference to present our location so we've had to shop for decorations, etc.

I'm really excited to be the Focal Point of the Outpost team.  Even though it has been a lot of work, it's also been a lot of fun.  It's great to be able to meet and help so many people.  I'm really looking forward to the Kuala Lumpur Learning Event!  I'll definitely be sharing my adventure with you soon!

Love to you all!

Karen