Should I be networking?

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YES.

Just yes. Quit reading this and go out and meet your colleagues. Even the ones you think you’ve already got the measure of. Even the ones you know you’ll never agree with.

You might be pleasantly surprised. You may not be. But you’re one big team now, and the foundations of success over the next four years are solid, mutually respectful working relationships with the people you’re serving alongside, whatever your differences may be.

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What happens when we’re sworn in?

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You’ll be sworn in at the Royal Court on the morning of 16 October. You’ll make an oath or an affirmation, to serve the Island and the Crown to the best of your ability.

You’ll be given the exact wording in advance – I can’t remember if you’re allowed to read it out, or if you repeat it after someone like at a wedding. But either way, you’ll be given a clear explanation of what’s expected (and if you’re still uncertain, just follow what the others are doing!).

It’s a bit of a fancy ceremony – if you’re not sure what to wear, aim for office smart, I think. Unless I’ve completely forgotten, it’s certainly not black tie or anything silly like that! (But don’t let me mislead you or cramp your style, I’m the worst person to ask for clothing advice. Just ask your new colleagues what they’re doing if you’re not sure.)

You can normally bring friends and family along to watch from the public gallery if you want to. It’s a bit special, because it marks the end of a successful election campaign and the start of an extraordinary four years. There’s no shame in making a bit of a fuss about that! I’m not sure if there’ll be a limit on the amount of guests you can invite – I’m sure you’ll be told if so – but just be a bit thoughtful, and remember that everyone else may want to bring along special people too!

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When will I meet my colleagues?

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You probably know them by now! I imagine you’ll have met most of your future colleagues on the campaign trail, if you didn’t already know them beforehand.

But if you haven’t, start getting to know them straight away. You’ll be voting for them as Presidents or Committee members within a week of the Election – you need to know who they are and how good they’d be for the roles they want. And they need to know what you’re interested in, and how good you’d be for it, too!

You’ll probably have formal opportunities to get to know each other in the week ahead – induction events and the like. But don’t feel you have to wait for those. Get in touch with the people you want to meet – invite them for coffee, or have a chat on the phone, or do whatever works best for you to get to know the people you’ll be working with for the years ahead.

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What if I’m not comfortable with IT?

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There are valid reasons you might not be comfortable with IT. You might need a reasonable adjustment to make it accessible to you. (As I said before, this is your right – you are entitled to request it, to expect it to be provided within a sensible timeframe, and to have the cost covered.) Or perhaps you don’t come from an office job, and you’re not used to using IT to manage your work life.

As you’ve probably already discovered on the campaign trail, a lot of your work will inevitably be done via email (or otherwise online). I’m not sure you can be a Deputy and be completely disconnected from tech now. But the kind of things you need to do – handle emails, read papers, make notes – are not technologically complex. If you’re willing to give it the time, you will find that you learn how to do them competently enough before long.

The one thing there’s no excuse for is being a Luddite! You don’t have to actively like tech, or its role in your new life; you just need to put enough effort in to be able to do the core functions of your job to a decent level. Don’t refuse to engage with it – that’s just poor form.

But it’s okay to feel out of your depth, and to ask for help, either from civil servants or from your colleagues. The thing to know about IT is that there is almost always a shortcut. If something is taking too much time or feels really inefficient to you, there’s probably a faster way of doing it, and someone you work with probably knows what it is. Don’t be afraid to ask!

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Will I get the equipment I need to do the job?

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You will be issued with a States’ laptop. I am not sure if there are plans to provide you with any other equipment this time around — last term, each of us was given a choice from a small range of laptops and tablets, and we were entitled to one free bit of tech each. The expectation (which you may or may not agree with) is that you will handle your States’ work on that computer, because it has the right security protections.

You might want to ask more-experienced Deputies what tech they’ve been using, and what works well for them. For example, if you receive most of your papers digitally, but you’re the kind of person who likes to scribble in the margins, you might get on better with a tablet and stylus than a laptop. Ask around before you decide what to pitch for.

You won’t be issued with a States’ phone (to the best of my knowledge), but you probably can’t do the job without one. The decision you’ll need to make now – if you didn’t already do so during the campaign period – is whether you want to continue using one phone for personal and work calls, or whether you’d like to keep your personal phone private, and have one that you only use for work.

If you need a reasonable adjustment to make States’ work accessible to you, ask for it upfront, and insist on it. It is your right, and you mustn’t be prevented from doing your work as a States Member because the technology is inaccessible. (Oh, and this should go without saying, but don’t let anyone tell you that you’re going to have to pay for it yourself. If everybody else is issued with a States laptop that they can work with, but you need a bit of additional tech to make that laptop work for you, then it must be part of the package.)

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Will I get any kind of induction?

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Yes, definitely. I think it’s called an “onboarding programme” this time, but it’s just a good old-fashioned induction. We (the old States, particularly the States’ Assembly and Constitution Committee) did a fair bit of work with existing Deputies, trying to find out what elements of the previous induction worked well and what elements were lacking. Hopefully that will improve the process in practice – we’ll see!

Remember that your induction is – of necessity – mostly a technical process. You’ll learn about things like your data protection responsibilities and learn your way around States’ IT (a bit). You’ll get some insight into the breadth of services that each Committee delivers, and the kind of political decisions those Committees can make. You might even get some guidance on what “good governance” looks like. But civil servants can’t teach you how to be good politicians, nor would you want them to.

That means you may want to fill the gaps in your formal induction, with informal advice from current colleagues and previous States Members. Don’t assume that, just because someone has been around longer than you, they are necessarily right — but you can learn a lot from people with more experience, without ever having to take their word as law. Some of my favourite early tips from States Members were more about creature comforts than actual political tactics, and I appreciated them taking the time to look out for me. (Jane Stephens: “The Royal Court is blazing in summer and freezing in winter.” Mich Le Clerc: “Don’t waste a lot of money on a new wardrobe. You can get lovely smart jackets from most local charity shops.”) But more experienced States Members can also help you find your way through the maze of complex political processes; reassure you on dealing with the media; and help you to handle difficult Committee situations.

I would just caution – don’t pick one single source of information and take their word as law. Get advice from lots of different people and cross-reference it. Bear in mind that this is politics, and while most people will be generous with advice, there are bound to be times when even the best of people aren’t aware of their own bias, or are hoping to get something positive due to you taking a particular course of action. You need to be just a little guarded, and the best way to do this is not to close yourself off, but to be open to lots of different perspectives.

Finally, a word to returning politicians – for goodness’ sake, reach out to new Deputies, give them the advice you wish you’d had at the start of term, and be willing to be a listening ear or a gracious mentor if you’re needed. You can do this without being overbearing, and without expecting anything in return – by which I mean, be kind to those who are politically sympathetic to you, but also those who come from a very different perspective. Perhaps it’s bad advice on my part to suggest that you should help to make your political foes more competent, but I don’t think so. I think it means that you will have relationships of mutual trust and respect with people on the other side of the political divide, which can only make debates more constructive and friendly, and can help you to build consensus wherever consensus is possible.

About a month into our term, I remember Jennifer Merrett deciding that we’d spent enough time waiting for information to come to us, and she was going to go out and get it. She organised an evening out with a group of new Deputies – of all political stripes – and invited a couple of experienced States Members along to come and share their political experience, and talk through the different States’ processes we still needed to get to grips with. It was a great idea, and we all found it really helpful. Returning Deputies – this is something you can offer to your new colleagues. You don’t have to be shy about it: you’re not pretending you’re”better” than anyone, you’re just sharing the benefit of your longer experience. I would have loved more of that from my more-experienced colleagues in the early days of the States. I’d love to see more of it this time around.

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What will my first day be like?

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Your very first day – the day after you get the Election results – will probably be pretty weird and surreal. Honestly, I cannot remember the day after Election Day at all (and that’s certainly not because we celebrated too hard the night before!). I think you’ll probably start to get information about what’s coming up next — induction events and other important dates — straight away. There’s probably a lot of induction stuff that can’t happen until after you’ve been formally sworn in, but there will definitely be some in that first week, and it’s wise to try and be there for as much of it as you can.

If you have been working full-time up to now, I suspect you’ll also need to spend some time making arrangements with your employer – whether that’s handing in your notice, or agreeing a working pattern that allows you to do justice to your States’ duties. There might be all sorts of life admin you need to do in those early weeks in the States – don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues how they’re managing it, too.

Your first official day will be the day that you’re sworn in (in the morning) and elect the President of the Policy & Resources Committee (in the afternoon). This is probably also the day that a lot of official admin will happen – security passes, computer equipment, pay arrangements. You will be a fairly captive audience – you’ll spend most of the day in the Royal Court – so officials should easily be able to make sure you’ve got what you need, and you can always ask directly if not.

Because you are plunged straight into Committee elections on your first official day in the States – I cannot stress this enough – you really want to think about using the week from Election Day to swearing in, to get to know your colleagues and to get to know the roles and responsibilities of Committees, so that you can make your own judgments about who is best suited to what role, and who you would like to work with. Take the opportunity to make sure your colleagues know what you’re interested in, and what you’d like to do, as well. The period of Committee elections will fly by, and it’ll feel like putting together a really complex puzzzle with a blindfold on. You can at least make it a bit easier for yourself by doing your research in advance.

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Am I a States Member straight away?

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No. There is about a week between getting the results of the Election and new States members being sworn in.

This allows time for a recount (if one is called for). It also provides an opportunity for you to start learning your way around the States, and getting to know your fellow candidates. Make the most of it.

The old States was officially the government throughout the Election period, and remains the government until the end of term on 15 October. Although it is common practice to limit the amount of business done during this time, some Committees have had to (or will still have to) submit policy letters during this period.

Sometimes this is needed, for example, because changes have to be made before the start of a new calendar year. This means you’ll have to consider proposals at your November or December meetings. The best way of giving you the opportunity to do that is to get policy letters lodged before the end of this term. Once you are sworn in, and new Committees have been established, you are within your rights to reject, amend, or even withdraw, any policy letters that have been lodged by the States before you. But if you’re going to do that, try to understand why the previous States submitted this proposal, in this way, at this time before you do.

So you’ve got about a week to get used to the idea of being a Deputy before you officially become one. Make the most of this to get to know your future colleagues, to learn about the way that the States and its Committees work, and to get yourself set up with the equipment you need to do the job. Take up any induction opportunities you’re offered. One of the very first proper States Meetings you have will be approving the Budget for 2021, so the next few weeks are going to be pretty full-on.

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What if I am elected – what happens next?

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If you’re elected, there’s a gap of about a week before you officially become a Deputy (when you’re “sworn in”). During that time, there may be a recount, which could result in some people changing position. But there’s important work to do in the week before swearing-in, so don’t hang about waiting for the results of a recount – if it happens, it happens, and you can deal with it as it comes.

Swearing in will happen on the morning of Friday 16th October. Until the night of Thursday 15th October, the previous States are officially still the government. You take over when you’re sworn in. Make sure this date is in your calendar, and you’ve found cover for any other responsibilities you might have: it’s not something you can miss.

When you are sworn in, you make a promise to serve the Island and the Crown to the best of your ability. I have written about that here. The important thing to know is that you can choose between an oath (which has a kind of religious meaning) and an affirmation. You should be offered the option – but if you’re not, and you have strong feelings about this, then just ask whoever is in touch with you about the arrangements for the swearing in.

(For what it’s worth, I chose the affirmation. My belief in god is sketchy at best but, more to the point, I strongly believe in the total separation of Church and State. My promise to the community is exactly that – a vow between me and the people I’d been elected to serve – and it stands alone. But I know some of my colleagues feel the opposite – that the promise you’re making to the community is so solemn and serious that it deserves to be made in the eyes of God. The choice you make is deeply personal, even if the swearing in itself is very public.)

Your swearing-in happens in the Royal Court. Friends and family can normally watch from the public gallery, if you want to bring them along. (Be mindful of everyone else – don’t pack the gallery with your supporters; leave space for others too.)

If you have any anxieties about what you should wear, or what you should do, or what the swearing-in itself would be like, talk to your fellow Deputies-elected who’ve done this before. I’m sure they’ll be able to set your mind at rest. Don’t stress about it! It’s just a fancy ceremony to start the term. What comes next is more important.

Starting on the afternoon of Friday 16 October, you’ll be thrown into a week of Committee Elections. First the President of P&R (on the 16th), then the members of that Committee (on Saturday 17th – don’t miss it). Then Committee Presidents on Monday 19th, and finally Committee Members on Wednesday 21st.

There is always a bit of movement in Committee membership during the term – but it’s hard to predict where, or when, so don’t bank on that. Think of this as picking the team you want to work with for the next 4.5 years. Those are quite serious decisions, with long-term consequences, so you need to be ready to make them when the time comes.

That’s why it’s so important to use the week between Election Day and swearing-in to get to know the other people who will be in the States with you. You might have met or made friends with some on the campaign trail, but I bet there will be others you barely know as well. These are people who will be competing for your vote for a role, or wanting to serve alongside you (or with you as their President, or vice versa) on a Committee. Take time to get the measure of them now. Go along to the formal induction events you’ll be offered – although it will feel like too much information, and you’ll want to revisit it later in the term – but, above all, take time informally to get to know people. You’ve got some big decisions ahead.

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