Stephen Roche on Cycling Ireland

TheFredJ

what should Cycling Ireland do to today to build for tomorrow? Roche is blunt in what the first step should be:

"Clean the office first. That’s a beautiful office but it’s badly maintained. The first thing you see when you go into Cycling Ireland’s headquarters is the state of the office. You don’t have to ask yourself any questions about the state of the federation when you see that.”

http://cyclismas.com/2012/06/stephen-roche-the-interview-part-1/

Chips Lovell

He really picks the most bizarre topics to rant about.

witty username

good stuff fmk, looking forward to part 2....

TheFredJ

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

He really picks the most bizarre topics to rant about.

Think laterally a moment here. Consider what he says abot the office in Kelly-Roche House. Consider what he says about jerseys. Consider the link. Image. Image has always been important to Roche. As a rider, he often criticised other riders for not presenting the right image. That he still thinks image is important is hardly a suprise.

petethedrummer

Tidy Desk, tidy mind.



My desk is a cesspool.

Captain Havoc

Should we just have a Roche watch thread at this stage?

kincsem

When I was working (now retired) we got a new managing director. One of the first things he did was sort out housekeeping. Everyone had to leave a clean desk every evening when leaving. The same for the factory floor. Then he started on the practices / procedures.

Our unit had a meeting with him. He had notes on what we had agreed to bring to the meeting. In the first few minutes he simply asked each of us had we the agreed information. On person said he was preparing it and would have it in shape for the next meeting. The meeting ended and we were shown the door.
I agree with Roche on this.

morana

ah stephen stephen stephen.....

The office is the office, a storehouse, a garage etc. Unfortunately we dont have room to keep the wattbikes, gear,nutrition, spares, publications, numbers, etc in a secure area. We had 2 break-ins last year when the robbers robbed a box of rice crispy squares and nothing else thankfully. its quite secure now but its a constant battle.

He is right I would prefer the bottom floor to be all georgian-ed up with a lovely reception area etc. but its not practical at the moment.

He probably doesnt know about the dev stuff that we have implemented in last while but I am sure he would approve. And lastly. I think you will see a bunch of Irish pros in the future something like the guys from Denmark because we now have the numbers that are racing at youth level. Well I am hoping but we will try to do our best to make it happen.

Tomred13

well.. roche is kinda right.. mass respect to all in cycling ireland but i usually renew my licence by calling into the good folk in Kelly house and the place is usually in bits and full of cycling clutter..

Tomred13

Then again Rochey does love an auld rant...

Tomred13 wrote: »

well.. roche is kinda right.. mass respect to all in cycling ireland but i usually renew my licence by calling into the good folk in Kelly house and the place is usually in bits and full of cycling clutter..

morana

Tomred13 wrote: »

well.. roche is kinda right.. mass respect to all in cycling ireland but i usually renew my licence by calling into the good folk in Kelly house and the place is usually in bits and full of cycling clutter..

i agree.

MichealD

morana wrote: »

......And lastly. I think you will see a bunch of Irish pros in the future something like the guys from Denmark because we now have the numbers that are racing at youth level. Well I am hoping but we will try to do our best to make it happen.

Spot on. Great work being done by CI and some of the clubs at underage level. I'm biased towards the U14s at the moment but if these lads can be kept in the sport the future is bright. Maybe Stephen needs to go to a few underage races!
(while Morana runs the hoover over the office!)

Etc

I've been a process auditor for 15 years, the state in which the premises is kept is normally a fair reflection of the overall organisation.

morana

Etc wrote: »

I've been a process auditor for 15 years, the state in which the premises is kept is normally a fair reflection of the overall organisation.

i disagree.

See my reasons above, its nothing to do with processes more to do with physical space. Just a note to say a cleaner cleans the office on a weekly basis.

I also want to point out that I dont just jump to the defence of ci when somebody presents a less than ideal view of the organisation. As I have said if somebody has a valid opinion I have no problem with it. I just like to try and give the reasons why it is so.

RobFowl

If there is extra cash to be spent I'd prefer to see it used on a lot more things before redecoration!

morana

RobFowl wrote: »

If there is extra cash to be spent I'd prefer to see it used on a lot more things before redecoration!

yeah like holidays and perks for board members!!!!

RobFowl

morana wrote: »

yeah like holidays and perks for board members!!!!

Was thinking more of sponsored cars for CI Doc's....

TheFredJ

morana wrote: »

yeah like holidays and perks for board members!!!!

Ah c'mon, you've got the 'lympics coming up, what are ye complaining abt? Must be enough in the petty cash tin to cover the whole Board on Ryanair.

manwithaplan

Etc wrote: »

I've been a process auditor for 15 years, the state in which the premises is kept is normally a fair reflection of the overall organisation.

Is that you again, Stephen?

C3PO

Etc wrote: »

I've been a process auditor for 15 years, the state in which the premises is kept is normally a fair reflection of the overall organisation.

On an individual level I've always found CI employees (I use that term loosely because I know quite a few of them do huge amounts of work for nothing!) to be really decent, helpful people but I'm afraid the state of the office reflects the organisation! The annual licence fiasco, while improving, is still a mess but the inability to answer phone calls or respond to emails in a timely manner is simply not acceptable! I know that funds are tight but CI clearly need additional staff in the office admin area!

Morrisseeee

Have they not heard of 5S or SixSigma or the 7WondersOfTheWorld ? :pac:








/from someone who has had 5S & SixSigma beaten into them for years

morana

C3PO wrote: »

On an individual level I've always found CI employees (I use that term loosely because I know quite a few of them do huge amounts of work for nothing!) to be really decent, helpful people but I'm afraid the state of the office reflects the organisation! The annual licence fiasco, while improving, is still a mess but the inability to answer phone calls or respond to emails in a timely manner is simply not acceptable! I know that funds are tight but CI clearly need additional staff in the office admin area!

I am not sure there was a fiasco this year......but I take your point. We have not been in a position to answer calls the way would like and its purely the amount of work.

and look I am here 247...anybody who has asked has been answered.

morana

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Have they not heard of 5S or SixSigma or the 7WondersOfTheWorld ? :pac:








/from someone who has had 5S & SixSigma beaten into them for years

I think they are more into DuranDuran in the office though the girls likes tupac as well...

RobFowl

morana wrote: »

and look I am here 247...anybody who has asked has been answered.

What is the meaning of life ?

Raam

RobFowl wrote: »

What is the meaning of life ?

Cycling.

manwithaplan

Fiasco is going a bit far. I had the fiasco of applying to renew my licence online and it arriving in the post with my back numbers before the first open race of the season. I then had the fiasco of sending them an e-mail when I got the points to upgrade and them sending out my new licence and numbers in the same week. Most recently I had the fiasco of them ringing me to ensure I had 'VET' on my licence so that I wouldn't have trouble at sign on for the national championships (they would have done a quick reprint if not).

TheFredJ

So what was the first thing ordered online this morning from Kelly-Roche Hse - a stopwatch or a Hoover?

Morrisseeee

TheFredJ wrote: »

So what was the first thing ordered online this morning from Kelly-Roche Hse - a stopwatch or a Hoover?

FYP

Lusk Doyle

TheFredJ wrote: »

So what was the first thing ordered online this morning from Kelly-Roche Hse - a stopwatch or a Hoover?

A big sign saying "STFU and leave us alone you saps who have nothing better to do than moan about anything. YES, we are including you in that Stephen! PS: Here's your name back off the front of the building. It's not worth much anymore anyway."

Or something to that effect would be my guess

Edit: Morrisseeee beat me to the last bit!

RobFowl

Raam wrote: »

Cycling.

I would have thought the answer was 410.....

TheFredJ

RobFowl wrote: »

I would have thought the answer was 410.....

53x12

C3PO

manwithaplan wrote: »

Fiasco is going a bit far. I had the fiasco of applying to renew my licence online and it arriving in the post with my back numbers before the first open race of the season. I then had the fiasco of sending them an e-mail when I got the points to upgrade and them sending out my new licence and numbers in the same week. Most recently I had the fiasco of them ringing me to ensure I had 'VET' on my licence so that I wouldn't have trouble at sign on for the national championships (they would have done a quick reprint if not).

I also got my licence, without issue, as did most of my club mates so I apologise for using the word "fiasco" which is probably too strong a word but I also know a number of people who have had problems getting their licence issued! All of these problems stemmed from them having small issues with the application process and then not being able to contact anybody in the organisation to help sort them out! CI actually stopped answering their phone while they were processing applications for a number of weeks! As I said above I think the issue is simply one of understaffing not of any failings on an individual level!

Chips Lovell

How do you propose we pay for these extra staff?

morana

C3PO wrote: »

I also got my licence, without issue, as did most of my club mates so I apologise for using the word "fiasco" which is probably too strong a word but I also know a number of people who have had problems getting their licence issued! All of these problems stemmed from them having small issues with the application process and then not being able to contact anybody in the organisation to help sort them out! CI actually stopped answering their phone while they were processing applications for a number of weeks! As I said above I think the issue is simply one of understaffing not of any failings on a personal level!

dont apologise we can take it!:)

It is understaffing. The busiest time of the year is the licence season which we have took a really good look at to try and sort. The process for club sec's will be changed and will hopefully mean that whole licence fretting will not occur again! We would like you to have your licence in your hand before the end of Jan. All I can say to you is to apply early. The licence application period will be open the week after the agm and if you apply early you will get your licence early.

C3PO

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

How do you propose we pay for these extra staff?

I have no idea how the finances of Cycling Ireland break down but I do know that they have had a major increase in member numbers and I would have thought that there should be a corresponding increase in admin staff to process membership issues such as licencing etc, phone and e-mail answering etc!

D20903

The licence applications should be processed by a 3rd party who are able to:

A) Fully automate it and therefore handle the volume and
Have an operational website (that doesn't cost the members c.€80k - to date)

for a %age of the renewal fee.

TheFredJ

I guess I *was* being a litle bit optimistic in expecting a reply to an email by now. The question is, will CI manage to reply in a couple of days or will they just try and pretend it never happened?

morana

D20903 wrote: »

The licence applications should be processed by a 3rd party who are able to:

A) Fully automate it and therefore handle the volume and
Have an operational website (that doesn't cost the members c.€80k - to date)

for a %age of the renewal fee.

we actually looked at doing this. I cant recall exactly why we didnt go that way but its certainly an option. the website is operational...you mightnt like the way it operates but it does.

TheFredJ wrote: »

I guess I *was* being a litle bit optimistic in expecting a reply to an email by now. The question is, will CI manage to reply in a couple of days or will they just try and pretend it never happened?

I will make sure it is when did you send it? you got good service yesterday no????

witty username

http://cyclismas.com/2012/06/stephen-roche-the-interview-part-2/

Just read part 2...some hard questions asked there alright. Usual Roche ducking and diving of course...

TheFredJ

morana wrote: »

we actually looked at doing this. I cant recall exactly why we didnt go that way but its certainly an option. the website is operational...you mightnt like the way it operates but it does.



I will make sure it is when did you send it? you got good service yesterday no????

Sent Thu, not even an acknowledgement that it'll be looked at and someone might get back to me.

Good service? Some off the record comments yes, but good service would be a reply to an email, even to say they're not replying.

dave2pvd

I suggested last year making the license application internet-only. A chorus of 'what about those that don't have internet' was the response. I honestly think this is not valid. Everyone knows someone who has a computer. In this day and age having to handle internet, post and walk-ins is a waste of resources.

Lumen

dave2pvd wrote: »

I suggested last year making the license application internet-only. A chorus of 'what about those that don't have internet' was the response. I honestly think this is not valid. Everyone knows someone who has a computer. In this day and age having to handle internet, post and walk-ins is a waste of resources.

Is the objective to stop people seeing what a kip it is? :pac:

Lusk Doyle

dave2pvd wrote: »

I suggested last year making the license application internet-only. A chorus of 'what about those that don't have internet' was the response. I honestly think this is not valid. Everyone knows someone who has a computer. In this day and age having to handle internet, post and walk-ins is a waste of resources.

Those who replied to your suggestion on here must have the net so what's their problem?!?