Superiors: Head of Personnel
Difficulty: Moderate
Guides:
Standard Operating Procedure
Access: Maintenance, Theatre
Duties: The Honkmother has sent you to bring laughter and joy to this poor and unsuspecting station. Just watch out for police brutality!
Departmental Head
Head of Personnel
| Head of Personnel • | Janitor • | Chef • | Bartender • | Botanist • | Mime • | Service Worker • | Musician • | Zookeeper • | Chaplain • | Reporter • | Librarian • | Boxer |
| Guide to Service • | Paperwork • | Faxes • | AI Modules • | Station Goals • | Purchasable Shuttles • | High-Risk Items • | Space Law • | Chain of Command • | Standard SOP • | Command SOP |
¶ The Clown
The highest member of command, whom also controls the station. They make sure the crew is staying on task, and following the expectations set by NT and also handling any potential threats that come to the station. They are expected to be able to command their Heads of Staff effectively, except in cases where Central Command directly countermands this, and whenever the Magistrate presides over a case, as they can overrule you on Space Law matters. While you possess access to every radio channel, the most important one you'll be utilizing is 'c' for the command channel.
¶ Captain has arrived!
The Captain is the top of the power chain. They command the Heads of Staff and have the final say in station decisions. They hold an all-access ID, a large amount of unique equipment, and a luxurious cabin. The only one with potentially more power is the AI. This is a very important role and should only be played by experienced players.
¶ Lonely at the top...
The Captain's main job is to lead and direct the station. The Captain, therefore, has direct authority over the Heads of Staff, changing the alert level, contacting Central Command, calling the evacuation shuttle, and coordinating station-wide emergency evacuation and defence.
In the absence or lack of the head of a department, effort should be made by you, or the Head of Personnel to appoint one to each department. Please note, you can only assign acting command staff to be relieved at the time a full-time member is sent, Central Command reserves the right to send you full-time staff. You should always have a fully functioning command staff, even if some members are only acting.
It is the Captain's job to make sure that all the Heads of Staff are communicating and leading their departments properly. They should not involve themselves directly in departmental matters unless asked by the Head of Staff responsible or when the situation becomes unmanageable by that Head of Staff; any potential captain must be careful in doing so as too much of this can be seen as micromanagement.
For example, the Captain should not have to tell the Chief Engineer to start the engine, a competent chief should be able to do this themselves. If they can't, it falls to the Captain to decide as to whether to demote the current head, promote someone to a head, or consult with that department as to the best course of action. The Captain's job isn't to do others' work for them, but to make sure that everything is being done correctly.
¶ Showing your best side
As Captain, you are in charge. There is no way to tell you exactly how to run things, many people have different leadership styles. However, as Captain, there are some things you should be aware of:
- Only involve yourself when there is nobody else available to do the job. If you get involved in every security matter when there's already a Head of Security, it is suggested you get a job change. If there isn't a head of staff for a specific department, get your Head of Personnel to assign a new one. The only exception to this rule is when your Head of Personnel is "absent", as you are the only other Head who can assign people.
- Delegate whenever you can. If someone says 'Captain, there's a plasma leak!' then you order your Chief Engineer to go fix it. Do NOT attempt to fix it yourself. You will put yourself unnecessarily at risk. You must remember that you are a very important part of keeping the station running.
- Do NOT Delegate Everything. This may seem counterintuitive to the last point, however, it can determine your success as a Captain if you pick and choose which situations you delegate and which you take a more active part in. It should be noted that in any situation, you should rely on other crew to perform direct actions such as ordering the implanting of a terrorist or ensuring patients are seen by doctors (it should be noted, yet again, that you should be delegating the treatment to a doctor unless under duress).
- Follow the Chain of Command. You command the Heads. The Heads command their departments. Try not to skip them in the decision-making process unless absolutely necessary. They are the ones who should know their own departments best.
- Keep calm and carry on. As Captain, every shift should be a normal and productive working day. However, be prepared to deal with any or all of the following: Incompetent or absent Heads, subversive elements, angry crew members banging down the bridge door trying to get in, corrupted AIs on the warpath, killer meteor strikes, plagues, and the occasional aftermath of an armageddon against the ship. And it's your job to manage it all. Good luck.
These pointers are incredibly important, especially with regards to Delegation and Chain of Command.
¶ Stay in Touch
The most important thing for a Captain to do: Be Known. The crew should know who the Captain is, know that they are available to address complaints and give advice, and know that their Captain isn't a baldie/snowflake/chucklefuck. That is the number one thing required for a station to function when things hit the fan.- You have all channels on your headset, be present on them. Inquire how work is going. Be specific ("How is robotics production going?"), rather than just saying "Status Report" over the department channel.
- Know all your command staff, make sure they know who you are. Ask them if they are having any issues, or need direction.
- Overlook the Station Economy. You are responsible for the Command Budget and have access to all Department Account information. Discuss monetary conditions with other heads of staff.
- Announce important things where appropriate. This can be the CC orders for the day, accompanied by directing the personnel accordingly; it could be warning the crew why you declared code red (the HoS is often too busy to do this. Be sure that you know all the facts); it could be announcing a notable achievement of a crew member - which leads to the next point...
- Fire people that do not meet the standards - make it well known that you had a good reason for doing so. If people do exceedingly well, see that they are given a medal and/or promoted.
- Keep in touch with the Librarian, make sure they keep their news feed filled with NT propaganda, encouraging stories drawn from the crew's successes.
- Have a good dialogue with the NT Representative, Magistrate, the Heads of Security and Personnel and the IAAs. Take their input seriously unless patently untrue, but do not allow them to overstep their authority.