Getting Company Owners To Follow Their Own Rules? 387
techmage writes "Recently we had an issue at our small company that resulted in the loss of a lot of important data. To prevent it from happening again, we created a company-wide policy that all computers would return to IT to have their contents backed up, and the computers would be formatted and reloaded for the next user. Consistently the owners of the company break this and other policies we set up to prevent data loss, theft, etc. How do I get through to the bosses that when they break with the policies, they are potentially shooting the company in the foot?"
I don't get it... (Score:5, Interesting)
So you're going to take my laptop, back it up, reload it and give it to the next guy? I in turn will get someone else's formatted laptop?
Or are you just trying to say, "we lost a lot of data when someone's laptop failed without proper backup processes in place. So we've decided that everyone needs to regularly connect to the company network and back up their laptop. The owner's of the company never back up their laptop"?
Assign it a cost (Score:5, Interesting)
Remote Backup (Score:4, Interesting)
Use the admin account (and shares; $C, $D, etc...) to map their hard drive remotely to a computer in the networking office. Then, use RSYNC (or SyncToy) to mirror the drive remotely. Once the initial backup is complete, daily or weekly jobs will progress quickly.
You really have to find a way to work around the guys who are in charge.
If you want to be a bit more nefarious, start the backup jobs first thing in the morning. When the boss complains his system is slow, do a backup/format/reinstall on his system. Now his system is magically fast again...
Sell your idea (Score:2, Interesting)
1. Identify the group dynamic (is there a 'holdout', and 'alpha geek')?
2. Identify the objections to your proposed solution.
3. Ask them what their ideal solution(s) would be for this problem.
4. Customize and provide a solution to them.
Don't
* rely on the owners having a conversation amongst themselves. If you want to meet with them, meet with all of them at once.
* rely on the owners to convince each other. They may be reluctant to engage each other.
* just talk to people that agree with you. If you do, you're certainly missing the core argument that will shoot down your idea behind closed doors.
You'll probably have to buy new gear and set it up. Desktops can be great. Most people don't like to take work home and lug laptops around anyway.
Re:I hate arrogant admins. (Score:1, Interesting)
Amen.
Toward the end of last spring I was really beginning to get frustrated with the owners of the company for which I work. I'm in charge of a small 3-person IT dept (including myself). We do it all: servers, website, programming, network, desktop support, software, printers, etc. We are overworked to begin with. And there are some VERY important 'big picture' items we need to be concentrating on.... but they have me focused on short-term things and constantly changing direction. They were making decisions that I KNOW were the wrong decisions. It was REALLY starting to stress me out.
Then, one day I realized... THEY own the company. If they want to run it into the ground there's not a darn thing I can do to stop it. All I can do (as long as I'm working there) is show up and do the best job I can with what I've got... and communicate what I think the priorities should be from my chair. If they don't listen to me - and it all blows up someday - It's NOT my fault. It all has to do with giving up control.... which can be a very healthy thing spiritually and psychologically.
What nobody is saying here is... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's all about letting it go, CYA, documentation, etc.
Here's an idea: sit down with the boss and ask him what his objections are to the policy. Perhaps, rather than dictating something that he finds inconvenient, invasive, or just doesn't like, you should engage him in the solution process. Chances are, if he has a hand in designing the solution, he'll participate in it.
I can think of all kinds of potential problems with your system. I'll pretend to channel your boss for a minute. Maybe I don't want to have everything on my computer backed up. (Perhaps he has a mistress, offshore accounts, cooking the books, records of skimming, concealing things from his wife's divorce attorney) Maybe I don't want to swap my computer that I love with one that you are pulling out of the pool. (I don't want the one that Scroggins has been using, that dude picks his nose, and then goes right on typing. And he types a lot.) Maybe I don't want to drop my computer off once a week for you guys to back it up. (I'm the fucking boss, why should I follow your schedule, punk)
So, if my channeling is correct, you give him a script that only backs up essential folders, and some thumb drives. And then you come collect his backed-up thumb drive once a week, leave a fresh one, and archive the backup onto the server somewhere, where it gets backed up for real.
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:3, Interesting)
I tried to mod you insightful, then the mouse wheel slipped and i accidentally clicked 'redundant' instead. sorry.
CYA.
Cover your ass.
Just about every industry is like a big pot of boiling soup: the crud rises to the top. "I'm wrong, your fired"
Document everything, and back it up. make sure you talk to several different managers about the issue. hopefully, at least one will listen/do something. If not, at least when a problem does come up, they can't say they weren't warned.
Hey look...now I'm the redundant one...
Re:Don't be a dumb ass (Score:4, Interesting)
This whole "flip it around" idiom doesn't work well for me. I am a very unusual person. I know if I was an owner, I wouldn't be an ass, I would not only accept criticism, but would solicit it. I would make sure that if the policy doesn't work for me, then it can't work for anyone, but if it works for others, it better work for me too. In other words, if having my computer backed up is too onerous for me, I would assume it was also too onerous for my employees. On the other hand, if something is not a big imposition and has good benefits, I expect everyone, including myself, to follow it. I would basically eat my own dog food.
Since I am a great person, unlike most business owners, saying "flip it around" just doesn't work for me. I know that if an employee came up to me and criticized me, it wouldn't be a career ending move. But that's just me.
Document what's going on and why (Score:1, Interesting)
I worked at a small business for ~7 and a couple times this sort of situation came up.
It's clear your boss isn't convinced that this policy makes sense for his/her situation, otherwise he'd grudgingly agree to your "red tape". Is it just laziness (let's say "the bosses' personal cost/benefit") on their part or is there a legit business reason behind their decision? Sometimes its better to ask what's going on, rather than just assume.
But let's assume your boss has no real good reason.
Make sure you put your request in an email to make it a bit more formal and to leave a paper trail. A shrewd boss will realize what you're doing but that is part of the point; you are signalling that you take this seriously. But you don't want to be overly concerned about something that is non-critical. Make it friendly but firm. You want to be polite enough that the boss doesn't feel threatened or bullied, but firm enough so that they know you are serious and you have professional concerns. Make sure at a minimum that your email covers the basics: the reason the boss should really be doing X and that its impact on the company (or the risk borne by the company) is clear in the email. If you don't hear back, follow up with a 1-liner once a week later in case the boss was super-busy. Then let it drop; remember your boss's job is to gauge business risks and costs and cost/risk tradeoffs are what business is all about.
Some other words I've found helpful with non-IT bosses, which may be helpful for emails or verbal conversations are:
"It's my professional recommendation that we should"....
"At the end of the day, we'll do whatever you want, but I think we should..."
These both communicate that the boss is not dealing with arrogant IT or a power struggle, but they are neglecting the value of what they are paying for if they ignore your advice.
Good luck.
--LP
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:5, Interesting)
Generally "misconduct" involves an act of willful disregard of the employer's interests or a deliberate violation of the employer's rules or an intentional and substantial disregard of the employee's duty to the employer.
If you subpoena the employers timekeeping records and they only show you being late 3 times in 10 years then their appeal of your benefits will get denied.
Re:meh, keep it simple (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd ask anyone who routinely overrides your authority in the data-protection sphere to sign a form
And as you flop that document out for them to sign, also ask if you can leave the building under your own power rather than being manhandled out by security.
Its time people in IT get over themselves. They don't run the company and they do not tell management what to do with their own computers.
TFA said "all computers would return to IT to have their contents backed up".
Really? What CEO in his right mind would turn over the contents of his hard drive to geeks with ink stained pockets?
Re:sociopaths (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Pretty much the best way (Score:5, Interesting)
The reasonable period is 12 months in the UK, just like the rest of the EU. It's all working time directive related. The Labour government revoked out opt out of the working time directive over a decade ago.
Also if the employer is deemed to be firing people at say 11 months to avoid this rule they will be done. I am not a lawyer but my brother is an employment tribunal judge, and you do pick up lots over the years.
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:1, Interesting)
As a rule, NEVER jump the chain of command. The previous scenario is so rare as to be almost unbelievable.
Some middle managers tend to stagnate by being reasonable because they can't stand treating people like beasts of burden but usually they turn all of their business dealings into a big poker "game." (Everything's a game, a joke or some other stupid trick to avoid admitting what a worthless social predator that they really are.)
Usually there's some giant lidless eye of a consultant trying to "teach" them a management philosophy but usually that means that the person who hired the eye is too cowardly to confront or be honest with people and will fire anyone the eye recommends to have fired. Only small businesses, too small for a dedicated IT staff, ever manage to avoid the CYA business model.
If you jump the chain, you've given them the reason to fire you.
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:3, Interesting)
Myself, I wouldn't want to work where I wasn't wanted. Eventually they'll find a way to get rid of you.
I've seen it go poorly with union jobs. It wasn't me directly, it was through observation. A grocery store chain was on strike. Those who were very visible and had decent jobs did go back to work after the strike was over. They didn't get their good jobs back. For example, a full time manager became a part time bagger. Someone in the office ended up on a loading dock.
It's not hard to get rid of someone you don't want. I've seen a lot of places that will reduce a full time person down to part time (4 hours) 1 day per week. If you don't get the hint from that, you just won't get scheduled for the next week. You're not technically unemployed, you just don't happen to be working. A 4 hour/week check looks really pathetic beside a 40 hour/week check with overtime. Maybe they'll change your shifts frequently, or bounce you between tasks until they find a task you simply don't want to do, or are unskilled to do, or are even physically incapable of doing. At one chain I knew about a person who was striving for senior management. As part of their training, they were sent to various stores, and had to work every department. After 3 months away from home, they ended up in a loading area, where they were required to lift and carry 75 pound containers. The individual was about 5'3, weighed about 100 lbs, and simply couldn't do it. Since she wasn't able to accomplish it, she was terminated from the company, because she could not do the job she was assigned to. That's when she clued into the fact that she was being indirectly told that she wasn't welcome becoming senior management, and they were just encouraging her to quit.
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:4, Interesting)
Paper trail. It's the most important thing to remember. Tape recordings are fine and dandy, if you don't mind spooling through hours of tape to try to find one conversation, which may or may not be legal where you are. Sometimes it takes one person being aware that a recording is being made. Sometimes it requires both parties.
If you document every request and response, even if it's just email, then you have a record of what's been happening. Don't say anything, because it's left to the witnesses to testify to what they heard. Even if you have a tape recording saying one thing, they could simply say "But I told him something contrary in a later conversation."
Be consistent with your paper trail too. Ask for every request to be made via email, or after a conversation ask, "can you please send that to me in an email?" Besides saving you in future proceedings, it will also help you document other things that happened. "Do you remember when we made this change?" "Sure, it's in my email. December 4th 2001, you requested it, and December 5th 2001 I finished it.
Keep your paper trail off site somewhere, that you have exclusive access to, like your home computer.
It may be advantageous to have a policy for retention. If you get called into court years later regarding an incident, no matter how innocent it seemed at the time, you may simply be lacking the trail. "No, I only retain those documents for 2 years. I have no records related to your case." Be honest though. If you say you don't have it, but your equipment is subpoenaed and it's found, then you're in trouble.
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:2, Interesting)
Depends, most states are "at will" employment, you can be terminated at any time, for any reason . . .
In the end, it's their company, their data, their risk.
If you want this to be effective, ensure that you communicate the risk - and that they understand it. Also, figure out an easy, non-intrusive way to do this. Laptops are key for most business leaders, and being without it, even overnight can be hard to schedule. Plus they may not want you snoping around it.
What about a USB hard drive attached to the docking station that does background back up? Similar to time machine on a mac?
Re:Explain what can happen (Score:4, Interesting)
There's really nothing to keep an employer from being vindictive. Sure, go back to court and say They aren't playing nice with me." If a company really felt they had to keep you, they may just do something like open a site in the Antarctic, with just one machine and one employee, and you would be in charge of the site.
It's not like that [answers.com] ever happens though.
Hey, it'd be a high seniority position. Site manager is much more important that code monkey, right? :) Of course, it's a long walk home after they notify you that they've decided to terminate services there. "Promotions" aren't always what they seem.
I was reading about someone who did win the case against their employer. They were given a very nice office, a big title, and a secretary. They had absolutely no responsibilities, and no work to do. He was being paid to warm his chair from 9am to 5pm. He did that for a decade, and admitted that he was bored out of his skull. They didn't like him working there, but didn't want to end up in court again if they tried to terminate him again. Because the level of distrust was there, they couldn't assign him any work.
Re:Works both ways (Score:4, Interesting)
On the face of it, it seems a reasonable argument and in fact IS the argument used by the 43 states that don't offer any kind of employee protection whatsoever. However, if you activate your critical thinking skills, you'll see that reciprocity (which is what you're trying to define) doesn't exist. If, for example, I decided to just not show up to work anymore my company will go on just fine without me even though I do work in a fairly critical position. It might mean other members of my team will have to work a bit harder for a few weeks to fill the void, but there will be no overwhelming financial impact to the company whatsoever.
On the other hand, if my company decides to fire me because I wore white after Labor Day (a stupid reason, yes, but a legal one nonetheless in all but 7 states), then I am subject to severe financial disruption, not to mention the loss of medical benefits for myself and family. In all but a few states, being fired makes you ineligible for unemployment (you need to be laid off with the potential for recall to be eligible), so you're on your own regardless of there being a valid reason or not. Beyond that, whenever you interview going forward, you have to explain why you were terminated BUT you're not allowed to speak negatively of a former employer in an interview...so keep it positive! Even if you do, the myth of "they're not allowed to say anything negative about you in a reference" is a meme that should've died a long time ago. They can say whatever they want when giving a reference, legally it just has to be true. However, as you're an unemployed schlub with no income...good luck finding a lawyer who will take your case on a contingency if they lie.
We can try and spin it any way we like, the fact is the deck is stacked 100% against you. Is it likely you'll be fired for wearing white after Labor Day? Is it likely, however, that you'll be fired for another equally stupid reason? In this economy, anything's possible.