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Getting Company Owners To Follow Their Own Rules?
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?"
Explain the risks, if they choose to ignore it document that they have not returned the laptop to be backed up so that they can't try and blame you if it goes wrong and data loss does occur.
I'd ask anyone who routinely overrides your authority in the data-protection sphere to sign a form indicating something to the effect that they've been informed of these policies and the potential risks and if it all comes crashing down because they don't listen to you, it's not your fault.
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
If they do -- shut up and work around it.
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"?
Quite simply, you don't. I've worked at large banks that do not follow their own rules. IT cannot drive policy if C level executives do not want to follow the policy. If you can get auditors or examiners to force the policy to be followed, then it can work. Otherwise, IT cannot do anything. They will only be seen as chicken little and IT will lose what little standing they have at the company already.
They who have the gold make the rule.
Your responsibility is to recommend and record your recommendation, and do your job as you can.
In the end, it is "their" company, not yours. It's the way of capitalism. You don't like that? Change your job.
For what it's worth, I didn't mean any of this in sarcastic/offensive way. I am being sincere.
Flip it around and see how you would see things if you were the owner.
Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
See if you can assign a value to the data already lost because of their failure to follow the rules. We did a variation of this at Xerox ASD in the 70's and locked Charles Simonyi (yes, that Charles) out of "his" own source code.
It's funny, every year we prepare for auditors, and all we have to do is show them that we have a policy, not that we actually follow the policy. It's really quite hilarious and yet sad at the same time. For instance, we have to show them that we are doing scans of our network looking for vulnerabilities, but all they want is a log with someones name and a date on it. They don't care what was found or that anything was done with the information that we found. They could care less. The sad thing is, the company doing the audit is a very large company. The truth is that most management could care less about policies. Password complexity? Sure, just don't assign it to the management. Screensaver locks after 10 minutes? There better be an exceptions group for the CEO and her secretary. It's really quite sickening really. It's amazing what you can get people to do for you when you're the network admin's boss' boss' boss.
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...
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
You've created a policy and don't have the owner-level execs onboard?
That's failure #1 right there. Good policy making for security purposes isn't "And IT saith THUS!". Operating in this kind of vacuum gets your enforcement NO PLACE. Fast!
You have to involve these people pretty much from the get-go. This way they understand why the policy is in place and have less self-provided incentive to circumvent it.
And yes, as others have said, a small amount of "horror story" can go a long way too. But only DURING the policy creation process. Afterwards, they look at it as simple justification of an arbitrary policy.
Right now you guys haven't got a leg to stand on.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
I mean you can't make the owners do anything. They own it, it is theirs to do with as they please. They could close up shop tomorrow for no reason if they wanted. So you can't force them to do as they should. Likewise, nagging them could be a bad career move. So the best thing is a CYA. Have something that says they understand the risks of not following the policy more or less. Then, if shit does break you should be covered. They'll either realize that they made a mistake and be fine, or they'll come looking to blame you and you can pull out the document and say "We made sure to inform you of the risks and you signed off saying you understood them and that it was up to you if you chose not to follow them."
That's the best you can do.
What makes you think the owner's information should be available to you in the IT department?
It has been shown (I can't google the study right now) that people in senior management have a much higher incidence of sociopathic and psychopathic behavior than the general population. If your management insists on rules for others that they don't follow themselves, and consciously flout, they may fall into that group. In that case, keep your resume and interview skills up-to-date.
Understand that the owner(s) are a peer group and have their own dynamic. It's their company, not yours. If they liked following orders, they'd be employees not owners.
...
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.
1) Thank you for trying to save me money. Your recommendations are welcome as I'm paying you for your expertise and opinions.
2) If you're going to try to have me sign something like that I'm going to have a talk with you about bureaucracy and how we can't afford a BS cover your ass mentality in a small company. You may rest assured that if I don't back up and there's a crash there are two possible results: If I'm a bad manager I'm going to come back at you and no little piece of paper will stop me from firing you (though I'd expect you would receive unemployment as it's not really for cause). If I'm a good manager I'm going to write the check to cover the damages, feel foolish and accept your recommendation going forward.
3) If it's a dumbass relative that thinks they can ignore the rules because they're family working in a family business (and they don't sign the checks) then I expect to see their name (and possibly mine if I'm doing it too) on the report of IT security scofflaws that you periodically (though infrequently) prepare for me.
In a company controlled by a single or few owners it is reasonable to recommend, cajole, suggest or encourage proper owner behavior, but if you dictate it and attempt to threaten (for instance by saying in a confrontational manner 'ok, but I'm not taking responsibility then') you are writing checks that your expertise may not be able to cash. As an owner it's important that my IT works right, but it's absolutely imperative that I don't lose control of the company. Don't make me think that you're trying to take it away from me or lord your technical expertise over me unless you have a VERY secure position.
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.
cat
"How do I get through to the bosses..."
Talk boss language to them.
Wait until one costs the company something through a computer failure and failure to follow the policy.
Fix the problem and present the machine back to them with a bill for the repair. Make sure to boost the price to cover any ancillaries such as your training, their training, their retraining, lost time to the company due to their down time, and any similar costs you can dream up. Keep copies.
Request a general meeting with the bossships. Present the data from the above repair, anonymized to protect the guilty. Compare the cost presented with the cost of following policy. Make sure to point out that they too stand to lose financially (ie not make even more money) if they or others cost the company money. Suggest that in order to protect the company they adopt the policy that such unnecessary costs be charged to the individual in the future.
For theft, adjust scenario as necessary as well as costs. For concominant data theft, do the same, as well as figure in cost to the company.
Or put together a 'what if' report based on a previous loss and present that at such a meeting, rather than wait until it actually happens. Feel free to pretend it did at the start of your presentation (with knowledge of at least one boss). Done this way you could make it look like the company was sunk and scare the bejeezus out of them.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
"The owners may want to do that if the computers were used for storing some confidential information. Such a backup cannot be stored on your shelf among books and other assorted DVDs. If the owners know what they are doing, they perform backup of those computers themselves, and keep the media at home"
That's a very good point, it's quite likely that the owners know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. You won't get far in business by blindly trusting everyone who works for you.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
My advice: Find a new job.
It's done wonders for my stress levels.
No sig for you!!
I mean ya, if the owners are major assholes they could fire you anyhow, however such a thing can be useful. First, it may make them change their behaviour and if it doesn't it can help protect you. Reason is they are then presented with evidence that they were informed and indicated that fact. If not, it is easy for ego to interfere with memory and them to say "You never told me this would be a problem!" However with a document they are more likely to say "Ya, I screwed up, now what do we do to make sure this isn't a problem in the future?"
In any company, there is no 100% protection from being fired no matter what. However having good documentation can go a long way. People do not have perfect memories and often we remember things the way we wish they had been, not how they really were. Documentation can help prevent that.
Also you don't present it as a "This is just for you because you are assholes" document. Rather, it is a policy exception document. If someone wants to not need to back up their data, you have them sign a doc that says they know the risks, and perhaps have it countersigned and ok'd by a boss. In the case of the bosses, they just sign it themselves.
So you are hired to perform a professional service, and your brilliant sugestion is not to do the work properly but to follow the money?
What kind of "professional" are you? Not one I would want on a sensitive environment, since obviously you would not have the presence of mind to stick to security procedures.
There is certainly a problem if you don't bring on board of your suggestions the owners of your place of employment, but that is a problem of presentation. Part of the skill set of a Systems Administrator is to be able to convince people about why something is necessary and to ensure people will abide by what has been agreed.
Obviously you may have more problems enforcing the rules with people with political power in the firm, but that does not leave you of the hook from a moral, professional and most importantly, legal point of view when legality is relevant.
I have worked for big corps, and I am telling you in no uncertain terms that the CEO or majority shareholders, who earn millions per year, will not access my systems without following the procedures in place. This is actually a very easy case to make, since it would be for their own legal protection.
If you can't make a convincing case for your policies then you have to rethink them and to present them in a way that is attractive to the people that is being disruptive (i.e.: your ass will not go to jail)....
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I fully agree. Employers don't generally win unemployment compensation hearings, even when they are correct. In many cases, the employer has a policy to appeal ANY unemployment claim, just to set up a few additional hoops for the employee to jump through. Most of the time, the employers don't even show up for the hearing. As a result, the state labor department deals with a LOT of junk appeals. Even when the employer shows up, the burden of proof is upon THEM and most of the time, they aren't up to the task.
I know of a guy who was thrown out during some kind of bizarre purge. The company had a change in management and this guy was clearly not part of the plan. So the company tried to cobble together some sort of justification. However, their schedule for firing him did not allow for collecting enough excuses. The purge worked in such a way that the guy's boss had already been let go, so actual facts of the employee's performance were in short supply. What little they had was wrong.
So of course, the employer appeals the unemployment claim. The hearing is held and the employer is absent. After losing by default, THEN the employer appeals to re-open the case. The employee's witnesses are subpoenaed and the day of the second hearing arrives. By this time, the employer has engaged some kind of unemployment compensation management firm to try and win the case. Upon seeing the employee's counter claim and witness list, the consultant tells the judge, "Upon review, this case does not rise to the standard necessary to establish termination for cause. We withdraw our appeal."
Considering how routine these shenanigans are, is it any wonder the employers usually lose?
So I was working at a large defense company, and they had been dinged by the gov't for high-level management fraud. So part of the penalty was all employees that weren't managers had to take a mandatory Ethics class, run by... the managers.
Add in that the class included a Dilbert Ethics Game-- an actual, licensed Dilbert[TM] board game with little Dilbert characters and cartoons in it, where you had to move around and then answer ethics questions.
Oh, and it turns out you could win the game without correctly answering the questions, as my team figured out victory was based on position on the board, not score. And the only team that could have beat us took the high road, and when faced with one ethic question said "We know you want to hear answer A, but really, we would do answer B, as would any reasonable person."
I'm still not sure what lessons we learned.
A.
Every so often reiterate the policy in writing to them and when they ignore it, they ignore it. It's their funeral.
the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
It's not so much about being able to fire or quit on the spot, it's about giving both the employer and the employee time to make alternative arrangements.
It means that the company has a month or whatever your leave period is to find a replacement so that they're not inconvenienced and hence don't have their business dealings interrupted and it's about ensuring the employee has time to find another job, so that they're not a drain on the state either because they end up claiming unemployment benefits, or because they have no money and end up resorting to crime, or simply end up losing their house and end up on the street.
I should note that you can still just walk out of your job here tommorrow if you choose, you don't have to work your notice period, however if you do then you just wont get paid any remaining holiday leave you haven't used up and are owed for example that's all. Similarly companies can just sack you tommorrow if they want too, but they have to have justification to do it without giving you a bit of notice and hence time to find another job.
Effectively, we have the same freedoms in terms of firing and quitting, just that we have additional safeguards to ensure it's done in a way that minimises problems for both the employee and the employer and makes the transition between employees and jobs as smooth as possible.
Truth be told, if you're an American worker, you are expendable. You can be outsourced or replaced faster than you realize. Sure, the company might have some serious issues (of if you're a really bad IT guy, come crashing down because you took all the keys to the fortress that the company didn't even know existed). Generally, life goes on without you in that company.
You're best bet is to understand the reasons why your policies aren't working and rewrite them to work. If you can't get them to give you their machines for backup, write scripts to back them up when connected to the network (there are solutions out there that can do this for you, too).
If they don't want to spend the money or allow you to bog down their machines, negotiate other solutions. Sure, you're not going to get an ideal-for-you resolution. I'm not sure if you realize this, but the world doesn't revolve around IT. If something bad happens, it's never just one persons fault. Everyone is at risk. It's no different with automobiles, homes or the food supply for that matter.
CYA is only one necessary reaction when dealing with these types of situations.
Getting creative and working with the staff ensures you continue to have a job. It will also teach you about what types of questions your should be asking before declaring policies and that policies are really only guidelines when it comes to owners and high level managers.
If all else fails, it's time to move on. Do so before it gets ugly so you can get some good references. Everyone dies on a burning bridge.
Parmasean Cheese. It's what's for dinner.
Seems reasonable to me. I can quit anytime I want; why can't they fire me anytime they want? I'm selling them my labor. They're free to buy labor from whomever they want, and I'm free to sell to whomever I want.
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.
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