"However I am lucky to have the full backing of the CEO, he likes people to come to work to work, not to do anything else.' Now that is a novel idea! I wish ours did. He is allowing staff to come and go at will, not show up at all for days, and use "company" time to browse the Internet without any controls. I have one user that to put it lightly likes young ladies but as long as no one see's it on any of his systems no comment is made. No it is not illegal what he is looking at but there are limits to comments I have heard out of him. All but a few of the staff enjoy those perks. Less than a third of the entire staff get quized if we call in sick and as far as not showing they call us at home even on vacations. Sour grapes maybe but try being told to reschedule vacations and doctors appointments because you are needed at the office only to show up and maybe 2 or 3 others are here working the rest are out.
Jon On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 5:43 AM, James Rankin <[email protected]> wrote: > We only have about 500 users. We are just about 98% thin client though, > which means users have no local storage. So their personal "dumping grounds" > cut across my file storage. It's mostly a case of changing people's > perceptions of things. They expect these WinCE thin clients running on > Citrix desktops to virtual servers to respond as fast as the PCs they had > before, and they don't. Same way they can't understand why I am bothered > about them filling up their "My Documents" with junk, they seem to think it > is all stored on their monitor :-) > > I have my sights set on their Windows Mobile devices and Blackberries next > (cue evil laugh). However I am lucky to have the full backing of the CEO, he > likes people to come to work to work, not to do anything else. > > I certainly could cope with a Minnesota winter - however the commute back > to the UK may alienate my girlfriend slightly :-) > > > 2009/4/3 Sam Cayze <[email protected]> > >> James, I hear ya. And glad to have the feedback. Security is a big >> concern for my stated mindset on employee PC use. I still lock these guys >> down to the 'T'. No admin rights, no USB drives during virus scares, no IM, >> OpenDNS block any porn, etc... Trust me, I have still done my fair share in >> alienating them. >> >> Curious, what size is your org? >> >> I haven't really felt all the struggles you mentioned... All photos are >> stored locally on their PCs, I just exclude My Music/My Pictures when I back >> up their machines. So it really takes up zero space on my servers. If they >> fill up their 100gb drives with MP3s, I tell them 'tough beens' and they >> have to trim down. Yes, my mailboxes are huge (2-11GB), but haven't found a >> reason why I should be bothered by it (even after DR drills). I have >> sifted through our email, and 99% of the bulk is work related [yes, they use >> our email for personal use] The only thing that I am erked out about lately >> is SMS usage. Yes, we also let our employees use their company provided >> cells for personal use. The minutes don't matter one dime, but SMS is >> started to take a toll. We used to get it free from Sprint, but not any >> more :( >> >> -Sam >> >> PS: If you can bear Minnesota winters, you have job ;) [Yeah, it snowed >> here yesterday - It's April]. I'm confident Rollouts will be alright >> through these tough times. >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* James Rankin [mailto:[email protected]] >> *Sent:* Friday, April 03, 2009 3:45 AM >> >> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >> *Subject:* Re: Time to relax content filters? >> >> You must have fantastic employees. Ours are far from that. When they >> did have access to every website on earth and could play music on their PCs, >> they didn't reciprocate with utter devotion. When we did block Facebook, I >> had customer service advisors phoning up at 8.05 asking why they couldn't >> get on it. When I did an audit of our file servers, I found 85% of our >> storage space was cluttered with mp3s, wedding photos, photos of their >> friends, joke programs, etc. I hate to think how much of our email storage >> is also full of non-work-related crap. >> >> our productivity is up massively since we went with thin clients, web >> filters, disk quotas and the like. We still allow quota time for Internet >> access to shopping and entertainment sites, etc. The environment is much >> more secure. A few weeks ago an unregulated internet cafe went in at one of >> our remote sites. The machines are now full of porn, so I have been tasked >> to secure the place and replace the PCs with thin clients. >> >> However, it is always different at different places - do you have any >> vacancies? :-) >> >> 2009/4/3 Sam Cayze <[email protected]> >> >>> >>>>Unless you like paying people to work on there Facebook page and >>> talk with there friends, etc etc rather doing the work they are supposed to >>> be doing and getting paid for. >>> >>> [With all due respect / not trying to start an argument here, I am just >>> passionate about this subject, and well, kinda enjoy it. The point is very >>> valid, and I can see it's place at many organizations. But not across the >>> boards...] >>> >>> Yeah, actually WE don't mind paying people to these things. Like I said >>> before, our employees will bend over backwards for our company, 24/7/365. >>> We have a very grey line between company time and personal time. The thing >>> is, we have a dedicated work force that is more than happy to compromise >>> their personal time after hours and help the company if needed. Whether >>> they are at home after hours, on vaca, etc. Therefore, I feel a need to >>> reciprocate the same treatment back to them during business hours. >>> >>> Treat your employees like humans, and they will give you amazing >>> results. Personal lives should NEVER go on hold. Alienate your employees >>> with robotic mandates (In this context: Facebook filters), and they will >>> quit giving you 110%. >>> >>> iTunes on all machines, make your personal appointments on company time, >>> 8am sharp does not exist... I could go on, and it's besides the point. >>> Yeah, the perks here are great, but the way our workforce is whole heartily >>> devoted to our company is priceless. These guys are great, and will do >>> anything for us. It's not through chance or luck that we have great >>> employees, it derives from the way we treat them. >>> >>> -Sam >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Rob Bonfiglio [mailto:[email protected]] >>> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 4:13 PM >>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>> *Subject:* Re: Time to relax content filters? >>> >>> Hold on, I'll answer you after I'm done updating my Twitter. >>> >>> On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 2:18 PM, Ziots, Edward <[email protected]>wrote: >>> >>>> I think not, >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Facebook is personal stuff not to be done on company time. Unless you >>>> like paying people to work on there facebook page and talk with there >>>> friends, etc etc rather doing the work they are supposed to be doing and >>>> getting paid for. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Z >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Edward Ziots >>>> >>>> Network Engineer >>>> >>>> Lifespan Organization >>>> >>>> MCSE,MCSA,MCP+I, ME, CCA, Security +, Network + >>>> >>>> [email protected] >>>> >>>> Phone:401-639-3505 >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> >>>> *From:* Jonathan Link [mailto:[email protected]] >>>> *Sent:* Thursday, April 02, 2009 1:55 PM >>>> *To:* NT System Admin Issues >>>> *Subject:* Time to relax content filters? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
