June 5, 2008 at 01:17How to fire an IT specialist
- Transfer
Joseph Powell began to suspect something was wrong when his admin refused to give up administrator rights to accounting software. Powell, who worked as a superintendent in a private school, began to notice other oddities. When the school leadership nevertheless forced the administrator to provide a username and password, Joseph discovered here and there intentional errors in the school database. “We also noticed that our network worked much worse when he was dissatisfied with one or another decision of the management towards him,” Powell says.
By the time that Powell and the school leadership decided to fire the admin, he had already read all their mail. Therefore, Joseph was forced to correspond with the bosses from the public library, from where he opened an alternative mailbox.
In the conditions of the Cold War, the manager had to hire a special team of IT specialists who were instructed to backup everything that they find on the school network. This decision was very timely. When the administrator was informed of the dismissal, he said that "he built this network with his own hands and will take it with him." And really tried. On the last day of work, the administrator logged in and erased all documents from the network. If not for Powell’s forethought, the school would have lost all of its digital assets.
Powell’s nightmare is a good example of why dismissing an IT specialist can turn into a tricky task. These are employees who hold the keys to the most valuable, they can merge confidential information in a few keystrokes or disconnect anyone from the network. So what to do when you need to fire one of them in such difficult conditions?
Step 1: Loss Control Plan
The first step is to consider how you can repair any potential damage.
Here is what Todd Stefan, president of Talon Cyber, a high-tech risk management company, says: “Don't chop it. Everything needs to be carefully planned. Planning and forethought are what I consider the most important. ”
He says that there are three important aspects that need to be considered when dismissing an IT specialist: “Access to the network; programs to which he has access; logins and passwords that he knows. ”
Therefore, before you fire someone, you need to secretly find out what type of access he has in different company networks. Find out who else has access to these systems, if no one, then add another user with these rights.
In addition to finding out what access to various systems an IT person who is soon dismissed (but still unaware) has access to it, one must also prepare for the smooth transfer of his powers to other employees, as well as consider special security measures in connection with the dismissal of an employee. If you are not one hundred percent ready for all necessary actions, then it is better to postpone dismissal.
Perhaps at this stage it makes sense to involve a third-party company in the audit of networks. If there are any backdoors on the network or if the IT specialist suspects that he might be fired, he may create some other potential problems, and then the auditors will find out in advance and warn them if they detect any sabotage or signs of removing traces of criminal activity. They can backup critical system elements.
Step 2: Always keep a replacement on hand
Before dismissing an IT professional, make sure that someone else knows what this employee is doing and how to do his job.
“You need to organize your IT department so that it does not have a single indispensable person,” says Robert Monroe, now a professor at Carnegie Mellon, before that he had been involved in software development and project management for 15 years.
One of the main obstacles to firing someone is the idea that he may be the only one who has the knowledge to perform critical tasks. Monroe advises to get rid of nonsense as early as possible from such "information thesaurus" who accumulate information and do not want to share it.
“Always, always, always act with the thought: what if the bus takes him?” Monroe says. If even such a prospect does not frighten the thesaurus, then explain to him three more truths that affect his interests more. People who do not have a reliable changer will never go on vacation. They can never take sick leave. And, even more interesting, they will never be offered a promotion, that is, a more prestigious and highly paid job is now unavailable for them.
One way or another, when conducting strategic battles with the thesaurus on the emotional front, be sure to try to use several tactical techniques that guarantee a retreat in case of failure. Monroe recommends alternating responsibilities between employees of the IT department on a periodic basis so that everyone can partially acquire the necessary abilities and information about critical tasks.
The manager needs to make sure that employees are familiar with the work that their IT team mates do.
Step 3: Do it fast
But how do you actually pull the trigger? Jim Lansalotto, vice president of outsourcing agency Yoh, advises going to the cinema: “You watched the movie “ Office Space ”? So, do exactly the opposite. ” He explains: in the film, management hires labor efficiency consultants who conduct detailed interviews with each employee to find out which one to fire. This creates a barrier between employees in the office, which is wrong.
If you are going to fire an employee, do it quickly. Monroe recommends starting some standard procedure. It should include a check on the list of all points for access to critical systems, as well as a final interview with the dismissed person to clarify all the key points regarding non-disclosure agreements.
Stefan recommends asking questions during the interview to help get rid of problems. For example, to find out what passwords a dismissed person has and to which systems. And also what needs to be done in case of his dismissal. At this time, another employee should examine the computer systems during the interview and make sure that nothing is damaged. Another employee must change passwords and authorization systems, so that after leaving the interview room, the dismissed IT person could not log into the system using someone else's password.
All these preventive actions are completely normal, and they do not mean at all that the employee is treated as a potential criminal. During the dismissal of an IT specialist you need to treat him with respect, communicate in a professional manner. If you need information and you treat him as a criminal, then by this you incline him to give you bad information or damage the system, or completely stop communicating with you.
Warning: do not do this on Friday.
Dismissal just before the weekend only increases the confusion of the employee and gives him time to do more damage to your systems on the weekend, when most employees are absent from work.
Stefan pays attention to the benefits of being fired Monday morning. In this case, you have a weekend to carry out the necessary preparatory work: backup files, search and eliminate backdoors on the network, block access to other systems, and in the process there are not many people around who can guess about the upcoming events.
True, Lansalotto believes that the dismissal of an employee on Monday could adversely affect the productivity of other workers, because they will be discussing this event all week. However, in any case, you can’t fire on Friday.
Step 4: Handling Survivors
The unpleasant part of the work may be behind, but the consequences of the dismissal are not only related to information technology. Employees can be nervous and not find a place, so managers must act quickly to defuse the situation.
“Be as open as possible within the corporate culture,” Monroe says. “If you convey to them the thought that the decision was not arbitrary and arbitrary, then you will eliminate a significant portion of the fears that they have.”
In addition, honest discussion increases the likelihood that an unbalanced office will restore its working capacity on its own. Monroe says that in most cases, if someone is fired for unsuitability, this does not surprise his colleagues. When for the first time, employees gave a standing ovation for dismissing a troubled employee, Monroe realized that the person who is a headache for a manager usually interferes with his colleagues as well.
By the time that Powell and the school leadership decided to fire the admin, he had already read all their mail. Therefore, Joseph was forced to correspond with the bosses from the public library, from where he opened an alternative mailbox.
In the conditions of the Cold War, the manager had to hire a special team of IT specialists who were instructed to backup everything that they find on the school network. This decision was very timely. When the administrator was informed of the dismissal, he said that "he built this network with his own hands and will take it with him." And really tried. On the last day of work, the administrator logged in and erased all documents from the network. If not for Powell’s forethought, the school would have lost all of its digital assets.
Powell’s nightmare is a good example of why dismissing an IT specialist can turn into a tricky task. These are employees who hold the keys to the most valuable, they can merge confidential information in a few keystrokes or disconnect anyone from the network. So what to do when you need to fire one of them in such difficult conditions?
Step 1: Loss Control Plan
The first step is to consider how you can repair any potential damage.
Here is what Todd Stefan, president of Talon Cyber, a high-tech risk management company, says: “Don't chop it. Everything needs to be carefully planned. Planning and forethought are what I consider the most important. ”
He says that there are three important aspects that need to be considered when dismissing an IT specialist: “Access to the network; programs to which he has access; logins and passwords that he knows. ”
Therefore, before you fire someone, you need to secretly find out what type of access he has in different company networks. Find out who else has access to these systems, if no one, then add another user with these rights.
In addition to finding out what access to various systems an IT person who is soon dismissed (but still unaware) has access to it, one must also prepare for the smooth transfer of his powers to other employees, as well as consider special security measures in connection with the dismissal of an employee. If you are not one hundred percent ready for all necessary actions, then it is better to postpone dismissal.
Perhaps at this stage it makes sense to involve a third-party company in the audit of networks. If there are any backdoors on the network or if the IT specialist suspects that he might be fired, he may create some other potential problems, and then the auditors will find out in advance and warn them if they detect any sabotage or signs of removing traces of criminal activity. They can backup critical system elements.
Step 2: Always keep a replacement on hand
Before dismissing an IT professional, make sure that someone else knows what this employee is doing and how to do his job.
“You need to organize your IT department so that it does not have a single indispensable person,” says Robert Monroe, now a professor at Carnegie Mellon, before that he had been involved in software development and project management for 15 years.
One of the main obstacles to firing someone is the idea that he may be the only one who has the knowledge to perform critical tasks. Monroe advises to get rid of nonsense as early as possible from such "information thesaurus" who accumulate information and do not want to share it.
“Always, always, always act with the thought: what if the bus takes him?” Monroe says. If even such a prospect does not frighten the thesaurus, then explain to him three more truths that affect his interests more. People who do not have a reliable changer will never go on vacation. They can never take sick leave. And, even more interesting, they will never be offered a promotion, that is, a more prestigious and highly paid job is now unavailable for them.
One way or another, when conducting strategic battles with the thesaurus on the emotional front, be sure to try to use several tactical techniques that guarantee a retreat in case of failure. Monroe recommends alternating responsibilities between employees of the IT department on a periodic basis so that everyone can partially acquire the necessary abilities and information about critical tasks.
The manager needs to make sure that employees are familiar with the work that their IT team mates do.
Step 3: Do it fast
But how do you actually pull the trigger? Jim Lansalotto, vice president of outsourcing agency Yoh, advises going to the cinema: “You watched the movie “ Office Space ”? So, do exactly the opposite. ” He explains: in the film, management hires labor efficiency consultants who conduct detailed interviews with each employee to find out which one to fire. This creates a barrier between employees in the office, which is wrong.
If you are going to fire an employee, do it quickly. Monroe recommends starting some standard procedure. It should include a check on the list of all points for access to critical systems, as well as a final interview with the dismissed person to clarify all the key points regarding non-disclosure agreements.
Stefan recommends asking questions during the interview to help get rid of problems. For example, to find out what passwords a dismissed person has and to which systems. And also what needs to be done in case of his dismissal. At this time, another employee should examine the computer systems during the interview and make sure that nothing is damaged. Another employee must change passwords and authorization systems, so that after leaving the interview room, the dismissed IT person could not log into the system using someone else's password.
All these preventive actions are completely normal, and they do not mean at all that the employee is treated as a potential criminal. During the dismissal of an IT specialist you need to treat him with respect, communicate in a professional manner. If you need information and you treat him as a criminal, then by this you incline him to give you bad information or damage the system, or completely stop communicating with you.
Warning: do not do this on Friday.
Dismissal just before the weekend only increases the confusion of the employee and gives him time to do more damage to your systems on the weekend, when most employees are absent from work.
Stefan pays attention to the benefits of being fired Monday morning. In this case, you have a weekend to carry out the necessary preparatory work: backup files, search and eliminate backdoors on the network, block access to other systems, and in the process there are not many people around who can guess about the upcoming events.
True, Lansalotto believes that the dismissal of an employee on Monday could adversely affect the productivity of other workers, because they will be discussing this event all week. However, in any case, you can’t fire on Friday.
Step 4: Handling Survivors
The unpleasant part of the work may be behind, but the consequences of the dismissal are not only related to information technology. Employees can be nervous and not find a place, so managers must act quickly to defuse the situation.
“Be as open as possible within the corporate culture,” Monroe says. “If you convey to them the thought that the decision was not arbitrary and arbitrary, then you will eliminate a significant portion of the fears that they have.”
In addition, honest discussion increases the likelihood that an unbalanced office will restore its working capacity on its own. Monroe says that in most cases, if someone is fired for unsuitability, this does not surprise his colleagues. When for the first time, employees gave a standing ovation for dismissing a troubled employee, Monroe realized that the person who is a headache for a manager usually interferes with his colleagues as well.