New hire, make him SET-UP his own pc?
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As the title suggests, I'm getting a new hire for my department. He's got an unrelated bachelors, but has taken some computer science classes in the process and has some background at Geek Squad.
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out" as I remembered that I had a hiccup with it myself a ways back, before I knew the difference between a desktop and a workstation.
My intent wouldn't be hazing, but more of "you should be able to troubleshoot your own pc at the bare minimum" as I've been in the situation myself where I had tickets coming in, and I still had to figure out how to re-image my workstation and get it up and running in a hurry.
I'm a veteran (infantry) and this is the soldier equivalent to "knowing your rifle" I feel, but sometimes these mindsets don't translate well to the civilian sector, so this is an moral sense test if you will.
What do you guys think? Is this unneccessary, cruel, or half-brained?
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@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
As the title suggests, I'm getting a new hire for my department. He's got an unrelated bachelors, but has taken some computer science classes in the process and has some background at Geek Squad.
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out" as I remembered that I had a hiccup with it myself a ways back, before I knew the difference between a desktop and a workstation.
My intent wouldn't be hazing, but more of "you should be able to troubleshoot your own pc at the bare minimum" as I've been in the situation myself where I had tickets coming in, and I still had to figure out how to re-image my workstation and get it up and running in a hurry.
I'm a veteran (infantry) and this is the soldier equivalent to "knowing your rifle" I feel, but sometimes these mindsets don't translate well to the civilian sector, so this is an moral sense test if you will.
What do you guys think? Is this unneccessary, cruel, or half-brained?
Yes, why not? It's not really "building your own PC" - more like configuring and installing software on an already built system.
And besides, don't you have better things to do than setting up his PC for him? Meaning he was hired to work right? Not create work for others. So he might as well get started! And if he runs into problems you can help him out.
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Totally agree - as a matter of fact, I had to build the last two computers I worked on for work. It gets them some exposure into the process. So it is a great introduction to the organization and how the department works and what is and IS NOT used.
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@mr-jones Also it's a good way to test his knowledge - See how he handles a project etc. There are lots of reasons this is a good idea in my opinion.
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Depends on what you want the end result to be and how much your org likes standards. I'd say to let him build / get it up and running with a bit of oversight / supervision and then show him the org's standard build / config procedures if it's going to be part of his day-to-day.
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Hopefully the process is already documented. If it isn't documented yet, that is something that should have already been done. Nothing wrong with having someone following a documented process.
If not documented currently, it's just a huge annoyance and hindrance to doing his actual job. You could use this as an opportunity to guide him and have him document the process, however.
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@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out"
Because when someone starts a new job, they should have a functional system and work area waiting for them.
If you feel a need to train him in putting together a workstation, I'm sure you can do that too, but why have him start a new job without a functional system?
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@obsolesce said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out"
Because when someone starts a new job, they should have a functional system and work area waiting for them.
If you feel a need to train him in putting together a workstation, I'm sure you can do that too, but why have him start a new job without a functional system?
I agree and disagree.
Most times, all the access and such isn't there yet. So what else are they to do? This at least gives them something to work on while things are being set up.
ETA: I started 28 Jun 2021, I am still getting access to systems I will be supporting.... I'm also having to create some of that documentation... but - that's another story.
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@gjacobse said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@obsolesce said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out"
Because when someone starts a new job, they should have a functional system and work area waiting for them.
If you feel a need to train him in putting together a workstation, I'm sure you can do that too, but why have him start a new job without a functional system?
I agree and disagree.
Most times, all the access and such isn't there yet. So what else are they to do? This at least gives them something to work on while things are being set up.
ETA: I started 28 Jun 2021, I am still getting access to systems I will be supporting.... I'm also having to create some of that documentation... but - that's another story.
Lack of documentation and consistency between deployments of equipment creates problems. I've been with enough organizations to realize setting up my own PC just shows a failure in their current process. Also, giving a brand new user local admin rights to setup their PC is poor security practice. Really no user should be running their system as admin or root. If they need software installed, it should already be approved and packaged for them in most cases.
I get that IT employees need more software than typical user, but there should be documentation for IT admin tools and even packages to deploy them in most cases.
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@irj said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@gjacobse said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@obsolesce said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
We have an HP Z440 workstation sitting on the shelf, that I was about to configure for him, but I had the idea of "why don't I just make him figure it out"
Because when someone starts a new job, they should have a functional system and work area waiting for them.
If you feel a need to train him in putting together a workstation, I'm sure you can do that too, but why have him start a new job without a functional system?
I agree and disagree.
Most times, all the access and such isn't there yet. So what else are they to do? This at least gives them something to work on while things are being set up.
ETA: I started 28 Jun 2021, I am still getting access to systems I will be supporting.... I'm also having to create some of that documentation... but - that's another story.
Lack of documentation and consistency between deployments of equipment creates problems. I've been with enough organizations to realize setting up my own PC just shows a failure in their current process. Also, giving a brand new user local admin rights to setup their PC is poor security practice. Really no user should be running their system as admin or root. If they need software installed, it should already be approved and packaged for them in most cases.
I get that IT employees need more software than typical user, but there should be documentation for IT admin tools and even packages to deploy them in most cases.
TLDR - Making someone setup their own workstation isn't the flex you think it is.
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Yeah I agree with the post above about making someone setup their own computer as being a flex.
It's not setting up and deploying a clustered file system, it's literally installing applications (and maybe the OS).
Very basic stuff that the most junior of professionals should be able to easily do.
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I would honestly expect the interview to have sorted out this type of person in the first place too.
While I can see the value in showing someone how your deployments normally are setup, this is essentially wasting their time and yours, because they may not install or use the same tools that you're used to using.
Set it up for them, and get them ready and able to work as soon as possible.
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@mr-jones is part of his job to deal with OS setup? If not this just stupid waste of time.
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OMG, so he is like a survey of "everything but IT?"
GeekSquad does bench, not IT.
Computer Science is CS, about as far from IT as you get.
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@mr-jones my feeling is that this is unrelated. Building a computer isn't something IT does or any normal company needs. And how will he know the company standards and stuff without a computer to work from.
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@dustinb3403 said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
Yeah I agree with the post above about making someone setup their own computer as being a flex.
It's not setting up and deploying a clustered file system, it's literally installing applications (and maybe the OS).
Very basic stuff that the most junior of professionals should be able to easily do.
Most high school students should be able to do.
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I try hard to have a nice, new computer fully installed, updated, and ready to go on day one for new hires if possible. It makes us look professional and competent from an IT perspective. Like we are happy to have them on the team and want them productive and successful. It makes them feel better about their job both that they are wanted and that they chose a good place to work. We want to impress them.
We also want them focused on their jobs and learning. They have plenty to learn that they can't know before we hire them like our ticketing system, documentation, email, chat, phones, who is who in the hierarchy, and so forth. I don't want them distracted from getting up to speed.
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@scottalanmiller said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
I try hard to have a nice, new computer fully installed, updated, and ready to go on day one for new hires if possible. It makes us look professional and competent from an IT perspective. Like we are happy to have them on the team and want them productive and successful. It makes them feel better about their job both that they are wanted and that they chose a good place to work. We want to impress them.
We also want them focused on their jobs and learning. They have plenty to learn that they can't know before we hire them like our ticketing system, documentation, email, chat, phones, who is who in the hierarchy, and so forth. I don't want them distracted from getting up to speed.
@scottalanmiller Appreciate the input. One of my biggest reasons for asking this question was because I felt that it wouldn't be recieved well. As you've outlined, it could give them the impression they weren't valued, and that's not the impact I would be looking for.
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@jaredbusch said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@mr-jones is part of his job to deal with OS setup? If not this just stupid waste of time.
Absolutely. Since his background isn't in Windows, setting up and configuring Windows is something he'd need to know.
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@mr-jones said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@jaredbusch said in New hire, make him build his own pc?:
@mr-jones is part of his job to deal with OS setup? If not this just stupid waste of time.
Absolutely. Since his background isn't in Windows, setting up and configuring Windows is something he'd need to know.
Ok the. Make him do it on a spare machine. Or if on his machine, make sure he has a temp to use.
Also to make @scottalanmiller haooy change the title away from Build a pc. Since you only mean setup windows.
