[oclug] [OT] - In need of comments

[Tom Trottier]

My advice would be:
 - Make sure you don't know him. Don't do this to friends. Don't get to 
know him until after he's fired.
 - Make sure you can handle the system, are familiar with the OS & 
common programs they use.
 - He should be fired just before the weekend or other quiet days, when 
the system is not needed, or while he is away on vacation, and escorted 
off. He should be offered a good settlement that won't take forever and 
won't make him mad.
 - You should do a complete backup and then reinstall everything from 
its original disks. Check his update logs, manual and auto. Preferably, 
you should do a complete install on similar server (& client) systems 
in another location well before he is fired, document the procedure and 
any glitches, & have some users test that all the functions work. 
properly. Document the procedure & results for them to keep.
 - Be ready to provide support for several weeks after, at least.
 - Don't undercharge for all your time and don't underestimate the 
possible time it will take. Warn the manager about the costs of doing, 
and the risks of shortcuts, and of doing nothing.

Should you do it? Yes, enterprises need to be able to free themselves 
of people they don't trust -- but with a proper settlement.

tOM

On Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 15:28, Brian Barber 
<oclug at lists.oclug.on.ca>
wrote re "Re: [oclug] [OT] - In need of comments" saying:

> I've been through this before and I think that David's advice is 
> sound.  If I were you, having been there, I would rather be a 
> spectator.  Perhaps your services would better utilized, and your 
> sanity preserved, after the dust has settled.
> 
> BB
> 
> Brian Barber
> Ottawa, ON   CANADA
> brian.barber at mysun.com
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bigras, Guy" <g.bigras at telesat.ca>
> Date: Thursday, August 8, 2002 12:52 pm
> Subject: [oclug] [OT] - In need of comments
> 
> > Hello all,
> > 
> > A friend of mine works in a small office where the IT guy is quite 
> > arrogant.  The owners want to fire that person but are afraid of 
> > repercussions such as: putting viruses on the computers, 
> > connecting to the office from home and mess things around, etc, 
> > etc,  This guy is the only one (in the office) that knows the 
> > "system" and knows what to do when things crash and of course he 
> > has never been forthcoming with divulging any info when helping 
> > out (knowledge is power kinda' situation).  Therefore if he goes 
> > not only do they fear retaliation but they will be without any help.
> > 
> > I've offered to help by looking at their setup and on the event 
> > that they fire him, I would make sure that no harm is done to the 
> > systems.  My concern is that should I even be involved in 
> > something like this ?  I don't mind helping but I also don't want 
> > to be messed up in legal battles (if it should occur).  Should 
> > this small company talk to the authorities before hand to find out 
> > what their options are ?
> > 
> > I know this is off-topic but if any of you have seen or been in 
> > this situation, some guidance would be appreciated.
> > 
> > Thanks in advance.
> > Guy

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