How to measure an Admin's worth

kltaylor
kltaylor Member, Beta Tester Posts: 1,231
1000 Comments 500 Likes 50 Answers 100 Awesomes
✭✭✭✭✭✭
in General Discussion, Weird & Wonderful #1
I had a discussion with my boss the other day, and it came to my attention that in order to be measured as a viable resource, you have to put out enough "fires".
I've always been a proactive tech, meaning I maintain the network and systems on that network on a routine basis in an effort to prevent problems from happening.  You know, keep the oil topped off, air in the tires, that sort=of thing.
I've found that when you stay on top of that which you are charged to manage, a valid success story should mean that the systems are not interrupted, services are available and a viable disaster recovery process is implemented successfully.  In the event of a failure, replacing the flat tire with a spare (if you will) is painless.
For those that are not very tech-savvy, they are oblivious of the time and effort put into making things run properly, versus waiting for something to break and then fixing it.
Systems that maintain integrity with over 200 employees interacting with the devices on a daily basis, should be calculated as 'a win'.
Now I have to figure out a way to politely list the process and means that I've set up, to show that the process is working because the right engineer is at the helm.
"There's a fine line between audacity and idiocy."
-Warden Anastasia Luccio, Captain

Comments

  • Gidster
    Gidster Member Posts: 224
    100 Likes 100 Comments 25 Awesomes 25 Agrees
    ✭✭✭
    #2
    Yes, it doesn't seem right. And probably not just limited to IT admins and brings to mind the expression "a squeaky wheel gets the most oil"
    Maybe let a big one slip through and be the visible hero you are expected to be :wink:   
    Head of Product at Fing
  • kltaylor
    kltaylor Member, Beta Tester Posts: 1,231
    1000 Comments 500 Likes 50 Answers 100 Awesomes
    ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Gidster said:
    Yes, it doesn't seem right. And probably not just limited to IT admins and brings to mind the expression "a squeaky wheel gets the most oil"
    Maybe let a big one slip through and be the visible hero you are expected to be :wink:   
    That's been a thought once or twice that run through my head.
    We've recently made a change to our ISP/Domain host.  Webmail and Websites were moved to a different provider, and we never experienced a lapse in service.  I wonder how that would have happened if I wasn't as tentative as I was with that.
    "There's a fine line between audacity and idiocy."
    -Warden Anastasia Luccio, Captain
    Gidster
  • Marc
    Marc Moderator, Beta Tester Posts: 3,178
    250 Answers 1,000 Likes 2500 Comments 250 Awesomes
    ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #4

    A cost benefit analysis might some times help. Aka what do you do day to day to prevent outages, vulnerabilities etc and what is the cost if you did not. You would need to know how much it costs your firm to be down per hour etc versus how much they pay you but that can often grab their attention.

    Thats Daphnee, she's a good dog...
    kltaylor
  • kltaylor
    kltaylor Member, Beta Tester Posts: 1,231
    1000 Comments 500 Likes 50 Answers 100 Awesomes
    ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Marc said:

    A cost benefit analysis might some times help. Aka what do you do day to day to prevent outages, vulnerabilities etc and what is the cost if you did not. You would need to know how much it costs your firm to be down per hour etc versus how much they pay you but that can often grab their attention.

    I'd have to speculate a lot on that since the business in question is fine-dining restaurants, being down has a significantly huge impact.  The whole reason why they hired me was when their Quickbooks server went belly-up, and I took care of implementing a new server, reinstallation of the application and its data files, as well as the necessary plug-ins to print payroll checks.
    Since then I've implemented a disaster recovery routine that safeguards the data in the event of a hardware crash.  Each location 'phones home' and uploads important data to our NAS which in turn, routinely backs up to external USB drive and to the cloud.
    "There's a fine line between audacity and idiocy."
    -Warden Anastasia Luccio, Captain
    Marc
  • Marc
    Marc Moderator, Beta Tester Posts: 3,178
    250 Answers 1,000 Likes 2500 Comments 250 Awesomes
    ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #6

    I work for a pretty large multinational so a bit easier for me to get these metrics. I can see how it would be a bit harder at a small firm.

    Thats Daphnee, she's a good dog...
    kltaylor

Categories