How typical was it when the FBI called the DNC help desk to report hacking??
Don't you know FBI????
You have reached the HELP DESK! They don't give HELP!!
"LET ME GIVE YOU A TICKET.", says the robotic help desk man.
NO action. No thought. No judgment...... just a help desk ticket.
This all that the IT help desk actually does.
Other than to later email you to CLOSE THE TICKET.
I had to laugh, to see it even happens to the FBI.
This is the reality of our world.
******************************************
The FBI calls back again.
They get another ticket.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Saturday, September 5, 2015
I am not the only one
It appears I am not the only one who has noticed the explosion of administrators.
another persons opinion
another persons opinion
Friday, February 6, 2015
HR mickey mouse games
A friend of mine has been very sick in the last 2 weeks, probably with influenza. He has been at home, with fever, aches, and horrible coughing at night. He stayed home from work, appropriately, both to take care of himself, and also to not expose all of the rest of us to the infection. He was very sick. It was also almost certainly a virus, possibly influenza, and he already had an antibiotic Rx to use as needed. So, there was no need to see the doctor.
Now he is 90% recovered, up and about in the home, still coughing, but much better. He is ready to return to work.
But, wait............
His boss tells him that, because he was out longer than a week, he needs to have a "return to work' form filled out by his doctor, and that he can't return to work until something like 2 days after they receive the form? HUH??
So, he scrambles to schedule an appointment with the primary care physician, which is scheduled for 2 days from now.
The boss/ HR is to send the return to work form via email.
But, ironically, in this day and age of email culture, they are UNABLE to email the form!
Only part of it transmits. They try again, and fail again.
They also do not have the form on a website (nor is the "policy" indicated above posted on a website).
So, they have to send the form through the USPS.
It doesn't arrive in time for the doctor's appt, which was made only to have the doctor bless the return to work.
My friend downloads a standard FMLA form and takes it to the doctor. The doctor also writes a brief note indicating the diagnosis and permission to return to work.
Now there is a question if this will be good enough/ sufficient for the company/ HR policy?
****************************************************
My friends calls HR. HE explains the above scenario. The HR robot responds only by reading him the policy, makes no effort to interpret, intercede or help.
What good is an HR person who can only read policy (we don't need a person to read us a policy, just post the policy) and not act as a human being to further the well being of employees and the company?
*********************
Also, is this good use of the healthcare system?? Doctor as gate keeper for the employer.
Should sick patients have to compete for doctors attention/ schedules with people who are recovering and in need of having forms filled out? Should health care institutions have to hire individuals who only process the return to work forms for employers? What is the lowest level of training that the insurance company will accept to process these forms? Is this really physician work?
Yes, I realize there are those who would fake illnesses, and possibly you could detect this by involving physicians before the return to work.
Or, perhaps it is a company liability risk, that an ill worker returns and then something happens to them.
And, I recognize that it is unusual to be out for 2 weeks with a viral illness, but it is flu season, and it did happen, so it is clearly possible to happen.
But, it shouldn't be necessary to have the doctor write you a note for everything you do.
Its no wonder people don't take personal responsibility for things as they should.
They are treated as children.
****************************
And where is the HR accountability in the following
a) email incompetence
b) not posting the policy that they read you when you call them
c) not having the forms available through their website
d) not helping the employee navigate the system. Is the sick employee the enemy? When you are sick its hard enough without having to look for forms and meet employment requirements.
***************************
What is the institutional gain if an employee can't navigate the HR return to work forms properly? Do they deny the employee sick time paid salary that would have otherwise come?
What is the institutional gain to requiring a 2 day interval between the signing of the form and the return to work? It seems this would be a loss of valid eligible work by the employee.
Now he is 90% recovered, up and about in the home, still coughing, but much better. He is ready to return to work.
But, wait............
His boss tells him that, because he was out longer than a week, he needs to have a "return to work' form filled out by his doctor, and that he can't return to work until something like 2 days after they receive the form? HUH??
So, he scrambles to schedule an appointment with the primary care physician, which is scheduled for 2 days from now.
The boss/ HR is to send the return to work form via email.
But, ironically, in this day and age of email culture, they are UNABLE to email the form!
Only part of it transmits. They try again, and fail again.
They also do not have the form on a website (nor is the "policy" indicated above posted on a website).
So, they have to send the form through the USPS.
It doesn't arrive in time for the doctor's appt, which was made only to have the doctor bless the return to work.
My friend downloads a standard FMLA form and takes it to the doctor. The doctor also writes a brief note indicating the diagnosis and permission to return to work.
Now there is a question if this will be good enough/ sufficient for the company/ HR policy?
****************************************************
My friends calls HR. HE explains the above scenario. The HR robot responds only by reading him the policy, makes no effort to interpret, intercede or help.
What good is an HR person who can only read policy (we don't need a person to read us a policy, just post the policy) and not act as a human being to further the well being of employees and the company?
*********************
Also, is this good use of the healthcare system?? Doctor as gate keeper for the employer.
Should sick patients have to compete for doctors attention/ schedules with people who are recovering and in need of having forms filled out? Should health care institutions have to hire individuals who only process the return to work forms for employers? What is the lowest level of training that the insurance company will accept to process these forms? Is this really physician work?
Yes, I realize there are those who would fake illnesses, and possibly you could detect this by involving physicians before the return to work.
Or, perhaps it is a company liability risk, that an ill worker returns and then something happens to them.
And, I recognize that it is unusual to be out for 2 weeks with a viral illness, but it is flu season, and it did happen, so it is clearly possible to happen.
But, it shouldn't be necessary to have the doctor write you a note for everything you do.
Its no wonder people don't take personal responsibility for things as they should.
They are treated as children.
****************************
And where is the HR accountability in the following
a) email incompetence
b) not posting the policy that they read you when you call them
c) not having the forms available through their website
d) not helping the employee navigate the system. Is the sick employee the enemy? When you are sick its hard enough without having to look for forms and meet employment requirements.
***************************
What is the institutional gain if an employee can't navigate the HR return to work forms properly? Do they deny the employee sick time paid salary that would have otherwise come?
What is the institutional gain to requiring a 2 day interval between the signing of the form and the return to work? It seems this would be a loss of valid eligible work by the employee.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Dear IT : Email is not your job
I notice a technical system problem in 2011. I complain about it repeatedly, to the people who most directly deal with the problem (this includes peoples in several departments). I also complain about it to the IT liaisons assigned to my area.
Nothing changes.
There seems to be a failure to understand, or care, about the serious potential consequences of the problem.
Last week I see another example of the same problem. I send a note to some of the same people who I have complained to many times before. I get the same response back from them. However, I also included one other person, a new "boss", who has a job mandate related to improving IT.
This is followed by a complaint being sent to IT, from the new boss.
What follows is typical of email culture:
6 emails from IT, including several duplications, each cc'ing large groups of people. This includes
a) my ticket #
b) a request for my contact information so they can get back to me.
This is NOT my problem. This is an institutional problem, you need not give me a ticket OR get back to me, IT. Just Fix it for everyone's sake.
EMAIL is not your job.
***************************************
So you only pay attention requests that come from a higher level boss?
And you show that you paid attention by sending 6 emails?
What about just getting some results?
***********************************
Do I have a bad attitude? Should I follow up on the ticket number on this issue, bugging them to see it through? Is it actually my job to see that they complete their job?
*********************************************************
It seems that one person is assigned to my "ticket". He sends me several more emails with a few questions, including to ask me if my problem was happening to anyone else (implication: if you can blame me as the only one with the problem then I am the problem, and they don't have anything to fix). I write back with a brief summary of the issues, including the specific most recent ticket (which is actually not really an IT issue - its an IT interface issue, interfacing with another department, not mine).
What follows is typical:
The IT person responds with an email answering my "Questions". (I didn't have any questions, I had complaints).
He confirms that one of the system deficiencies is indeed not present (though he doesn't recognize it as a deficiency).
He notes that there are processes for handling of specific tasks by the other involved department, which is not an IT issue.
Did this address a solution to the original problem in any way?
No.
Is this what I expected as a response from the current system "process" of dealing with problems?
Yes.
***********************************
Do I have a bad attitude? Should I follow up on the ticket number on this issue, bugging them to see it through? Is it actually my job to see that they complete their job?
*********************************************************
It seems that one person is assigned to my "ticket". He sends me several more emails with a few questions, including to ask me if my problem was happening to anyone else (implication: if you can blame me as the only one with the problem then I am the problem, and they don't have anything to fix). I write back with a brief summary of the issues, including the specific most recent ticket (which is actually not really an IT issue - its an IT interface issue, interfacing with another department, not mine).
What follows is typical:
The IT person responds with an email answering my "Questions". (I didn't have any questions, I had complaints).
He confirms that one of the system deficiencies is indeed not present (though he doesn't recognize it as a deficiency).
He notes that there are processes for handling of specific tasks by the other involved department, which is not an IT issue.
Did this address a solution to the original problem in any way?
No.
Is this what I expected as a response from the current system "process" of dealing with problems?
Yes.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
How to get ahead in the world
In the current environment, we are rewarded for the perception of what we do more than for what we actually do.
This is why we are told / often required to keep track of what we do , and to report it in various ways.
If you are good at making sure you are recognized for what you do, no matter how menial, you may be recognized at a higher level than those are more humble, who actually do more or better work, but don't strive for the recognition of such work.
If quality over quantity, true substance or a valid days work for a justified days pay matters to you, you may end up with the personal satisfaction of this achievement, but the substance may not be recognized by many in our current superficial self aggrandizing work environment.
************************************************
Recognized exaggerated achievements are not the same thing as TRUE achievements.
There actually IS an absolute truth, which may not be recognized.
*********************************************
In the superficial world of wealth as seen on reality TV, there are many who don't seem to do anything, and yet they have been rewarded with great amounts of wealth.
This cuts across all sectors of current society.
It seems that for many, the act of faking wealth is actually a means to getting it.
***********************************
There aren't a lot of places left where WHO you know doesn't matter.
I believe that scholarship/ academic achievement for gaining entrance to medical school is one place where merit still cannot be and is not usurped by nepotism.
This has seemingly come as a bit of a surprise at times to some people I know, who would think that I could put in a good word for someone, as if it would matter.
**********************************
Emailing your accomplishments or your self-congratulations may get you ahead in the current world but ultimately it doesn't actually produce anything.
This is why we are told / often required to keep track of what we do , and to report it in various ways.
If you are good at making sure you are recognized for what you do, no matter how menial, you may be recognized at a higher level than those are more humble, who actually do more or better work, but don't strive for the recognition of such work.
If quality over quantity, true substance or a valid days work for a justified days pay matters to you, you may end up with the personal satisfaction of this achievement, but the substance may not be recognized by many in our current superficial self aggrandizing work environment.
************************************************
Recognized exaggerated achievements are not the same thing as TRUE achievements.
There actually IS an absolute truth, which may not be recognized.
*********************************************
In the superficial world of wealth as seen on reality TV, there are many who don't seem to do anything, and yet they have been rewarded with great amounts of wealth.
This cuts across all sectors of current society.
It seems that for many, the act of faking wealth is actually a means to getting it.
***********************************
There aren't a lot of places left where WHO you know doesn't matter.
I believe that scholarship/ academic achievement for gaining entrance to medical school is one place where merit still cannot be and is not usurped by nepotism.
This has seemingly come as a bit of a surprise at times to some people I know, who would think that I could put in a good word for someone, as if it would matter.
**********************************
Emailing your accomplishments or your self-congratulations may get you ahead in the current world but ultimately it doesn't actually produce anything.
Discrepancies and inequalities in health care delivery
In my little world, as a health care provider, we don't have enough people to allow the luxury for anyone to be relaxed.
Everyone multi-tasks.
Our work is never done. We are always behind. Many of us, especially the doctors (who are not protected by unions or employment laws), never get lunch.
We are the hands on care givers (current culture buzz word "providers", a term equalizing and demeaning our specialization) income generators in the institution. It is the interactions with us that brings in the money that pays the administrators.
We are the ones who are judged relative to patient satisfaction, scheduling time to get in, quality of care.
**************************************
At the HR meeting we were required to attend, there were 3 staff. One was speaking, one was running the projector and one was sitting in the back, just in case.
It reminds me of an old joke ----- How many administrators does it take to screw in a light bulb?
*************************************
At the special 2 day administrative meeting I attended, we were served breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack. The food was delicious, served with beautiful dishes, white table linens, in a relaxed and elegant atmosphere.
We took short breaks about every 2 hours.
The pace was excruciatingly slow compared with my usual actual work day.
The most senior non physician administrators didn't bother to attend the meeting, coming only at the end, for the final report out. How did they spend the rest of this day?
***********************************
Everyone multi-tasks.
Our work is never done. We are always behind. Many of us, especially the doctors (who are not protected by unions or employment laws), never get lunch.
We are the hands on care givers (current culture buzz word "providers", a term equalizing and demeaning our specialization) income generators in the institution. It is the interactions with us that brings in the money that pays the administrators.
We are the ones who are judged relative to patient satisfaction, scheduling time to get in, quality of care.
**************************************
At the HR meeting we were required to attend, there were 3 staff. One was speaking, one was running the projector and one was sitting in the back, just in case.
It reminds me of an old joke ----- How many administrators does it take to screw in a light bulb?
*************************************
At the special 2 day administrative meeting I attended, we were served breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack. The food was delicious, served with beautiful dishes, white table linens, in a relaxed and elegant atmosphere.
We took short breaks about every 2 hours.
The pace was excruciatingly slow compared with my usual actual work day.
The most senior non physician administrators didn't bother to attend the meeting, coming only at the end, for the final report out. How did they spend the rest of this day?
***********************************
Lean Implementation confessions
A friend of mine, who also works in a healthcare related job, found a pile of Lean Implementation books in the dumpster at his workplace. Some were new, still in the cellophane. Some had a name written on the front cover, but barely used.
I sold them on Amazon, undercutting the price of the all the competitors.
*************************
I am told that the books ended up in the dumpster after a massive Lean Implementation effort, which included sending people to Japan. Apparently they had money to waste on getting more books than they needed. Apparently the used books weren't valued enough to keep.
I sold them on Amazon, undercutting the price of the all the competitors.
*************************
I am told that the books ended up in the dumpster after a massive Lean Implementation effort, which included sending people to Japan. Apparently they had money to waste on getting more books than they needed. Apparently the used books weren't valued enough to keep.
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