IT Director rant - Onboarding
Posted by Any-Promotion3744@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 198 comments
Our new IT director has made quite a few changes since he started but the one that bugs me the most (right now) is onboarding.
We have a ticket system (Freshservice) that handles onboarding but he insists on scrapping it.
He wants the HR dept to email IT with the name of the new hire and the manager. After that, we need to conduct an interview with the manager to see what is needed.
These managers barely have time to talk (always in meetings) so we need to play phone tag so we can ask the same questions onboarding already had asked in our previous set up and manually create tickets from it?
It is just so annoying to me. Our company just acquired another one and we are pushing them to do the same.
Ugh.
peteybombay@reddit
You could create a form they can fill out that creates a ticket. I have found this works better than sending them an email or trying to get in contact with them. Tell HR to have all managers complete the form if they want their new hires to have computers and accounts when they start. Tell your Director, it's quicker to get the info and you put it on the managers to get the info to you, not your team who has enough to do.
Well, rephrase it but you get the idea...at least that is what I did in a similar situation and it helped tremendously.
snookpig77@reddit
IT Director here, that policy is just stupid. HR should open a work order in your on-boarding service desk tickets should automatically be generated for IT, security, hiring manager, telecom, and any other departments that would be involved in a new hiring process.
The only thing the hiring manager should need to do is fill out a template whether they want desktop or laptop, cell phone or no cell phone, if a desk phone is required, Bluetooth headset, etc., etc. That ticket then goes to the IT hardware department to be fulfilled and systems in place for the new hires first day
SAugsburger@reddit
This. Automate creation of tickets for every team involved in onboarding people.
nope_nic_tesla@reddit
Better yet, automate fulfillment of those tickets as much as possible (adding to AD, creating mailboxes, adding relevant application permissions, etc)
iama_bad_person@reddit
We did this around 5 years ago. Got a new HR system with proper APIs. The only manual thing IT has to do is gather the equipment the manager requests and give it to them, even the request form is automatically generated.
cosine83@reddit
I'm almost done building out a v1 HR system -> AD integration via API that does a lot of the basic onboarding tasks like mailboxes and groups. Getting HR to be the source of truth was a whole deal because every site's HR does things differently and on different timetables and they really don't want to reign that in for some reason. Very frustrating and slow process thanks to them. And my workload in tandem.
Big-Industry4237@reddit
lol AD is old school but still works lol
cosine83@reddit
AD isn't old school at all lmao
TrickleFicky@reddit
You have a separate IT team for hardware?
sroop1@reddit
My company does. Another for software asset procurement and management too.
snookpig77@reddit
And remember to back charge the department that is hiring the person for their hardware needs so it does not come out of the IT budget
snookpig77@reddit
At this company, I do not. I’ve worked for several fortune 500 companies where hardware (desktop laptop, etc.) was a complete separate department under IT.
TheITSEC-guy@reddit
Automation with form and Entra Just let Hr fill it out and list equipment
The hiring department is paying for it anyway or at least should
Can even create the user account, manager is on a new manager vibe and need to show he can reduce cost and make an impact
MeatPiston@reddit
What the actual fuck. Is he moron or actually trying to sabotage his department?
pdp10@reddit
Genuine best guess is that this is an attempt to please managers who have complained that they cannot fill out tickets for whatever reasons. (We can further guess at the reasons.) The idea will be to turn the process into a dialog with an IT SME, much like a chatbot.
Second most likely reason is that this new process matches the one used at the new director's old site, or which the new director finds more personally attractive.
damnedangel@reddit
He could also be maliciously complying with a request from above.
This makes the process painfully long and puts the onus on the managers who refuse to fill out a ticket. If they don't give the info, the new hire eats their budget while not being able to perform any duties. Those managers will soon discover it's a lot less work to just fill out the info in a ticket instead of scheduling a meeting about it.
Bogus1989@reddit
LMFAO…
i love when someone thinks that since they spoke to the durector and they are there in person, they still dont have to put a ticket in…
ill just get 90 percent of the work done, then tell the user :
all right whenever I get your ticket I can close this and finish it
agoia@reddit
Managers will still yell at and complain to the low-level IT people, even if it is their fault.
pdp10@reddit
In cases like this, it's hugely valuable to be able to explicitly communicate something about the situation, even if just the fact that it might not be desirable, or permanent. Information abhors a vacuum, and without information, staff will eventually invent reasons that might not be accurate or in the manager's best interest.
Synikul@reddit
Name a more iconic duo than directors and making unnecessary changes to validate their position
Few_Round_7769@reddit
Bonus points if the change is just implementing what they had at their last job.
rootsquasher@reddit
This has been my nightmare foe the last four years. 😔
Few_Round_7769@reddit
Directors in IT just want the job they had before, even if the reason they lost their job previously was that the systems they used previously cost too much, or were convenient to outsource. Literally get a new job, hit the ground sprinting toward goals that make them the first cut next time layoffs hit. It's a crazy cycle, we average a new IT leader every 2-3 years.
battmain@reddit
My last place it was the VPs being shuffled on the 2-3 year cycle. On my side, I went through 11 managers in 10 years. Glad I'm out of that shit show.
AntiAoA@reddit
Oh you worked at Sony, too?
takingphotosmakingdo@reddit
"we don't need containers"
I'll just leave it at that.
rootsquasher@reddit
Or they don’t want to spend any money on hardware or human resources but want you as a one man team to implement and manage Tanzu for Kubernetes.
takingphotosmakingdo@reddit
"kubewhatnow?" (joking)
They wouldn't allow kubernetes either.
IHaveTeaForDinner@reddit
"source control sounds like having different folders but more complicated"
tdhuck@reddit
Who knows, but I'm fine with the new plan because it puts the ball in the court of the manager.
Email manager, explain that a meeting is needed to discuss the new hire and when the manager doesn't reply back, then you have ammo for the IT Boss and let them see that their new system sucks.
agoia@reddit
CC director on every single contact with managers asking them when to meet for details.
cellnucleous@reddit
I've seen similar, they removed ticketing for "important" people so management staff would "see" the IT staff and be "noticing/feeling" where there budget is spent; I'm pretty sure it was to keep IT in people's minds to avoid the "everything is working why do we pay you/everything is broken why do we pay you" cycle. Oh, I guess managers felt important too.
RedDidItAndYouKnowIt@reddit
PAXICHEN@reddit
Is that an XOR?
gandalfthegru@reddit
Sounds like a stereotypical power tripping IT "director" who has no business sense thinking its their way or the highway. People that start new management positions and immediately start implementing change are idiots. Unless your company and processes are so broken that was the reason they were hired most of these people need to sit on their hands and do nothing but ask why and listen for the first 3-6 months.
If he makes life harder for everyone he'll be on that highway soon enough hopefully.
Affectionate_Ad_3722@reddit
yes?
Bogus1989@reddit
BRUH. hes literally NOT Director’n right now.
VexingRaven@reddit
Sounds like one of the directors I work with who knows absolutely nothing about IT but is a people pleaser and so thinks that talking to people personally is the highest form of customer service. Good luck, this is the sort of people who never gets fired because they know how to please executives but they will ruin absolutely everything they touch until they get bored and/or reassigned and let the people under them quietly fix it.
583947281@reddit
They all come onboard to change things, it's traditional.
Wait to the work get handed out, it's a cycle that never changes. Meanwhile actual work is being neglected lololol.
I just play the game name and tell them what they want to hear
HolyDarknes117@reddit
How is this person an actual director of IT?!? His method is the most inefficient way to handling onboarding!
Like you said before using the ticket system streamlines the process by allowing the manager or HR to create onboarding request with all the relevant information. Also helps automate the process by creating tasks for each IT person responsible for creating user account, assigning licenses, work laptops/desktop configuration, etc. Also, ticket system will keep track of SLA whereas emails will get forgotten about or lost in the insurmountable volume of emails IT get on a daily basis.
Cannot someone would try to go with the antiquated method when EVERY single IT person wants the ticket system! Also
nefarious_bumpps@reddit
Fill in the same ticket you did before, but you entering details instead of the manager. Then email the manager the completed form and ask for approval that its correct. At some point HR will go huh? and recognize they are just going through the same process as before but less efficiently. Let the users be the ones who bring change.
Scary_Definition_666@reddit
Have you actually tried to speak to him and ask for the reasons? Unless they hired to complete idiot to do the job there's probably some good rationale for what he's done.
Dull-Dance-3615@reddit
Easy solution. Just make the interview process and onboarding last for weeks. Have valid excuses why it takes so long.
BBO1007@reddit
And a great way to do that is to send the requestor a calendar they need to book to determine the requirements for onboarding.
Make sure to CYA and send the new onboarding requirements and process to all users to ensure it’s properly ignored.
Big-Industry4237@reddit
Exactly and when someone has excessive access and execs flip shit, good luck finger pointing to that meeting where you hopefully have the conversation documented somehow.
KingDaveRa@reddit
A bit of malicious compliance can go a long way.
cyberzaikoo@reddit
It’s no even malicious compliance. I suggest these things a lot to my manager. Not all goes through but some do when we see eye to eye.
It’s not our fault other do half assed and expects us to pick up their slack.
0o0o0o0o0o0z@reddit
I mean, every place I have worked, HR handles all the onboarding requests. I worked in infrastructure, so it didnt always affect me unless it was an engineer-ish or senior-level developer getting hired. But HR would schedule everything, then that dept manager would submit a helpdesk ticket for account creation, permissions, emails, etc We had various templates for various positions. I think the only way back then we could have made it better was to automate the process with 1-2 IT/HR/hiring manager staff approving the final account creation once it was in the queue. Maybe thats more or less what I am describing how it was for you... and if its not that way, then ya its stupid AF.
Big-Industry4237@reddit
I hope you aren’t audited, fucking digging through emails and notes from in person meeting is absolute shit for documentation. Even with the cheapest fresh service plan you can do this stuff. It took a couple hours but had a forms app that sent data and did the ticket and form data send to fresh service. You can easily tie a form system that does the approvals etc into fresh service. I did sharepoint with power forms or whatever it’s called now, you could do it with anything though, Just saying.
Thick_Yam_7028@reddit
I use power automate with api. Scrapes the form creates the user with the correct license. Etc.
ComposedBull@reddit
Is your IT Director familiar with the term Information Technology?
stichi93@reddit
How is Freshservice for you? I’m now in the process of changing from Fresh to Zendesk
GistfulThinking@reddit
Once HR put info into payroll, it should trigger account creation, and department/title should dictate access.
User can call helpdesk day 1 to get password (but, ideally, you would set this up using 2FA vis their mobile # provided in onboarding and then app based MFA once that is done).
Device could be ordered via fresh desk ticket, including indicators for additional software.
But in an awesome world that info would be known by department or title and you would get a ticket to post it direct to new employee.
Nice big box, company branding, little welcome card and perhaps a lense cloth with company branding to clean the screen.
Anyways.. get onto that email chain, because nothing says modernised fax machine like a shared failbox
Not2Late2Dance@reddit
Your new director is taking the IT back to 90's
opotamus_zero@reddit
I love how qualified and competent IT upper management is.
Really the creme of leadership
Landscape4737@reddit
Not the 90s at all, we’d have roles ready to go in minutes.
CelestialFury@reddit
Even in the 90s they had shit figured out. What we're reading from the IT Director is a word stupid doesn't quite cover.
Hungry_Egg_3525@reddit
Wait, you don’t get an email an hour after closing on Friday for a hire starting on Monday?
UnexpectedAnomaly@reddit
I solved that problem with the response of, "Cool I'll put in a request to get a computer ordered and it should be in two weeks from now. Oh we don't have any more computers in stock to give people as upper management didn't want us to have excess inventory lying around."
HR started letting us know about new hires a lot quicker after that happened a couple of times.
MrJacks0n@reddit
And then they no call no show Monday.
dragzo0o0@reddit
Need IT and HR to sort the process out - which should be defined hardware, software and access organised before a role is organised.
tanzWestyy@reddit
I'd just tell them to get fucked and follow the current on boarding process. Nobody gets to bypass process regardless of position. You're the tech. You and your team establish process. God sakes people stick up for yourselves.
scrimshaw41@reddit
Asking for "HR driven provisioning" and a finger on a dried monkey's paw somewhere curls up.
hidperf@reddit
That's funny because your "new process" sounds exactly like what we currently do, and one of my projects is to move it into our ticketing system (Halo) and automate as much as possible.
Enxer@reddit
Have the it director be in every. single. interview. Their tune will change in no time.
sabre31@reddit
Your IT director isn’t even qualified to be a level 1 help desk engineer let alone a director with stupid ideas like that.
iamatechnician@reddit
You should only need to talk to each hiring manager once. Talk to them to get a sense of what software/tools/licenses each role needs. Put it in a spreadsheet. Each time someone is hired you’ll just need to ping the manager with your pre compiled list and ask them to confirm.
As for HR, meet with them once per week. Maintain a spreadsheet between both teams with each new hire, start date, manager, EID, and hardware needs. Review the list weekly and have HR update the list before each meeting.
There will be some work up front but this will meet your needs from your boss between you/HR/the hiring managers while also helping streamline your onboarding process in the future. It’s a win/win
ieatpenguins247@reddit
Man, even in the 90s we had a template and a form for managers to fill. One of the options was “out of standard” which then we would meet. But other than a few specific hires, mostly was in the form and standardized. Now in days it is crazy to think otherwise.
WorldlinessUsual4528@reddit
There is generally more to the story. Why is he wanting to do that? That's the important question. Is it not capturing everything needed? Are things getting missed?
When automated processes get scrapped for manual ones, there is a reason. Something ducked up and it caused an issue.
Get to the root of the issue.
Any-Promotion3744@reddit (OP)
He doesn't like end users filling out anything. He prefers that we talk to people directly. Enhanced service, I assume.
He doesn't like the ticket system either. He wants the user just to enter a ticket saying they need help, we contact them, connect to their desktops using remote software and ask them their issue on the phone.
End users having to select or enter info on anything is a poor user experience.
boomhaeur@reddit
The only answer here is malicious compliance, Document everything and start polishing your resume if you’re interested in an IT Director position cause it will be available soon.
This guy sounds like a grade-A moron.
WorldlinessUsual4528@reddit
Or he's smart and just there to add stuff to him resume so he can move on to a higher paying role. He's not going to be around long term to deal with the fallout.
MightyMediocre@reddit
Sounds like somewhere i used to work where last minute hires were the norm.
Think Friday afternoon hires, starting Monday morning at 8am.
Oh by the way we need their desks setup with all equipment and new devices procured. While your in there get the cleaners to clean the carpets and assign them parking spots. Figure it out.
WorldlinessUsual4528@reddit
Ours used to do that but I changed it when I became manager. Let them know all new hires will take a week. It's reiterated when they submit the user change request. If they put it in on a Friday for Monday, the user is intentionally not set up until the following Friday, even if we could get it done by Monday.
Magically, the last minute Friday requests stopped within just a few months. We went from having 2-5 a month, to just 2 in the last 4 years. And those 2 were very apologetic about it.
OldGirlGeek@reddit
This sounds like hell on earth.
Mrwrongthinker@reddit
Do it, the loss of productivity will show quick.
Boomer director?
raptorjaws@reddit
well hopefully none of these processes are subject to audit because it will suck to have to find all this mayan email evidence instead of just querying the ticket system
fresh-dork@reddit
lovely. now we rely on our memory of a verbal interaction that we can retain for a few months, and when something happens in a year, there's no record of the decisions made.
so you're hiring 20-30 IT support, right?
EffectiveEquivalent@reddit
That’s utterly insane.
WorldlinessUsual4528@reddit
Ok, so someone above him probably complained there were too many obstacles to automated user submission and things were getting missed. They could have been hired specifically with the promise that this would change.
Not a damn thing you can do right now. Wait until SLAs are not being met and keep documentation as to why things fall behind. Get data from previous years so you have comparison. Then present the evidence when someone tries to blame your team. That's all you can do if you decide to stay.
WorldlinessUsual4528@reddit
Also at some point when things get difficult, send him an email outlining why things are taking apart and ask him to reconsider using the successful automated processes that were in place. He'll either explain why they weren't successful, or tell you to kick rocks. Either way, it'll CYA.
N0nprofitpuma_@reddit
I can't think of a bigger way to waste everyone's time than this. Your new director has clearly lost their mind.
jacksonjj_gysgt_0659@reddit
I would assume HR is the source of Truth, because IT doesn't hire or fire, right? Sounds like you guys need some role based access or the poor man's version of it, birth right access.
Beginning_Ad1239@reddit
What does the written policy say? If you don't have one you need one signed off by the senior leadership team. Then processes should implement the policies. So when the IT director doesn't get his way it's because the policy the CEO signed off on says otherwise.
0tt3r3g0@reddit
Do not fix what’s not broken. Ugh sorry OP
CelestialFury@reddit
"We have a system that works!"
"Yeah, but have you tried one that doesn't work?"
"What?"
1esproc@reddit
It's almost like OP isn't telling us something, engaging in selective storytelling
1a2b3c4d_1a2b3c4d@reddit
Sad to say, you need malicious compliance.
Do what your boss asks, documenting everything along the way, including all failed attempts to get the necessary info. When the user doesn't have the systems or apps they need, you'll be able to explain why.
TacoHunter206@reddit
Thats what RBAC is for.
bfrd9k@reddit
I wonder if this is the IT directors way of realigning RBAC by having managers explicitly list what is needed when someone is hired for a role.
rolandjump@reddit
Just do what your told…not saying it would be malicious compliance but someone will start complaining when things take way too long
Texkonc@reddit
Could be good for you. Plan all these meetings to collect information and he complains you are not getting other work done, and other mangers complain you are wasting their time and ask for a better process.
itiscodeman@reddit
Try sailpoint
Lokeze@reddit
IT Director here. What the fuck?
sircruxr@reddit
Wait till he learns about identity management.
wxChris13@reddit
This is insane, and idiotic on multiple levels.
First of all, what a complete waste of time for all parties involved. Not everything needs to be a damn call. You have Freshservice, it has an onboarding module. HR can also be in that system but doesn't have to be. Just have whoever is responsible for onboarding fill out all the things in the catalog you need and be done with it.
Things unfortunately get lost in calls especially if there are multiple helpdesk staff etc people having to fill in for others and so on. The AI note taking has 'helped' with some of this but there are security concerns there.
I'm annoyed for you. This is over engineered in a not productive direction. I always look for ways to streamline processes, not firmly fix my head up my own ass because I want to stay in the 80's.
daven1985@reddit
Both are wrong.
Your system should be automated completely. I've used Identity Management solutions in the past. When an account is created in the HR System and given an approved title, the system knows what membership to assign for security and distribution groups.
Everything is then automated, including the assignment of a device based on the inventory. If no inventory is available, it creates a ticket to order a new device.
The same happens for temporary roles and when people resign or are fired. The HR system gives them an end date, and that triggers things like emails about returning devices and when their account will be disabled.
The benefit of this approach is it moves ownership of groups from ICT to HR. No memberships are done unless through the identity management system. So you don't give someone higher access unless its applied to all people with a matching title. If a new title/role is needed then you create it and assgin its memberships.
This approach has saved my but multiple times, it runs every hour so that if someone manually changes a group it is fixed quickly. It also means when someone complains that someone is given wrong access, it becomes a HR issue not an IT issue.
PC509@reddit
Really? They want to reduce the automation and go more manual? That's got to be a first for me. That's.... something, I guess.
I really wouldn't think it'd fly with the managers at all. Especially if it worked fine before hand.
nut-sack@reddit
Play the game, schedule meetings with HR and take up a slot. Make it an official thing and get all of the information you need in that one meeting. No more phone tag.
ZippySLC@reddit
I'm an IT Director and the idea of doing something that makes more work for the team makes no sense.
The only reason I could see for wanting to scrap an automated system would be if it was so broken that it took more time for the helpdesk to fix accounts after the fact than it would to have them do the work of chasing down managers to find out exactly what was needed, but half the time the managers don't even know what the person needs until after they start. And ideally what should happen is that the process should be improved rather than scrapped.
Also if they're new they sure as hell shouldn't be making changes before understanding the hows and whys of the environment and (ideally) spending at least a few days working the helpdesk themselves.
TKInstinct@reddit
I haven't used Fresh Service before but couldn't you just do something like an MS Form and then have the manager fill out out then skip the interview.
Darkschneidr@reddit
This IT Director should not be in this role. That's amazingly backwards thinking, and the exact scenario opposite of the ones that most encounter where they need to use an onboarding system to remediate it.
torreneastoria@reddit
There have been so many lay offs in the IT world that the IT director may be doing the job of 8 people. Not including automation. On-boarding to the IT department is a whole different process. I know it's hard on you guys trying to implement the new system, get new hires through the On-boarding process too. Just a thought, without validation, is that if the IT director wants to scrap the new system there may be a reason. Is the new system incompatible with what is currently being used? You are all working hard to help each other at the end of the day. It must be very frustrating for everyone really. It's why having a liaison between departments is so useful.
schwaaaaaaaa@reddit
Encourage him to think bigger. Tell him automation is just another word for 'laziness', and that you're excited to finally work under a director who gets it. Push for him to transition the entire onboarding process to an Excel spreadsheet, and tell him he'll find The HR director a powerful ally if he can convince her to do the same by ditching that lame HRIS, and hand-writing all payroll checks moving forward.
When the executive team wants an explanation, tell him to explain that while removing automated workflows introduces more risk of mistakes occurring, making mistakes builds character.
You're welcome.
C2D2@reddit
Your new IT Director is a jackass.
TopOrganization4920@reddit
At my work, we have something called FIM the integrates with HR system. And we build out group permissions based on departments so when the person’s hired it automatically generates most of their permissions. It also has a trigger that disabled their account when they stop being paid because no one wants to tell OIT went to kill an account.
PowerShellGenius@reddit
Hot take, this is dumb, but also, if turnover or size of org are large enough that new hires are a frequent enough occurrence for this to be anywhere near worth fighting over (from either side's perspective) - then it's insane that onboarding is not largely automated. Surely your HRIS (HR information system - whatever system HR enters employees into, where they track time off, personnel files, pay, etc) has API access?
henry_octopus@reddit
Let me play devils advocate for a second. There might be another motivation here. The system based onboarding process often just provides a checklist of possible options that managers select from. (Hardware type, software required, mobile phones, etc) My experience here was that most managers didn't really know what they were asking for, or have any idea or consideration of the cost implications. So they simply ask for everything for everyone. This is usually beaten down with a conversation where you ask..."does your new sales admin really need Microsoft project, autocad, Revit, iphone17....? The cost of this is X" So maybe he's just trying to control cost by getting people to talk to each other...
Ok_Conclusion5966@reddit
this shit should be automated end to end
Either-Cheesecake-81@reddit
Lol
serccres@reddit
Y'all don't have any automation in place to generate accounts based on HRIS employee status? I would imagine having managers fill out a form instead of having an interview would also be a better middle ground if the above is not yet an option but damn, that director is back in the stone-age.
Hire me instead! haha. At my current place we've fully automated onboarding, offboarding and have basic RBAC in place for app access and distribution lists with access requests to support missing access.
fourDegrees@reddit
This is the actual answer. Hard to believe they are going to get into a pissing match over who should initiate a manual process that doesn't need to even be a thing.
We automate account onboarding and offboarding completely. Role and Resource based groups make things even easier and more seamless. For most hires onboarding is 100% automated. Only if there is a brand new position does it really need to be involved. Even then 85% is still done. We just expect the manager to create a ticket for the unique hires needs. (ie. Workstation setup, phone, etc) We have roles with 60%+ annual turnover rates. If we didn't automate this I would need a team double the size, and most of that would be dedicated to simple account actions.
iama_bad_person@reddit
Back when we did this manually our helpdesk was 10 people. Now out company has doubled in size and we STILL have 10 helpdesk. We have automated the shit out of everything we could.
Any-Category1741@reddit
Pretty sure there's a metric somewhere that tracks onboarding and if he gets rid of the system there's no metric and in his head no one can say his department is underperforming. I have seen that strategy becoming pretty popular on people with power now a days...
sistermarypolyesther@reddit
We use ServiceNow (Service… Eventually). We created a request item in or ServiceNow, AKA “Service…Eventually” catalog. Tasks are created and routed based on the boxes checked.
For security groups and file share access, we have integrated our identity management system with our HR application (Sailpoint and Workday). Permissions are granted via role-based access.
Prior to embracing RBAC, we relied on powershell scripts
iceph03nix@reddit
I'd be curious what their reasoning is. Being new, they could be getting bad guidance from above, or hearing complaints without context for what's going on, and they feel like they're fixing an issue.
But I'm guessing you're gonna be stuck treading water with this until you can build evidence that the new system is inherently worse then the old
Due_Programmer_1258@reddit
That's unfortunate. I'm taking us in the exact opposite direction! If the IT director is worth their salt, they will notice the abject failure of the policy and scrap it. Ah, who am I kidding?
Darkhexical@reddit
I think the simpler solution would be to contact the hris provider and have them add an option for the manager to add what is needed for someone to accomplish their role.
Purplejelly15@reddit
That’s quite a step in the wrong direction.
We’ve locked it in pretty good with PowerAutomate and PowerShell/Python scripts.
HR starts the process filling in demographic info into a PowerApp. Workflow behind the scenes notifies respective areas (parking, security etc) including Manager. Manager has a chance to fill in IT requirements and any special access. IT gets the task and PowerShell handles setting up most routine items. Python script sets them up in any niche system using a matrix of 60ish roles we’ve created.
All it takes is a few people’s input and a few approvals along the way to make sure the request is proper. If I had a Director like yours, we would be F’edd
NetScr1be@reddit
Not sure what your problem is.
Freshservice automatically converts incoming emails to a configured support email address into tickets.
baconjerky@reddit
No stop being logical
Sea_Promotion_9136@reddit
Why does each new hire need an interview with the manager for equipment? In our place, there is a set spec for 95% of new hires so that cuts out basically all back and forth between IT and a hiring manager up until credentials are shared.
WaldoSupremo@reddit
People on board? I thought people were supposed to just sit at the desk for a week or so before walking over to the help desk and ask why they can’t log into a computer or why they don’t have an ID badge.
brownhotdogwater@reddit
That is strange. The hiring manager needs to fill out a form that is pumped into our onboard g ticket. They don’t fill it out, no ticket, no onboarding. It’s hr problem to track if the ticket was submitted
mattwilsonengineer@reddit
Your new process introduces major friction. Immediately standardize a Manager Onboarding Checklist Form (even if you just use a Microsoft Form or a document) based on common job roles. Send this form with the meeting invite to managers. Frame the meeting as a quick Form Review rather than a discovery session. If they don't fill it out, document the delay, then onboard the new hire with base-level access. This provides service while showing the inefficiency. Using a platform like SuperOps, you could easily build and track these forms automatically.
Crinkez@reddit
Say "yes sir, working on it" and do nothing.
agoia@reddit
It's called a form. You have a form they fill out for their new hire which generates a ticket in the ticketing service. The amount of time wasting on this shit plan he has is incredible.
musefan12@reddit
IT Director is just trying to put their stamp on things even if it’s irrational.
We used to have a pdf form hiring managers could fill out and typically the department/team/position would dictate the security & distribution groups needed.
We’re in the process of building an agent with Copilot that’ll automate as much of that as possible.
As former service desk and engineer (now manager), onboarding is just a sucky process, period.
pdp10@reddit
I never quite understood the point of trying to use an LLM or chatbot to automate a known workflow. Isn't it simpler and more reliable to just automate the existing flowchart?
SikkWithIt@reddit
We use Fresh and have a form managers can fill out for new hires that automatically sends to us and we can pick it up and see all that's needed.
Even then, managers either:
a) don't know what the fuck their employees need.
b) do it the day before the new employees start date when we are swamped (and sometimes add point a on top of it).
Or c) just don't submit anything then email saying "where's so and so's log in information?" Then we ask them to submit a request and they, again, don't know what their employee needs.
Bl0ckTag@reddit
That seems like a pretty counter productive method. Imo, on boarding notifications should definitely come from HR. In an ideal world, by the time the onboarding notification makes it to IT, all of the information that is needed to get the accounts and licensing generated should already be compiled. Whether or not IT generates their own internal workflow, or if the initiation comes from HR staff in the form of a ticket or the like, is kinda 6 in one, half dozen in the other.
The way we have it setup is, HR has a recruitment system that is integrated with a workflow management/file retention system that handles all of the info gathering(IT on boarding form being a step that the hiring manager has to complete before the info gets to IT), which then integrates to other systems for auto generating downstream accounts. A plus side is that the onboarding can be handled in stages, which for us is important because there are other departments in the mix that have setups in applications that are not IT managed, which depend on the IT accounts being setup beforehand.
Fabulous_Suspect_317@reddit
Network Access Forms. We have department managers send over an NAF with the hire date, equipment, and account needs to our application services department to handle, and then to our technical support team to deploy equipment. That way it is a one and done form and it just naturally completes the process because we have half decent workflow.
HairGrowsTooFast@reddit
How do you utilize Freshservice for on-boarding? Genuinely curious as we already use FreshDesk for support.
patthew@reddit
“Sure thing boss” but copy him on every email and meeting
Unseen_Cereal@reddit
If the hiring managers are so "busy" that they can't put that info in a ticket, they need better time management or whatever the hell HR wants to call it. This is an HR issue, and your boss is also fucking stupid. I agree that it's a terrible way to compromise and be a people pleaser, or he's just an idiot.
bronderblazer@reddit
wow going the other way huh? we actually have a ticket format for onboard and a checklist on MS forms to follow
AggravatingPin2753@reddit
I did this to my team a few years ago. Reason: mgt said IT wasn’t setting up the users with the permissions, etc. the section managers wanted. BUT, I explained to my team the reason, and that it would be temporary once the managers realized they didn’t know what permissions their users needed either. Once we setup a few new people and the managers finally figured out what they actually wanted, they were more than happy to put in a ticket with the required info, bc they then complained to mgt that this wasn’t working bc they have to spend to much time with this new way. Only took 3 months to prove IT wasn’t where the problem was.
landwomble@reddit
If you're a windows shop then Entra ID access packages will change your life. Instant onboarding to anything.
Serpher@reddit
We have a similar problem now. Right now, managers from different departments have to fill up a form with a new hire data for IT to add them to our system(s). Our IT chief wants HR to do the form because managers are slacking off and when a new hire shows up, we don't even know about it in advance.
thesolmachine@reddit
What's your opinion of Freshservice? We have an onboarding process that consists of HR emailing the IT department and then the IT department writes the onboarding request on their behalf and then it creates the necessary tickets.
It seems a little broken imo.
odellrules1985@reddit
Why wouldn't they use a form thats filled out and sent in a ticket? Seems dumb to do it the other way. I don't have a ticketing system yet, only IT guy, but I require they send an email so its documented and if they forget to ask for something then thats on them not me.
jpn1x@reddit
Holy shit this hits too close to home. I'm a current director that is clashing with HR because they're trying to force me to make meetings with different department heads for onboarding because these department heads won't respond to the goddamn tickets with what they need for new hires. Don't no one have time to be in meetings all day about this shit.
FarToe1@reddit
Y'know, on several of these rants I've taken a different tack to the majority of replies in siding with the "bad guy" because I can see where they're coming from, even when the OP can't.
But in this case... wtf?
chesser45@reddit
New manager, changing things, seems like a story as old as time. Change for sake of change.
Calm-Reserve6098@reddit
Don't make this an IT problem, give your requirements and process documentation to HR and make it a requirement for them to finish and supply you with within a reasonable timeframe before the start date.
llDemonll@reddit
CC your boss on every one so they’re in the loop.
Ticket comes in from HR with the info, do your due diligence and email the new users manager (CC your new director) and tell the users manager they are required to schedule a meeting with Y specific person on your team at least X weeks prior to the start date. Leave it there. It’s not your job to follow up beyond that.
Eventually it’ll either be a dumpster or people will do it. Not your issue either way. Sometimes you just do what you’re told and let things fail.
Last minute hire? Doesn’t matter, your director has dictated that a meeting needs to happen so the meeting needs to happen.
kerosene31@reddit
This person is one of those "a ticket is bad customer service" types. Seems to be a new thing. There was someone even arguing that here.
Someone is out there selling this nonsense to c-suite types. You can't even get good customer service as a customer anymore, but they want internal IT to go above and beyond.
zzzpoohzzz@reddit
ah yes, less automation. that should make EVERYONE more efficient!
BillySmith110@reddit
That policy makes no sense. The name of the game is standardization and efficiency, which you get through your current process. Bonus points if you’ve standardized HW/SW based on something like job role, function, or department. This interview feels like a massive waste of time for your team and the hiring managers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the managers start pushing back.
As an aside, how do you like Freshservice? We are thinking of moving to it and have been impressed in our limited POC.
Saueso@reddit
Mine came in implemented 1 day office a week and left the following month
fresh-dork@reddit
roll up with a checklist - here's the list, and here are several standard profiles. assign a to b and tell me about exceptions. 5-10 minute meeting for 20 hires.
4guser@reddit
What the hell. Get an IGA to handle identity lcm
Uncl3J@reddit
Condolences OP, you work for an ID10T.
Sab159@reddit
That's not realistic. Tell your it director to look up IGA solutions.
Jtalbott22@reddit
We are putting HR on Fresh..he’s dumb
ConfusionFront8006@reddit
Just think. This must be the mentality that leadership who hired this idiot has. Likely doomed.
MightyMediocre@reddit
Agreed. This is coming from the top down
Alaknar@reddit
Does your FS onboarding process include gathering all of that information from the stakeholders (HR/manager/whoever else)?
AlexM_IT@reddit
I can't speak to OP's setup, but FS definitely has that ability. I would assume that they have the proper approvals and information gathering setup if they've been using it.
Alaknar@reddit
That's why I asked. Maybe they just weren't getting all the needed info in the process and the new IT director didn't know it's possible to properly set it all up.
AlexM_IT@reddit
That might make sense. It can be a bit overwhelming to set up properly and really needs input from all the stakeholders for the entire onboarding process.
If it was just IT setting things up, maybe the process DOES suck. Good point.
emmjaybeeyoukay@reddit
The response to this is to ask your new Directory -- WHY ?
Find out what his motivation is for making the change.
Ask him to bear with you while you work out the process for his change and then go away and find out what can and will go wrong. Compare this with the existing process.
Sit down with him and go through the pro's and con's of both processes. If he is insistent on changing then suggest a three month trial (long enough to get a reasonable data set).
Put out an announcement to HR and the department heads explaining the new test process and why.
Keep detailed notes per onboarding. Identify where the new process is failing.
Go back to him and go through things.
If he insists on changing then email him and get it confirmed.
m0os3e@reddit
Malicious compliance, play the phone tag and just let it take it's time. The other departments will start complaining about onboarding delays caused by the inefficient system.
Z3t4@reddit
If the manager doesn't have time to provide requirements beforehand, pretty sure they will have time afterwards.
You only have to document that you tried, you don't work on a kindergarten, you don't to have to chase anybody so they don't have issues on the future.
kirashi3@reddit
This. It baffles me when X person makes Y request without providing details (either because they genuinely didn't know, or because they're incompetent), yet never has the time of day to respond to the IT reply asking for more information. IT cannot read minds, IT does not have a magic wand, and IT is most definitely not responsible for babysitting other employees.
Ol_JanxSpirit@reddit
So, your director sounds like a piece of work, but when you were using it, did you like FreshService's utility for onboarding? We've not turned that feature on yet.
CyberWeasel08@reddit
Same here. I’m curious how the FreshService onboarding workflow turned out. I’d like to turn ours on too.
coldfusion718@reddit
Document everything you do and keep offsite backups of this evidence.
When things blow up, the Director will throw you under the bus.
You’ll need documented evidence. Do you also have any emails of him telling you to do onboarding this way? You’ll need this also.
gordonv@reddit
CYA
Make sure decision makers and C-Suite get included on these emails.
NightOwlRK@reddit
Do y'all have a template for each department on what access/apps they need? If not, seems like that should be the Director's priority instead of wasting everyone's time and slowing the process down.
Should be as easy as an access group or AD group.
AlexM_IT@reddit
If they have the freshservice onboarding module setup, they likely do have templates. You can automate the creation of tickets, approvals, etc with it based on forms or however else you set it up. I know because I've been trying to build it out for us, lol.
post4u@reddit
No. Just no. Onboarding needs a source. If you have an ERP where HR keeps all staff data, that's your source. When they add someone, automations should kick off that adds accounts as needed. Interview? No way. You're an employee with this title at this location, you get xyz. If anything beyond that is needed, you work out some sort of request process.
Neuro_88@reddit
It’s a good system. Offload the decision making to the decision makers.
EffectiveEquivalent@reddit
My freshservice onboarding creates all the account required, all I need to do is assign a laptop to them, in FS, which adds their new account to autopilot in the chosen laptop, and I’m done.
What an absolute waste of time.
Thyg0d@reddit
We do the exact opposite. Hr system linked to entra. Hr system send out tasks to manager (order hw, applications/rights for example) Manager orders hardware We check stock and order if needed. System adds user to groups for rights and licenses if not already set by role package. We enroll the machine and hand it and phone out to the user say good luck and go back to real IT work.
Only way to run IT with just two people.
Helpjuice@reddit
This is one of those times you use your tenure to get this wack job out of there through leadership meetings above their head only bringing facts and metrics to your discussions without mentioning them but show concern with the recent changes and the time it takes to resolve onboarding issues and the problems it is creating.
No way this is acceptable in any business, especially one that is growing. Time for this new director to be let go as this is only one of the changes they have, with more like it coming soon to a department near you.
theZephyrium@reddit
CCB that way when it is taking longer and so much slower there is documentation and meetings for who/s to blame.
slowclicker@reddit
Is he trying to introduce PAIN to get his way of a new ticketing system ? Then update his resume to say that he modernized their ticketing system with something shiny and new?
CopiousCool@reddit
Create basic profiles for roles and or departments (admin/admin-IT etc) and the basic requirements IT wise for those roles.
Then create resource managers who can approve access for said resources; this doesn't have to be the dept head but if it's a DB for example it should be someone with knowledge and authority to manage it.
This way basic access with the profiles is pre approved on hiring but any further access is co-authorised by the responsible resource contact by adding them on the ticket/email for approval
adheres to 4 eyes principle and helps with SOCs reviews
voodoo1982@reddit
Basically you guys didn’t onboard him to his liking, and or talked to his boss and discovered nobody asked him either. Or her. This is how he punished you for that.
viperseatlotus@reddit
Fresh Service literally has the journeys part specifically for this. You make the form and you can automate everything from exchange online to user accounts in AD You just have to make the form and map it all out using the journeys workflow.
We do verse that we use Z hire to create the accounts because we run hybrid and journeys doesn’t play well with hybrid exchange.
The_NorthernLight@reddit
This sounds like a perfect scenario for the innocent question…. Innocently ask the head of HR, why this new process was requested by HR. I can guarantee you, that will trigger a conversation that will not maoe the Director look good. Just make sure you have the change in process documented of it coming from the Director.
iSurgical@reddit
We use a jotform
MostFat@reddit
An IT director that doesn't want tickets?
phoenix823@reddit
I can almost guarantee the company had issues where hiring managers/HR were not opening the Freshservice tickets on time and new hires were having problems on Day 1. So rather than looking at this as the HR or the training issue that it is, he decided he could be proactive and get that information so as to ensure a good Day 1 for new hires. He doesn't appreciate that his manual work around is itself technical debt and that he committed his team to performing a new manual function rather than trying to fix the system (ie. automated reminders to managers/skip levels to open tickets, HR oversight, etc).
It comes from a place of trying to provide a level of superior service. Everyone in IT I've met strives to provide excellent service. But it's naive because he doesn't understand that not all issues are for IT to solve.
andymatthewslondon@reddit
Look up the term malicious compliance and wait for the failure to be traced back up the chain to him.
SillyPuttyGizmo@reddit
Your new manager is marking his territory (like my dog peeing on a lamp post) in order to express to all tgst he's in charge. Also since he is taking you backwards he has probably reached his Peter principle.
Peter Principle: The book suggests that people are promoted based on their success in their current role, but the skills required for a new, higher-level job may not be the same, leading to a promotion to a position where they are no longer competen
Assumeweknow@reddit
You are in your rights. He needs to go. The HR system needs to connect to the IT inventory and provisioning system. There should be no interviews on what is needed beyond what manager says is needed. The only way this IT director system works is if you are implementing a system that which builds the cheapest possible systems for users. Which is stupid. better to overbuild systems for the 7-10 year setup than barely build systems that work okay today.
Outrageous_Tank_1990@reddit
Use Form requests in Fresh desk. Create a New Hire employee form and have the manager fill it out and submit. You will get it as a ticket and you can take care of the new hire onboarding that way.
ryan8613@reddit
Online form for new hires with selectable needs. Form should then be used to do what's needed. What's needed could be automated.
many_dongs@reddit
Dinosaur management is so fucking annoying
Low-Tackle2543@reddit
What can’t this be a form that kicks off automation? At most create personas and stick to that model for consistency.
pdp10@reddit
Ask how the department will know when the change has been a success. That's a more goal-oriented, and somewhat less-threatening, way of asking what they hope to accomplish.
I've spent far too much time figuring out how to get information without the requests being taken as threatening, flippant, obnoxious, clueless, or indicative of a lack of professional knowledge on my part. It shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes it is. Just yesterday, somebody called me a "Debbie Downer" and wanted me to apologize, for trying to convey some information that I thought was relevant and timely to the task at hand.
achristian103@reddit
Yikes.
If this is the guy's mindset, run now. The onboarding clusterfuck will be the least of your problems before long.
Charming_Cupcake5876@reddit
Forms
angrydeuce@reddit
Yeah that would never fly where we're at. Our onboarding process is already pretty streamlined, but if we were waiting around on info from their direct report wed end up doing it on their start date or after when they discovered they were missing shit.
I honestly wouldnt sweat this personally just because it would be pretty obvious pretty quick that it aint gonna work lol. Id just escalate all the failed attempts at real time clarification to the new director and ask for him to advise on how hed like me to proceed. I mean its stupid AF but play stupid games win stupid prizes lol. Id also be damn sure to document the shit out of every single wasted minute sending emails, making phone calls, and teams chats. Eventually when every onboarding request takes much more time thats going to come back.
However...if there is a ton of shit being missed with the current process then I could see it, though I wouldnt necessarily go about fixing it this way lol. Of course only you would know if thats the case but we had issues with this over the years and I had to clean up a lot of those processes...when you look at the numbers on a broader level sometimes there are inefficiencies there.
Anyways I feel your pain my guy its always a bunch of shit when a new swinging dick gets slotted in to captain the ship, but hopefully at least this person doesnt have the same last name as other key corporate officers...if its truly that disruptive itll come home to roost eventually. If not, then time to biggity bounce...twas a good run! Lol
Electronic_Sink1892@reddit
Honestly that makes no sense to me at all, shocking from an IT director that that’s what they want to do. Good luck OP sounds like a long road ahead with this guy
TheGlennDavid@reddit
Does he walk backwards? Is he getting younger every day? Is he an inter-dimensional alien who experiences time differently than we do?
What the bell did I just read.