IT Employment
If you were bringing onboard a high caliber sales executive, would you give him a new keyboard or wipe down and shine a 4 year old keyboard and give to him?
This may sound like a petty scenario but I would like your input please.
by omie
I would be prepared to provide a new keyboard, but would ask the person first. Some people prefer older keyboards as they are used to them, many of the new keyboards dont sit the same or have the same layouts and spacings.
Give the person responsibility and choice, but I would have both on hand. Given a free hand they may want a fancy infra-red or one with all the fancy extra switches.
The company talked highly of the new sales guy and knew he was coming onboard 2 months ago.
I thought he should have gotten a new keyboard too. The company can definitely afford it.
by thechas
How old a PC is he getting?
If he is getting a 4 year old PC, the least of your worries is the keyboard.
If this sales person is as you describe, I would think that management would want to get off to a good start and show respect to the individual.
The PC should be no less than 2 years old, and the keyboard, monitor, mouse and mouse pad should at least look nearly new.
On further thought, why are you setting up a desktop for a salesman?
All sales staff (at least those who are expected to make sales calls) should be issued a laptop.
If a fair amount of in-office work is involved, then add a docking station with a keyboard and mouse.
Chas
by mallardtooxx
I agree with chas. If this guy is as high calibur as described he should never be in the office. Also If someone is going to whine about the equipment then they are not really concentrating on their job.
For instance, I have a compaq deskpro 2000. It has a 233mhz pentiumII in it and a 3 gig harddrive. Everyone else has Either an AMD ATHLON XP 2700+ or a P4 at 2.5 + ghz. THe fact of the matter is I don't really need a fast machine cause I have the servers but I could whine that being in the position I am in warrants a new system. If the guy is as good as you say go to some place like staples and pick him up a $7 special. Like someone else said if you are gonna shine it up then you might as well get a mop too cause they'll make youdo the floors and windows next.
I was told the day before he arrived exactly which [decrepit] keyboard and monitor to use for his docking station.
As it turns out, the sales guy only uses a laptop which meant all was for nothing!
by generalist
Some sales people have fairly big egos and might think that they are being slighted if they don't have a new PC, much less a clean keyboard. Of course, that assumes that they are more computer literate than most people.
At the same time, I've known sales people that get by just fine on the older equipment because they use other techniques to manage their data.
A lot would depend upon the corporate culture and the age of the computer that goes with the keyboard. You don't want to rock the corporate boat too much but you also don't want to handicap the sales exec.
by timwalsh
How a new employee is setup (office, furniture, equipment, supplies) says a lot about how a company treats its employees and about the company culture as a whole.
What is everyone else using? Will this be only temporary until a new computer is ordered?
It says a lot about your company that you are even asking this question. I wouldn't want to work for a company that is doing so badly that it can't affor to spend $19.95 on a brand new keyboard.
It's one thing if a new employee is at the low end of the wage scale. They almost always tend to get hand-me-downs. But "high-caliber executives" don't tend to stick around if they are treated like (or worse than) employees of lesser stature.
Take a newer keyboard away from someone else (or give hime yours).
That's the sad part.
They obsess over profits until the point it crosses the line between thrifty and absurd.
I think it's time for me to move on.
by generalist
I had a thought that might discourage future problems like this.
Find two dirty four year old keyboards and take a couple of pictures of them to show the amount of dirt you have to clean.
Then clean the keyboard in two ways, keeping track of the amount of time you spend doing a 'just wipe it down' technique and an 'executive ready' technique. Make sure that you do everything needed to keep the keyboards functional, even if it adds time to the cleaning.
Once you're done, calculate how much it cost to get the keyboard 'executive ready' and still have it functional. Also calculate the 'just wipe it down' time. Then take the 'after' pictures of the keyboards.
I suspect that management will learn that 'just wiping it down' won't come anywhere near 'executive ready'. I also suspect that getting it 'executive ready' would cost much more than many high end keyboards.
You could even use the keyboards as an example of 'penny wise and pound foolish'.
You may even have some examples of losing keyboard functionality by having the letters rub off during cleaning.
Thanks for the replies. Here's what happened:
I was not informed exactly whether the new sales guy was using a laptop or desktop until the day before he was brought onboard. I was instructed to setup a docking station with a specific monitor and keyboard (both 4 years old) on his desk, which I did.
A couple days later I was pulled into one of the company brass's office where I was told to take "more pride in my work" and that I should have wiped down the keyboard before deploying it.
I wasin shock, as every company I've worked before has had stock of new keyboards that are issued for every exec or high caliber position.
Technically I should have cleaned the keyboard, but I feel out of professional courtesy the new hire should have never been given such a decrepit piece of equipment to begin with.
by cactus pete
You got the stuff that rolls downhill. I'll bet the new guy mentioned how crappy it was to receive a used keyboard as a means to indicate his expectations in the future. This probably embarrassed the brass for thinking they could get away with treating employees this way - so they treat YOU this way. Now it wasn't their fault, you see...
Conversely, you should have mentioned to someone higher up than you that assigning a crappy keyboard to such an important new hire seems, well, crappy. Your mentioning it beforehand gets you off of the hook, and if they had suggestions for you about cleaning it, it would then have been their responsibility to say it at that time.
But really, how base must management be to pass this sort of thing downhill, or even to squeeze for $20 in the first place?
by thechas
Boy, this sounds an awful lot like a place I used to work for.
Management gave minimal cryptic last minute directions, and was very upset when you did not read their mind as to the details.
(We determined that ALL of upper management was sharing a single brain, as no 5 people could make as many stupid decisions on their own.)
Other than the TOP engineering talent, ALL PCs were recycled. Yet, were supposed to 'look' new for 'key' new hires. (But you were never told which new hires were key employees.)
To this day, the owner uses an IBM selectric for all of his correspondence!
Chas
by mrafrohead
Give them a new one. Others hygeine (or however that's spelled) is different than your own. The new persons also...
Personally, I don't use other peoples phones. And if I HAVE to touch someone elses keyboard, I make damn sure I go to the bathroom IMMEDIATELY after and wash my hands.
I always think of the studies of people that DONT wash their hands after the bathroom. MMMM... Yummy. nothing like touching someones keyboards and getting to experience all of their buggers and whatever else they've managed to goop the thing up with. Echhhhh...
So yeah, spring the fifteen bucks and get the guy a new one;)
Mrafrohead
by dbgirl
by tomsal
Seriously, not to be rude - but I'm surprised this is even an issue.
If it works and there is no fungus growing out of the keys, he can keep the same keyboard.
Use this rule -- do YOU think it looks disgusting? If you do then swap him out a new one. If not, carry on.
Keyboards are so cheap they are pratically a non-issue here. If a keyboard looks too dingy or even shows the slightest bit of not working - trash. new one. done.
by csb
What !! are you nuts!!
Give hime the old one.
If he EARNS a new one, he gets one!!:-))
Remember.. YOU are the system manager, so you are GOD at your company!!
Fred.
by guruofdos
If he's THAT good, and paid that much...he can always buy himself a new one if hes that picky! They cost less than $5 for a reasonable one....some execs pay more than that for a coffee!!!
As for a new computer....why?!!! A salesman doesn't need the same power and performance as, say, a programmer or media editor...and in fact, if he's any good, he'll be out of the office selling most of the time anyway!!!
Give him a spare computer and let him get on with it! If he wants more grunt, let him prove his worth before pandering to his whims!
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