Career Highlights : Saving Time

I started for OptiSolar in April 2008. I was hired as the primary IT contact for the Sacramento site of the alternative energy startup from the bay area. I was to be considered for the managers position as the site developed. The Sacramento site was to be the primary production facility for the new company, with over one million square feet and a proposed 500+ employees this was an exciting time to be with the company. I still had to prove myself capable of possibly managing the site.

The first thing I noticed was a competent IT team in Hayward, the base of operations. I stayed in Hayward a few days my first two weeks, I observed the attitudes and operations of the team. I was excited to see the helpful structure that I could call on for help in Sacramento.

One of my primary duties was helpdesk. It was clearly presented that everybody’s first duty was helpdesk then any other responsibility. In Sacramento there were close to thirty employees when I started, most had only been with the company for a few months, and new hires came every week. I noticed a lot of basic IT questions, how to login correctly how to get email etc.. I had gone through an orientation the first day with the company. They introduced all aspects of the company to the newly hired employee, but I noticed that there was nothing about IT in the information.

I suggested to the IT Director that there should be brief introduction to IT in the orientation. I created an presentation that gave information on logging in, changing your password and getting help in the future. This simple twenty minute presentation reduced helpdesk requests and helped people understand how the company could help them. It was adopted in the Hayward location shortly after.

This is a small example of how proactive thinking can actually save time.