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by tptacek 4126 days ago
* PTO/vacation rules

* Clear and simple issue escalation that handles the case where an associate has a problem with their immediate manager

* A clear policy against discrimination that ties into that issue escalation and assures that facts and impressions are documented

* User privacy and security controls; for instance, the rule that prevents rando associates from poking around production databases, or from logging in as arbitrary users; also, the rule that keeps the dev team from using prod data as testcase datasets

* The 2FA and user laptop encryption rule. At Matasano, we had a "probationary" period for new hires during which they needed permission to remove laptops from company prem, which was concluded by a formal audit. Matasano handles almost nothing but hazmat, so think of that as one end of the spectrum.

* Expectations about off-hours work, and about what kinds of things are OK if they show up in your associates Github account and what kinds of things aren't.

* Whatever rule you want to create about employees representing you on their Twitter accounts.

* The rule that says people need to be press-trained before talking to reporters.

There are more, but by the time I got to "Twitter accounts" I was scraping the bottom of my brain for more examples.

3 comments

* PTO/vacation rules

For this make sure that everyone understands if the vacation rolls over, how it is accrued, etc. Not just that you get 10 days per year. Roll-over, buy back, use or lose, etc.

Did Matasano do much onsite work? Seems one way to handle the hazmat is is to bring a laptop imaged with necessary tools then wipe it clean before returning to base.
A fair amount, yes, and some clients did set up processes like that. But the real purpose of the probation system was just to ensure that every team member truly understood the security policy.
I work for a 30-employee company that only hits your first bullet point, but I wish it hit a lot more.