Facebook Takes Employee Computer Problems Very Seriously

Many efforts to increase productivity are relatively subtle, using apps or insights about human psychology to try and get more out of a day.

Facebook, on the other hand, at least in some cases, takes more of a blunt hammer approach.

The Wall Street Journal spoke to the company's CIO, Tim Campos, who told them that if a Facebook employee calls the help desk two or three times about computer problems, they'll just replace the device.

"We don’t want to waste your time, nor do we want to waste ours," Campos told Rachel King.

He has a pretty good justification for the expense. Sure, a new laptop costs around a thousand bucks. But trying to squeeze the maximum life out of a computer, or making them jump through hoops to access the help desk or get a new one, slows the productivity of an employee, who may make six figures. Seems like pretty good math.

Workers spend less time dealing with freezes and crashes, and the help desk spends less time dealing with inane problems like slow computers.

And to avoid another subset of inefficient help desk calls — requests for equipment — the company installed vending machines at which any employee can swipe their ID and get a new set of headphones, without having to pay or file forms.

Frequently, the best solution doesn't require deep management thought or a complex strategy, but the willingness to think in a different way, and do something extremely simply and efficiently.