Just Saying - Leak like a sieve..

Intersection between successful companies and companies that leak like a sieve

You are a part of the new management team in your company.. The company has going through quite a few changes in the last 10 years including a couple of management restructures and few changes of owners. There are quite a few old employees and a few customers that you have a long term relation with.  After such changes there will be plenty of ex-employees of the company and some may end up working for your competitors..

When you are in such a company, continued employment does not necessary mean continued loyalty to the company or loyalty to current management..

Humans are fickle beasts. They build emotional attachment to others and sometimes they are strange attachments. Some of those attachments are short lived but other remain in place for a long long time..  With those friendship comes a degree of loyalty..

Some of your employees may remain loyal to ex-employees.. It is possible for your current employee to provide information to people outside of your company.. That may be accidental chatter in a social environment.. Down the pub and letting out little titbits of what is happening at the company or it may be deliberate and outright sabotage of the company.. Some instances may be details about what is happening with various projects in the company.. what is happening with relationship with existing customers.. financial details of the company.. or god forbid, contact details for prospective customer..

Regards whether it is accidental or deliberate, the release of such information to people who have previously related to the company can give your competitors a significant competitive advantages...

Once the information has left the boundaries of your company there is no stopping it.. not only will your current employees have friendship with others but ex-employees will maintain relationships with other ex-employees and other associated parties..  There is a complex web of relationships out there..

Once the information has left , it is in the pubic domain and it will spread along the interconnected web like wildfire..  People will end up knowing things about your company that you don't even know..

Once it outside your company there is simply no stopping the sharing of that information.. Once outside that horse has bolted..

So how do you prevent it getting outside of your company to start with..  You should start by putting in place confidential agreements.. If there is deliberate and blatant breech of those agreements, take action.. if you know that someone associated with company has been wholesale exporting information to a competitor.. terminate the relationship with that person and take legal action if necessary.. If for example someone was to give contact details of current or potential customers that could only be sourced from within the company, directly to a competitor.. that would warrant taking such action.

However, you can not go around threating every single employee with legal action.. You would have to make good on those threats.. You will alienate loyal employee and you would spend a small or not so small fortune on lawyers..

You can not ban people from association with anyone else.. Such a ban would be against the right of freedom of association and depending where you are.. it may be illegal..

You can remind people of their obligation under any confidential agreement.. and that is something you should do a regular basis.. maybe annually.. however.. that should be a reminder.. and not a threat..

But the best thing you can do to prevent your company leaking like a sieve is to actually make your employees loyal to you and the company.. that means engaging with the employees.. sharing the company vision and values.. leading them by example.. making them wanting to be a part of your exciting company..  When the company has such an environment with loyal and dedicated employees that you bring along with you.. then they will not want to leak information and they wont.. 

That is the best method.. it is also the hardest.. it takes a lot of effort on your part.. but then it is just good business practice.. something a successful company would be doing anyway..

As an aside.. it is not just trusted employees that can leak about your company.. it may be trusted customers or partners... For example, if you have long term customers that are involve in project.. they will be exposed to information that others will not be.. that may be just details about how the project is going..  If they think what your delivering on that project is shit and they are not getting value for money or the love and care that use to get.. they can also be a source of leaks within the company.. They too can leak information to ex-employee and therefore potential competitors..

Of course.. the solution there is to have the confidential agreements in place.. but also to deliver value for money and do not provide poor quality project,products and services..  If you give them shit.. they will tell others it is shit..