Submitted by Jamesa319 on
in
Forums
hi all,
In my company we have just introduced a new tool to enable staff to access important operational material. The material is now reformatted and located onboard a tablet device in an easy access location. Additionally, and at staff discression, the material was available on their personal iPads. With the intro of the new tool, they can still get the material but have to download a specific app that is available via the company App Store. Some feel that this is too invasive and have declined.
Yesterday I received a query from a colleague located north of my location asking if the old way of accessing the material was still available. I explained that due to the way in which the new tool created the material it would be an exponential rise in workload as well as a very real risk that the two documents diverge in content.
I got a understanding reply and heard nothing more. A colleague then suggested I have a look at this rumour or chat website and low and behold there is a whole thread on the subject, the last one being a direct cut and paste from the email with my name and a loose accusation that the company are 'playing fast and loose'.
so, my question is how would you handle this. Either the email responder has posted a copy of my email, or they have used the content of the email to deliver to their team, with which an individual has them cut and pasted. Look forward to hearing your views on the next steps, if any!
Internal or external site?
James -- Is the chat site where your email was posted an internal (to the organization) site or an external site?
Dani
Hi Dani
Hi Dani
it was published on an external social site.
James
IT Policy?
Does your org have an IT policy? If the site i.e. external and available for the public to view, something like that could be construed as Gross Misconduct, and summary dismissal without notice.
Depends how serious you view the share, how sensitive it was, whether there's precedent...
I'm trying to connect some
I'm trying to connect some dots here.
You sent an email to Person A. Text of that email ended up on a public chat site with some negative comments.
Is that correct?
First, making negative comments about an employer on a public forum is a violation of trust. At the least, it should lead to a write-up with automatic dismissal for any further incidents like this, whether it's in the employee manual or not. Depending on the subject matter and tone, and the extent of the damage, it could lead to immediate dismissal. The cause could be stated as, "Being stupid enough to bad-mouth your employer in a public forum."
You should immediately lean on the person to whom you sent the original email. Mention the website and ask them if they posted it. If they didn't, ask them who they sent it to. You need to find out who posted this. The recipient of your email is involved, even if unwittingly. They need to help you resolve this, which might mean admitting to it.
How did your colleague stumble upon this website?
Are there lots of people posting negative comments on this chat site? If so, there is real damage being done. Especially if people are being anonymous, you'll get some who will stir everybody else up just because they can.
Quite frankly, if I read the situation correctly, it's fairly alarming. There needs to be a strong message and cages rattled among anyone who thinks posting negative comments about their employer on a public website is appropriate. Whether your information system should be revised because the employees don't like it is a separate issue.