Question

A common information system used by many organizations, particularly in the sales department, is a customer relationship management system. These systems store a great deal of information about customer contacts. They aggregate customer information gathered from the company's website, social media, email, phone contacts, and through direct relationships with the sales team. Many of these applications, such as Salesforce.com have applications for sales teams that allow users to sync information between the CRM system and the contacts on their cell phone.

One example of borderline conduct involves an employee taking their business contacts with them when they leave a job. While customer lists are a commonly cited example of industrial espionage targets, it is not uncommon when salespeople or executives are recruited for an individual's professional network to be an asset that sets them apart from other potential employees.

Where do you think the line falls between your company's proprietary information and your professional network? What factors would you consider to determine whether it is innocent or espionage? What concerns would you have if you were leaving a company? What concerns would you have if you were a hiring manager?

Answer 1

Q1 Where do you think the line falls between your company's proprietary information and your professional work?

A1 The challenge of information being shared outside the company starts when the maturity of information system is low in the business. Even though most of the CRM systems available in the market provide a well developed information capturing system, how you use the information to build business and knowledge from the the information is the maturity of the company.

Maturity here refers to the Brand Creation, Customer Connect, Uniqueness in Product Offering and Quality of Services rendered matters. So in my view of the business, information today in the business is used to creates a personality of the company, which I believe cannot be taken away by any employee.

Q2 What factors would you consider to determine whether it is innocence or espionage?

I would consider espionage when an employee today picks up the entire customer data of one company and takes to a new company because he gets a better job to a direct competition. Innocence is not the factor, Immaturity is.

What would accept is that a genuine continued relationship of an employee with customer that carries on to the next company. This is where we also hire a sales person who builds good relationships. If a sales person can build good relationships with target market of the previous company, he should be able to do it for us as well.

Q3 What concerns would you have if you were leaving the company?

I would surely consider the agreement I have with my existing company with respect to how I may or may not use the knowledge about the company and If I am signing any further exit clause that may hinder my next assignment

Q4 What concerns would you have if I am a hiring manager?

As a hiring manager I would be concerned if the person leaving my company has the capability to attack my knowledge of customers, process, technology or methodology. In a more complex environment where it is necessary to manage espionage I would, in my employment contract, put in a clause to bind the employee for say next 5 years with a possibility of investigation for sharing any confidential information outside and post employment with my company.

I may have a person also sign such an agreement at the exit of the company.