Compromising Business Behavior: How Not To Expose Your Company's Secrets

Compromising Business Behavior: How Not To Expose Your Company's Secrets

Think you are a shrewd negotiator? Have you mastered the secrets of negotiating without showing your hand? Well, then, congratulations. You can probably work in most large companies today. It seems that many companies have forgotten the basics of good business etiquette and have forgotten the values of good negotiation etiquette. The purposeful use of power politics and shady tactics is becoming a more common practice within corporate America. Companies like Uber, Target, and Fox News have recently come under fire for their business practices that compromise confidential information from both customers and competitors as well as their own employees who may leak sensitive/confidential information to other workers or competitors.

While these tactics may be useful in playing the boardroom game well, they have a terrible impact on corporate culture.

Companies should be safeguarding their most valuable resource: their human capital. A company's most important assets are its employees, and if employees feel as though they're being mistreated or taken for granted, companies will face an uphill battle when trying to retain top talent. This can ultimately lead to a detrimental effect on overall company performance and result in lost revenue opportunities. In order to avoid having to deal with leaked information or risk the reputation of your business, below is some recommended reading that will provide suggestions on how to avoid compromising business behavior and the leaks of sensitive information.

As a human resource professional, it's important to remember that sometimes the best way to handle sensitive information is to just wait and keep your mouth shut. Rockstars across Silicon Valley have discussed this point of view on the topic, including Shervin Pishevar, one of Uber's first investment partners who has been aggressively pursuing a legal battle against the ride-sharing giant. Recently, he made headlines when he reportedly received a cease-and-desist letter from Uber asking him to "cease and desist" from using embarrassing business intelligence materials in his efforts to rally investors for his further pursuit into disrupting the taxi industry.

Pishevar is among a group of investors that are staunchly against Uber's hiring and firing practices, which were revealed in a recent essay written by former employee Susan Fowler. In the essay, Fowler wrote about how she was sexually harassed by a male manager at the company. She also talks about how she went to human resources for help, but claims that her claim was dismissed because her manager was "a high performer". This situation exposed Uber's illegal practice of asking employees to sign non-disclosure agreements when they received settlements on claims involving sexual harassment as well as racial discrimination.

In 2015 alone, Uber had already paid nearly $2 million in order to settle claims related to harassment and discrimination. This news came after a string of claims made by former employees which resulted in lawsuits against the company.

In this case, Pishevar decided to use Uber's clashing values between the perception of a high-performing employee and sexual harassment allegations to get the attention of investors while also advocating his side in trying to save his investments. In a statement, he said he felt that Uber would be "doomed without this energy". While this may seem like only a pebble on the road for an already troubled company, it is not unlike human resources departments across corporate America who are at risk of having their confidential information compromised. This can lead to an extremely difficult situation for companies when trying to minimize any damage and keep up appearances. As the head of HR, it's important that you know how to prevent information from being leaked by your staff and employees as well as how to handle leaks if they do happen.

In order to prevent employees from leaking sensitive information, you need to work with managers and supervisors in order to foster an environment of open communication and transparency. Communication is a vital part of any negotiation process, but when it arrives at disagreements or heated topics, people tend to get defensive. If this occurs in the course of business negotiations or disagreements between management teams, it can lead to a breakdown in communication skills.

According to experts in Holland and Canada, "High-conflict teams are prone to communication breakdowns, conflict mismanagement and a lack of integration. The effects of these problems can be devastating for the performance of a team. High-conflict teams have the lowest levels of trust, commitment and cooperation, which is not surprising given that team members often have very different goals."

Experts also suggest that conflicting parties should model their communications with techniques used within professional mediation. In addition to utilizing open communication with employees and management teams within your company, it's important to make sure that there is a clear line of authority to refer any leaks or violations to.

As it pertains to breaches of confidential information, the experts recommend that companies implement leak prevention policies that are designed to minimize the impact of leaks and mitigate negative financial impacts and legal actions. Companies can create leak prevention policies by establishing ethical boundaries and guidelines for employees regarding all types of information including ideas, insights, and future plans.

While maintaining a strong HR department throughout your company is essential to keeping secrets bottled up, having a clear policy in order to create effective communication with managers and employees is also critical. By reading into the news surrounding Uber, you can see that this type of problem becomes more common as technology continues to advance and companies compete for a leading position on the market.

At the end of the day, it's important to remember that it is your responsibility as an individual or part of an organization to be able to maintain an open and honest environment, which is why policies are crucial for creating a trustworthy role for employees in your company. Set up clear and well-defined policies regarding confidential information and employees will begin to respect your company's confidentiality policy and know that they can trust you when it comes to sharing information without facing negative consequences.

Jon is an ethical hacker and technology enthusiast who started writing professionally in 2006. His work has appeared in numerous online publications, including Hack a Day, the Huffington Post and others. He is based in Saskatchewan, Canada and is currently working on a book about how to build your own (legal) drone.

See also:

Uber's internal communications leaked online after being exposed by Uber hackers

Is Tesla about to become a victim of Uber-style HR problems? -- In Silicon Valley, thanks to the Susan Fowler essay, rumors are swirling about the way Tesla treats its employees. The question for investors will be whether or not this creates real issues for Elon Musk's electric carmaker.

Uber's Sexual Harassment Problem -- Why Susan Fowler Left Google -- As Uber works to change its culture, one former employee who left the company offers some tough advice to the rideshare giant.

Susan J. Fowler speaks out on Uber's toxic culture of discrimination and sexual harassment

Proposed Payment Agreement Between Uber Technologies Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Leaves Tech Giant Paying Legal Fees -- A proposed settlement agreement between Waymo and Uber leaves the ride-hailing company paying legal fees to Google's parent company, Alphabet, which could amount to $2 million or more.

Conclusion

This article shows us that usually the information leaks have a negative impact on the employee. So, it is very important to prevent these kind of leaks.

It is not just about preventing them, but also how you deal with them and how to avoid disclosing confidential information. Also, it is quite difficult to manage such information internally. And as we will see later in the examples below, in many cases employees considered confidential information may be leaked unintentionally or due to a mistake by their employer or third parties. The important thing here is to be prepared for this situation, whether it happens because someone has made a mistake or was careless or malicious in his/her actions (as is the case with some accidental leaks).