Why do some people lack care or concern about being overheard? Even when they are discussing private information about their company, their management or even worse, their clients.
I was walking round the Botanical Gardens a couple of weeks ago – a fabulous walk in Melbourne. I happened to overhear snippets of conversations going each way. Then I noticed I was hearing a lot of one conversation – maybe because it was quite loud, we were going at a similar slow speed, same direction, there was no wind or car noises to drown out the animated discussion about the CEO and senior leadership team at one particular company they named.
I kept getting large chunks of story about the ineptitude of someone, the lack of direction etc etc. They veered off and I was relieved they were not talking about me or someone I knew. But imagine if someone who did know who it was they were referring to, and knew the company. What if it was a client, a relative, a contractor, another staff member…
Here’s an example a woman told me recently. She was at her doctor doing an ultrasound and he got a call about another client. He discussed that case over the phone in front of the woman I knew, then confirmed her full name, age, phone number and details of her medical situation. The person who told me was amazed she was hearing that, but felt embarrassed, as she really liked the doctor and would never say anything negative to him.
The most common one is a conversation on the tram, bus, train or plane conversation. How many times do you sit minding your own business when you suddenly hear someone talking high above the necessary volume, about what should be PRIVATE information about someone else. The likelihood is you have never heard of the company, the person or that even if you did the information is probably not sensitive. But it’s not right.
So what kind of training is necessary and at what levels?
I think every company needs to have standards and policies which are clearly implemented and discussed. This should include what should and should not be discussed outside of the business or with outside people. Last week I wrote about being careful with emails and was reminded in the comments (thank you to the writer) that it is not just emails but also what people put on their Facebook pages, Twitter and other public social media platforms.
Maybe the staff training is lagging too far behind the reality. Maybe we assume that at a certain level of management, people should KNOW what is OK to discuss and what is not OK. But apparently that is not the case.
It’s time for some tighter employment contracts and more regular reminders of appropriate communication and inappropriate communication. And we need clear agreement in a business as to how to manage any breach.
Training in relation to privacy and ethics is badly needed in many businesses.
For more insights, check on these videos on Privacy Issues, An Introduction to Business Ethics and Ethical Behaviour.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
