HR and marketing professionals have been identified as the ones who spread the most office gossip, according to a new survey.
When it comes to prospering in austerity, ensuring that confidential information relating to the company, employees or customers remains confidential is a top priority.
However, a survey carried out by records management firm, Iron Mountain, has discovered that it's those who are privy to the most 'juicy' information that are most likely to spill it, managementtoday.co.uk reports. While 36 per cent of employees admitted to sharing information, it's HR who are the biggest culprits.
Sixty-four per cent of HR staff said that they have shared company information when they should not have done and 44 per cent said they had passed on data about individual employees. Given the amount of information they have access to, this statistic, though shocking, is perhaps not surprising.
Their colleagues in the marketing department aren't without blame. Half said that they had fuelled rumours, thedrum.com writes, coming second only to HR.
The findings emphasise the importance of incorporating confidentiality clauses in employment contracts and the use of non-disclosure agreements where necessary. It's a topic that ought to be addressed in leadership training, also, so that managers can impress upon staff the consequences of such a breach.
It also highlights the need for improved record keeping - the days of filing cabinets stuff with personnel files should be long gone, with data available now electronically instead. This not only prevents information falling into the wrong hands, but also serves as a business continuity measure.
