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8 STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR COMPANY DATA WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE

VBS IT Services

8 STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR COMPANY DATA WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE ebook

Businesses want everyone to be a big happy family with no turnover, but that’s not always possible. When employees leave, you may be opening the door to a data leak or compliance risk. This eBook shares what you need to know to better secure your business when someone leaves or is let go.

When people leave, data should not go with them

Employee turnover is costly for many reasons. Productivity can lag, you may lose institutional knowledge, and you have to recruit and train new talent. But, have you thought about the risks to your data security? An exiting employee taking data or accessing your systems risks sensitive information.

This ebook shares steps you can take to protect your data:

  • Find out more about the risk when people leave your firm.
  • Learn how to create a culture of security throughout employee tenure.
  • Explore strategies to prevent turnover.
  • Read about the ways a managed service provider helps protect data.

Understanding IT risks related to employee turnover.

There are times when you have to let employees go, but in this age of the Great Resignation, you may have more people leaving voluntarily. They could be younger workers who see greener pastures elsewhere, or older workers ready to retire. Problems arise if employees take data with them or leave with continued access.

When people exit your company, whether on good terms or not, they represent a data risk. Due to bring-your-own-device policies, they could have company data on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. They may also have user accounts set up for business software on those mobile devices.

With people working remotely or on their own devices, there may also be questions about professional or personal data. Your business may need to consult with a lawyer about who has rights to what data and work done.

Someone leaving involuntarily might also remove data from your company with ill intent. They could download data to a portable thumb drive (USB drive), or transfer information to the cloud for continued access after leaving. They might release data publicly, sell it to criminals, or take it to your competition.

What can you do to offset the risk?

Download the eBook to learn the 8 tips by clicking here.

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Keeping employees happy helps, too.

Another way to stem disgruntled employees leaving with your data is to engage employees and give them meaningful work. Be a place where people want to work. Some strategies to help encourage employee loyalty, while also boosting productivity, include:

Welcome feedback. Make it obvious you’re willing to hear from employees. Then, where possible, act on what the employees say. This shows you respect their input and helps everyone feel more involved at work.

Encourage risk-taking. People like to feel challenged so they are less likely to look elsewhere to work. Make yours a company where people feel safe trying new things or making fresh suggestions.

Set goals. Help individuals identify challenging areas. You don’t want to make the goals too difficult, as that could lead to the frustration you are aiming to avoid.

Outsourcing security steps up your posture

Enlisting a managed service provider (MSP) is one more way to cut risks when employees move on. The MSP can establish content management solutions and set up virtual desktops. These experts can also help with cloud solutions, encryption, and access authentication. They can provide valuable guidance for isolating sensitive data.

The MSP can remove employee access, wipe devices, and disable accounts. If a disgruntled employee deletes or corrupts files, the MSP can do backup and recovery to get you back on track.

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