This past Halloween reminds us that employers face their own terrors in trying to protect trade secrets and other valuable company information in the workplace, particularly if they have poor onboarding and departure protocols with their employees.

The following video illustrates some of the bad practices committed by both company personnel and employees that can “trick” companies into losing trade secrets or other confidential information or expose them to other liability.

See the video here.

Our recent Halloween-themed best practices presentation provides several “treats” for companies as it highlights some of the practical strategies to avoid the potential horrors illustrated in the video above. These best practices include:

• Creating a culture where employees understand confidentiality and what information the company considers confidential
• Making it clear to employees that they should not use or bring any former employer’s confidential information
• Emphasizing the importance of the company’s non-disclosure and trade secret protection agreements
• Considering the implementation of computer, network, and social media use and access agreements and policies
• Conducting exit interviews and ensuring all company property (both hard copy and electronic) is returned when employees depart
• Training modules with examples of “dos” and “don’ts”
• MARK THINGS CONFIDENTIAL!!!
• Provide access on need to know basis
• Make security protocol familiar and uniform

Have a safe and happy Halloween!