Reasons Why Company Information is Being Leaked by Employees

Red diamonds are known as the most expensive and the rarest diamond color in the world. It is Communication Intelligence’s hope that the quotes shared in this section of the magazine will be rare “finds” that will be highly valued.

“Buying CDs was inconvenient, so there was Napster, which led to Apple professionalizing the electronic distribution of music. Downloading movies off of Limewire was awful, so Netflix and Amazon Prime made it inexpensive and simple to enjoy that content.

“With that framing, and barring examples of true scandal and legitimate whistleblowing, (employee) leaks… are basically ‘internal communication piracy.’”

Phil Gomes, chief communications and marketing officer at Bloq

“It points to flaws in internal communication more than it does a breakdown in an employee's sense of right and wrong, even if both might be present here. So, the solution isn't for the leader to say ‘Don't leak. It's bad.’ People who leak information already know this, at some level. The solution is for the leader to ask ‘What about my company's culture is making it difficult for employees to come forward?’”

“For one thing, it's so easy and the level of friction is low. A leaker no longer has to wait until 10 pm to use the photocopier and sneak documents past the night watchman in their pants, for example.”

Phil Gomes, chief communications and marketing officer at Bloq

“We also lionize leakers these days as heroes of transparency, even if we sometimes fail to ask whether those employees did anything to fix the issues that concerned them before resorting to breaking confidentiality.

“The best solution is to create an internal culture of approachability — where issues can be broached and rationally discussed without penalty or consequence.”

Phil Gomes, chief communications and marketing officer at Bloq