Demoralised staff cause havoc with information security
It was reported that staff at a Woolworths branch dumped till receipts in a skip as they cleared out the store prior to its closure. The information on the till receipts included customers’ names, full bank account numbers, card expiry dates and even featured customer signatures.
Security experts say that this information can be used to "max out" credit cards over the internet; raid bank accounts withdrawing money up to any overdraft limit; or to create fake credit cards. So, both individuals and the finance industry are at risk.
Demoralised staff are less likely to care about the consequences of their actions at work and, with their attention fixed on their own worries – will I be able to find another job? Will I be able to pay my mortgage next month? – they will not be focused on following procedures or minimising risk when doing their jobs. One of the reasons for the loss of personal information relating 25 million child benefit claimants by HMRC in November 2007 was given as "low morale".
Some organisations protect themselves by announcing redundancies and then escorting the unfortunate victims to their desks and helping them clear out belongings before going on "garden leave". They are not allowed to continue with their work once they know that they are being made redundant. For many employers this is not an option, so what can be done to protect the organisation against problems that can result from demoralised staff?
Obviously there is the humanitarian aspect of handling crises in a measured way and without robbing staff of their dignity or autonomy at work to reduce or prevent malicious attacks. Still it would be naive to think that staff who are under a redundancy notice are operating a full capacity and with sharp focus on business needs and obligations.
A workforce with low morale gives rise to business risks which need to be identified and managed as part of the crisis management operation. Can staff be incentivised to raise morale? Can monitoring be made more effective or targeted? Can specialist teams be used to carry out "clean up" operations like the one at Woolworths so that staff are not required to undertake tasks that fall outside their normal activities?
Mandy Webster
12 February 2009