Question:

How would you handle a situation where you had to fire a long-term employee for accessing confidential information without authorization, right before he was due to receive a generous bonus?

Some additional information that might help you rephrase your question are:

– The employee revealed his unauthorized access in a casual conversation with you, and you verified it through the SIEM system.

– You locked him out of the system on Thanksgiving day and terminated him the next morning, after he admitted his wrongdoing.

– You want to remind other employees of the importance of trust and responsibility in your industry, and the consequences of violating them.

– You also want to address the common misconceptions that you fired him to save money, or that he was not at fault because he had full admin privileges.

Answer:

How to Deal with a Breach of Trust from a Long-Term Employee

One of the most difficult situations that a manager can face is having to fire a long-term employee for accessing confidential information without authorization. This is especially hard when the employee is about to receive a generous bonus that he is unaware of. How do you handle such a situation with professionalism and integrity?

In my case, the employee was a full admin who had worked with me for years. He was a valuable member of the team and had earned my trust and respect. However, he made a fatal mistake that cost him his job and reputation.

He revealed his unauthorized access in a casual conversation with me, by mentioning a minor piece of information that he could have only known by having accessed information he shouldn’t have. I picked up on it immediately and didn’t tip my hand that I’d noticed anything, but my gut dropped.

I looked at his ticket history, checked with others in the know to make sure he hadn’t been asked to review anything related, and he hadn’t. It was there in black and white in the SIEM system, which is one of the few things he couldn’t edit. He was reading stuff he 100% knew was off-limits, but as a full admin had the ability to see.

The Action

I spent several hours of my Thanksgiving day locking him out of the system, then fired him the next morning, after he admitted his wrongdoing. It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one. He had violated the trust and responsibility that comes with his role, and I had no choice but to terminate him.

I also had to inform the higher-ups and the HR department of the incident, and provide them with the evidence and the details of the termination. I had to explain why I had to fire him right before he was due to receive a $10k bonus that he didn’t know was coming. I had to deal with the backlash and the questions from his colleagues and peers.

The Lessons

This incident taught me some valuable lessons that I want to share with other employees in my industry, especially those who have access to sensitive or confidential information.

• Trust is the foundation of our work. We rely on each other to do our jobs well and to respect the boundaries and the rules that are in place to protect our data, our clients, and our organization. Any breach of trust can have serious consequences, not only for the individual, but also for the team, the project, and the company.
• Responsibility comes with power. As a full admin, you have the privilege and the duty to access and manage the information that is necessary for your work. You also have the obligation to not access or disclose any information that is not relevant or authorized for your work. Just because you can open the door to the women’s/men’s locker room doesn’t mean it’s ok for you to walk into it while it’s in use.
• Don’t let curiosity get the better of you. It can be tempting to peek into something that you shouldn’t, especially if you think no one will notice or care. But remember, there are always traces and logs of your actions, and you never know when someone might catch you or question you. The best way to not get caught being aware of something you shouldn’t be aware of, is to not know it in the first place. Most of us aren’t capable of compartmentalizing well enough to avoid a slip.
• Don’t assume the worst of your manager. Some of you may think that I fired him to save money, or that I was too harsh or too quick to judge. But let me assure you, this firing was not a personal or a financial decision. It was a professional and an ethical decision. This firing is going to cost us a hell of a lot more than $10k in recruiting costs and the projects it set back. I probably won’t have to pay a larger salary because we do a pretty good job on that front, but I’ll probably end up forking out to a recruiter, then training, etc. This was a straight up loss to the organization.

The Conclusion

Firing

a long-term employee for accessing confidential information without authorization is one of the toughest situations that a manager can face. It is a situation that requires courage, honesty, and fairness. It is also a situation that can be avoided, if we all follow the principles of trust and responsibility that are essential for our industry. I hope that this article has given you some insight and guidance on how to handle such a situation, or better yet, how to prevent it from happening in the first place.