Stop for a moment and think through your work and entrepreneurial history. Think about how things occur when a colleague or an employee decides (or is asked) to move on from his/her job. If it is involuntary, the worker is packed up, all keycards, logins, accounts and other forms of access to the company are blocked and the employee is asked to immediately leave the premises. Why? Because that worker is seen as a potential threat to the company and steps are being taken to prevent that.
When, on the other hand, is departing worker is a beloved colleague, employee or friend, the situation is totally different. After announcing his / her impending departure, the employee is greeted by well wishes. (S)he gets to choose when they leave and, when that last day rolls around, (s)he is greeted by a "surprise" party or lunch at a fancy restaurant. Yes, you know there should be an exit interview, but you figure you'll get around to that eventually. Everyone just wants to focus on spending the last few moments they can before the beloved employee walks out the office door for the final time.
Because the second employee is seen as a friend and not a security threat, there is no urgency in restricting access and taking other steps to protect the company. As the infographic below shows, these employees walk away with passwords, logins, access to your confidential information. All the steps you took to protect your proprietary information... it's all for naught. What about compliance with your social media policy that is designed to protect your reputation and ensure that your company does not break any laws? Well, that doesn't really mean much if your former employee still has complete access to your social media accounts right?
As I said in a prior post, in business, do not make exceptions for your friends. Because in the real world not all friendships last forever. That is why you never want to leave yourself unprotected.
