I was reminded today of the importance of being careful about the technology resources you hire. This article refers to a survey that suggests that more than 59% of employees who are fired, laid off or quit admit to stealing company data. Yikes! When you trust someone with your technology, you are giving them the ability to do severe damage to your business. Not only do you risk data loss or data theft, but there is also the potential of destruction of your reputation and brand.
Before you hire someone (internally or externally) to work on technology related activities for your business, make sure you do the following:
- Verify their credentials and job history
- Check their references (all of them)
- Listen to your gut. Sometimes you get a bad feeling about someone. Don’t risk hiring someone you don’t feel comfortable with now. It isn’t worth it.
This includes any of the following positions: internal IT staff, software developers, networking/infrastructure personnel, and web designers.