Be a good person or a good employee
January 6, 2016 1:50 PM Subscribe
I recently found out that a department head at my office has accepted a position at a rival firm. No one at my office knows. Should I tell the division head?
I found out though a ludicrously unlikely chain of events that a department head, think someone in a corner office that brings in work for us lowly peons, has accepted a job at another local firm. This isn't my department head, but I work with his group enough that if he leaves and takes his clients it's going to impact me.
Normally I wouldn't even think of letting the cat out of the bag but right now my company is having retainment problems. With this we've lost a large amount of work and this is going to hurt those of us who are left. If I quietly give the division head warning he might be able to get a jump on retaining our clients or at the least take this person off our proposals (we have quite a few going out this month) so when he leaves we aren't scrambling as much.
It's coming down to this; as a good person I don't want to impact this individual's choice to leave my company, but as an employee I feel me saying something would be best for my coworkers and myself. What do you think I should do, and are there any variables I'm not considering?
I found out though a ludicrously unlikely chain of events that a department head, think someone in a corner office that brings in work for us lowly peons, has accepted a job at another local firm. This isn't my department head, but I work with his group enough that if he leaves and takes his clients it's going to impact me.
Normally I wouldn't even think of letting the cat out of the bag but right now my company is having retainment problems. With this we've lost a large amount of work and this is going to hurt those of us who are left. If I quietly give the division head warning he might be able to get a jump on retaining our clients or at the least take this person off our proposals (we have quite a few going out this month) so when he leaves we aren't scrambling as much.
It's coming down to this; as a good person I don't want to impact this individual's choice to leave my company, but as an employee I feel me saying something would be best for my coworkers and myself. What do you think I should do, and are there any variables I'm not considering?
Nope - there will be plenty of animosity around this - do nothing to put yourself in the middle of this.
You never know how high-tension things like this work out. It seems like it would help your position at the current firm to mention this, but it can give you weird, unproductive responsibility for what happens after the cat is out of the bag. Keep your mouth shut now and forever.
posted by mercredi at 1:57 PM on January 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
You never know how high-tension things like this work out. It seems like it would help your position at the current firm to mention this, but it can give you weird, unproductive responsibility for what happens after the cat is out of the bag. Keep your mouth shut now and forever.
posted by mercredi at 1:57 PM on January 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
You have many good reasons to inform your division head. By warning your company, you will head off much misery and many problems if your company loses business.
But what you tell the division head must be limited to what you know. If it's hearsay, tell him only what you heard and who you heard it from. Let him be the final judge of whether your story is true and how to act on it.
The only reason not to do so would be if you wanted to retain the department head's friendship, which is not indicated in your question to be a factor.
I don't see that concealing your information would make you "a good person" or that telling your company would make you a bad person. I also don't think your dichotomy between "good person" and "good employee" is valid at all.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:01 PM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
But what you tell the division head must be limited to what you know. If it's hearsay, tell him only what you heard and who you heard it from. Let him be the final judge of whether your story is true and how to act on it.
The only reason not to do so would be if you wanted to retain the department head's friendship, which is not indicated in your question to be a factor.
I don't see that concealing your information would make you "a good person" or that telling your company would make you a bad person. I also don't think your dichotomy between "good person" and "good employee" is valid at all.
posted by JimN2TAW at 2:01 PM on January 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
What an invasion of privacy. Don't tell, it's not your responsibility or job. And it's rude and a bit fucked up. You do not know what repercussions he could reap or you reap. No one, especially someone who hasn't done anything to you should be undercut this way. This may seem like it could help your position and maybe it will but it could also cause you to be seen as untrustworthy and/or sneaky.
posted by CosmicSeeker42 at 2:35 PM on January 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by CosmicSeeker42 at 2:35 PM on January 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
Keep your lip zipped. You'll win no points for ratting your coworker out and will torpedo any chance that they'd hire you or put in a good word for you if you want a job at their new company down the road. Besides, any company that isn't prepared for the abrupt departure of any employee at any time is a company that is badly mismanaged. People leave for new jobs, people get pregnant, people get injured or die. If they haven't built in some redundancy and job overlap to prepare for such contingencies they're doing their employees no favors.
posted by MsMolly at 2:47 PM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by MsMolly at 2:47 PM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Is it correct that you don't have any personal relationship/investment with this person?
OP, you don't owe anything to this person, nor to the company. If you think sharing your knowledge will benefit you in your job/finances, I would do so. I'm not sure how this department head got into their existing or new position without learning about discretion but that's not for you to worry about. This is assuming you didn't, i.e., sneak through their cell phone.
In fact one of my colleague's employees recently let me know that it had come to them that one of my employees was thinking about leaving. In this case I responded by giving my employee a raise and more authority and crossing my fingers, but at no point did I think of the reporter as sneaky or anything else.
posted by ftm at 2:52 PM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
OP, you don't owe anything to this person, nor to the company. If you think sharing your knowledge will benefit you in your job/finances, I would do so. I'm not sure how this department head got into their existing or new position without learning about discretion but that's not for you to worry about. This is assuming you didn't, i.e., sneak through their cell phone.
In fact one of my colleague's employees recently let me know that it had come to them that one of my employees was thinking about leaving. In this case I responded by giving my employee a raise and more authority and crossing my fingers, but at no point did I think of the reporter as sneaky or anything else.
posted by ftm at 2:52 PM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Stay out of this.
posted by latkes at 3:02 PM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by latkes at 3:02 PM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
my company is having retainment problems
You might well find yourself wanting to apply to his new company in the not too distant future, and inserting yourself into this could make that difficult. If your company is losing workers and contracts, it may well be in a death spiral.
posted by Candleman at 3:09 PM on January 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
You might well find yourself wanting to apply to his new company in the not too distant future, and inserting yourself into this could make that difficult. If your company is losing workers and contracts, it may well be in a death spiral.
posted by Candleman at 3:09 PM on January 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
Your job is a sinking ship, but this guy is a professional contact you might benefit from knowing later on. Like when your company collapses.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:11 PM on January 6, 2016 [22 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:11 PM on January 6, 2016 [22 favorites]
Your job is a sinking ship, but this guy is a professional contact you might benefit from knowing later on. Like when your company collapses.
Agreed. You should play the long game here.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 4:03 PM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Agreed. You should play the long game here.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 4:03 PM on January 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Ask him to take you with him.
posted by slateyness at 6:40 PM on January 6, 2016
posted by slateyness at 6:40 PM on January 6, 2016
I'm not at all convinced ratting out a senior person makes you a "good employee" and the title of your question does not seem to capture the choice you need to make at all. It's more like Ratting Out Someone Senior To Me Who Is Not Doing Anything Wrong When I'm Not Even Supposed To Have This Information Anyway vs Being Professional.
You will not look like a hero in the eyes of your current employer if you do this, if that's what you're thinking. Not to mention that it's not your place to tell someone else's personal information. Especially if there is a chance you don't know the whole story (eg, what if your employer already knows, what if this person ultimately declines the offer, what have you.) And based on how you describe your role in the company ("lowly peon") it's not your job to make management decisions like how to handle department head vacancies, so you would probably be speaking out of turn anyway. This could backfire from a lot of different directions.
posted by kapers at 7:02 PM on January 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
You will not look like a hero in the eyes of your current employer if you do this, if that's what you're thinking. Not to mention that it's not your place to tell someone else's personal information. Especially if there is a chance you don't know the whole story (eg, what if your employer already knows, what if this person ultimately declines the offer, what have you.) And based on how you describe your role in the company ("lowly peon") it's not your job to make management decisions like how to handle department head vacancies, so you would probably be speaking out of turn anyway. This could backfire from a lot of different directions.
posted by kapers at 7:02 PM on January 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
as a good person I don't want to impact this individual's choice to leave my company
I'm guess you will only reinforce this person's decision to leave.
Whatever you heard, you did not hear it from the department head so it's still just hearsay. What if you got bad information? What if s/he definitely got a new job elsewhere and was absolutely going to leave but tomorrow it falls through for one of a million reasons. You think you dislike the department head now? How about when s/he knows you are a gossip and can't be trusted with sensitive information?
Really, this is Golden Rule time. If your company is struggling and you got a fantastic new job, would you want someone ratting you out? MYOB times a million.
posted by Beti at 7:58 PM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm guess you will only reinforce this person's decision to leave.
Whatever you heard, you did not hear it from the department head so it's still just hearsay. What if you got bad information? What if s/he definitely got a new job elsewhere and was absolutely going to leave but tomorrow it falls through for one of a million reasons. You think you dislike the department head now? How about when s/he knows you are a gossip and can't be trusted with sensitive information?
Really, this is Golden Rule time. If your company is struggling and you got a fantastic new job, would you want someone ratting you out? MYOB times a million.
posted by Beti at 7:58 PM on January 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I agree - don't get involved and stay out of it. They won't ever know that you knew if you say nothing, but if you say something, this guy could find out you told on him or you could have incomplete info and look like you're meddling. If your company is struggling, maybe see if the guy leaving can recommend you when something opens up at his new company.
posted by AppleTurnover at 8:41 PM on January 6, 2016
posted by AppleTurnover at 8:41 PM on January 6, 2016
Do not say anything to anyone. It sounds like you are in possession of information that you shouldn't have. It will reflect poorly on you to repeat it to your management. And there is nothing you can say to the departing person now that won't sound presumptuous and possibly threatening. Once the departure is announced - or once they've left - then feel free to connect on Linkedin and/or otherwise put out a gentle feeler to see if they can take you with them.
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:05 AM on January 7, 2016
posted by fingersandtoes at 7:05 AM on January 7, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Your department head may end up being a person who can do you a good turn in the future. You will scorch your relationship with him/her if you say anything. Also, unless this person has specifically told you he's leaving, you don't know for sure.
You can act on this knowledge, start shoring up relationships, and if there are procedures that need documenting, you might start asking for that information.
But for heaven's sake, say nothing.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:55 PM on January 6, 2016 [38 favorites]