In short, how long do I wait before telling my new employer that one of his most tenured employees is pretty much trying to sabotage the company?
I just started a new job as the Asst Operations Manager at a smallish IT company. The most tenured employee in question has been there for about three or four years (yes, let's ignore the turnover issue for now). For some reason, she feels comfortable telling me that she has a sexual relationship with a former employee who recently left to start his own business (as a competitor of ours) and is poaching our current clients (in total violation of our employment contracts). She also feels comfortable telling me that she is constantly reminding our three biggest clients (in this particular business, their contracts make up a huge chunk of our regular cash flow) of when their contracts end, that they can get the same service with her boyfriend (who was around long enough to establish a pretty decent relationship with them, as he was their on-site contact, for the most part), and that he has his own business now.
I have, literally, three days on the job. I am uncomfortable with this on a lot of levels, the least of which is my continued job security. The business owner (I report to him and the Operations Manager, exclusively) is umm...a bit "interesting", so I really have no idea how he would react to the news from me. The Operations Manager is a really stand-up guy who seems like he would be very reasonable and appropriate about anything tossed his way.
I was already disturbed by her revelations, but things I have heard from other employees about our clients' fondness of/relationship with the former employee (now competitor) have given it even more weight.
I know I can't sit on this forever, but I am really confused about how long I should/could wait before going to either the Operations Manager or the owner. Obviously, one or two (or three) days' worth of random chit-chat seems a little soon, but I don't want to wait too long, either. My real issue is being so new. If I had any sort of time on the job, I wouldn't be so conflicted about this.
Just to be even more longwinded, I'm not relying solely on TheCatSite.com to guide me through these ethical issues, but most of my professional forums (and many other resources) make it very obvious who I am, so I don't want to be tossing these things out all over the place. Everyone, so far, seems to agree I can't just ignore these things, but there are some pretty varying ideas about when I should approach senior management about them. As many of my other resources are off-limits, I figured I'd bug you guys.
I've known plenty of disgruntled employees before, but this is the first time I've dealt with one who really might actually be able to significantly impact the business.
I just started a new job as the Asst Operations Manager at a smallish IT company. The most tenured employee in question has been there for about three or four years (yes, let's ignore the turnover issue for now). For some reason, she feels comfortable telling me that she has a sexual relationship with a former employee who recently left to start his own business (as a competitor of ours) and is poaching our current clients (in total violation of our employment contracts). She also feels comfortable telling me that she is constantly reminding our three biggest clients (in this particular business, their contracts make up a huge chunk of our regular cash flow) of when their contracts end, that they can get the same service with her boyfriend (who was around long enough to establish a pretty decent relationship with them, as he was their on-site contact, for the most part), and that he has his own business now.
I have, literally, three days on the job. I am uncomfortable with this on a lot of levels, the least of which is my continued job security. The business owner (I report to him and the Operations Manager, exclusively) is umm...a bit "interesting", so I really have no idea how he would react to the news from me. The Operations Manager is a really stand-up guy who seems like he would be very reasonable and appropriate about anything tossed his way.
I was already disturbed by her revelations, but things I have heard from other employees about our clients' fondness of/relationship with the former employee (now competitor) have given it even more weight.
I know I can't sit on this forever, but I am really confused about how long I should/could wait before going to either the Operations Manager or the owner. Obviously, one or two (or three) days' worth of random chit-chat seems a little soon, but I don't want to wait too long, either. My real issue is being so new. If I had any sort of time on the job, I wouldn't be so conflicted about this.
Just to be even more longwinded, I'm not relying solely on TheCatSite.com to guide me through these ethical issues, but most of my professional forums (and many other resources) make it very obvious who I am, so I don't want to be tossing these things out all over the place. Everyone, so far, seems to agree I can't just ignore these things, but there are some pretty varying ideas about when I should approach senior management about them. As many of my other resources are off-limits, I figured I'd bug you guys.
I've known plenty of disgruntled employees before, but this is the first time I've dealt with one who really might actually be able to significantly impact the business.
) to you about poaching customers and that you as a new hire are in a conflict as to wanting to do right by your new employer, wanting to maintain a good relationship with the staff, and not getting in the middle of any quarrels. If the guy is as reasonable as you say he will give you guidance. If he is NOT, then frankly the place needs to be cleaned out anyway and you might want to consider dusting off your resume.
Maybe they are testing the old adage, " a dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone", but maybe not - I've seen some very cocky people in the office workplace who get away with too much for so long, they forget to be careful.
