{"id":7859,"date":"2025-04-10T10:13:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T16:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idsinc.com\/?p=7859"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T16:02:44","slug":"departing-employee-risk-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/idsinc.com\/en_gb\/departing-employee-risk-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Risk Assessments for Departing Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Understanding the Risks When Employees Leave<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When key employees leave their organisations, the stakes can be high. There is often a delicate balance between risk and reward, necessity and desire (see our previous article Needs Versus Wants: Budgeting in the World of Investigations and eDiscovery<\/em><\/a>). The departure of a key team member can result in the loss of institutional knowledge and clients, but it can also expose the organisation to risks involving intellectual property, trade secrets, and other sensitive assets. While hard statistics are scarce, rest assured\u2014these risks are real and more common than one might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Social Element of Data Misappropriation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Data loss or theft happens more often than you\u2019d think, and not always with malicious intent. Cloud synchronisation platforms make it easy for employees to inadvertently retain company data after departure. While organisations often focus on explicit theft\u2014such as unauthorised downloads, email forwards, or deliberate misappropriation\u2014there\u2019s a human element that\u2019s equally important. Some employees simply feel entitled to the work they\u2019ve poured years into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you design rocket engines (way cooler than my job): You\u2019ve spent years perfecting a component, debugging every flaw, fine-tuning performance. Of course, you feel like you own it. In many ways, you do\u2014emotionally, at least. Legally? That\u2019s another story. Employment contracts and intellectual property agreements exist for this exact reason. But understanding these personal motivations is key to mitigating risk. If someone feels<\/em> they own something, they\u2019re more likely to take it with them\u2014whether they realise it\u2019s a violation or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an Employee Risk Assessment (ERA)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An ERA is a rapid, fixed-fee assessment of computing devices, designed to provide actionable insights into key areas of concern. These typically include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n