new and old dilema 1

[gurner]

I've got a strange dilema, i'm starting new job in 3 weeks odd, and found out shortly after the interview and acceptance that the company i'm going to has 'products' from my current employers.

I have since found out on the quiet from the relevant engineers that these 'products' are very sub-standard, and they've (in that dept) been flying blind patching up and bodging back together the system when it breaks as it legacy equipment no longer provided for by the manufacturer

I understand it was sold as this without notification to my impending employers with the full knowledge of my current employers as they wanted the stock out.

How should i word this? my inclination is to drop the shits in it, coz of the way they treat people (why several are leaving) but then again theres ethics i suppose?

or just tell them to ditch the lot and go somewhere else? my 'current' employers have excellant engineers (hence why no visable probs) but the company are a different story.

cheers


Gurner

 

[Golom]

It's not really about your personnal opinion of your previous (or soon to be) employers. It is about whether you have an ethical obligation to maintain confidentiality of information that you acquired about the company because you were an employee.

The rule that I try to follow is that any "insider" information that I may have about a previous employer is confidential and, even if I believe that it may be beneficial to someone else, it is not mine to broadcast.

You might recommend to your new employers that they institute some quality control checking on products that they acquire but to explicitly state that you know that your previous employer's products are garbage involves a breech of confidentiality. That could have not only ethical consequences but legal ones as well ... particularly if you are challenged to prove what you say.

How will your new employer know that, if you made such disclosure about the old employer, that you won't do the same thing to them?

 

[gurner]

cool, thats fair enough. makes sense.

i've signed off non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality on things before, there and elsewhere, so am aware of the problems. this rather than being top secret or whatever, seemed more of an, you mention too, ethical problem.

pretty sure it would be in writing about the disclosure somewhere, as they claim intellectual property/ownership for any thing produced on thier systems anyhow, even if i used my laptop to write a recipe for chicken danzak, despite it having been done to them before by another company, and going spare*

Cheers



* brit phase for being extremely upset, if you're not a brit

Gurner

 

[edfair]

But it should be common knowledge that it is no longer supplied by the manufacturer and prudent management of your new company may not want to be in the position of using equipment that has no manufacturer's support.
I don't see you as needing to hide valid information that is common knowledge.
I would agree that you can't use what you've learned from the engineers about the quality. But you surely can keep track of what happens in the future and use that as proof of your arguement to replace it as the earliest possible time.
And if the old company is losing their support staff that is keeping the equipment running that is an additional reason to get it replaced.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[lionelhill]

Is it possible to talk to both parties about exactly what information you can take with you? Process would be:

(1) Ask impending employer whether they would like you to approach existing employer about what you are allowed to know about the products in question. Assuming "yes", proceed:

(2) Explain to existing employer that you're inheriting the products they sold some while back, and may be expected to support them or specify replacements. Explain that it would help if you could use technical knowledge gained from existing employer. Since the existing employer sold the products "as was" with no support, merely to get rid of them, it's quite possible existing employer will take a flexible attitude. Especially if they consider new employer to be possible future customer!

(3) Return to new employer with verdict.

This has the benefit of honesty, makes it clear before you start new job exactly what benefits of old job you'll be bringing, and hopefully makes you look professional in everyone's eyes; it might even mean you don't get stuck in the usual situation of not knowing what you're allowed to know.

 

[lespaul]

that's a great approach lionelhill, have a star!

Leslie

Leslie

Anything worth doing is a lot more difficult than it's worth - Unknown Induhvidual

Essential reading for anyone working with databases:
The Fundamentals of Relational Database Design
Understanding SQL Joi

 

[gurner]

i'll elaborate a bit more

said 'product' is the voice infrastructure. i'm switching from a voice/data place as a data guy to a DB/software house as one of the inhouse an field guys still data only, i've got no experiance of voice hence the suspicion i should claim the 5th and deny knowledge? (elaborated that i know nought about voice on the interview any how)

after all it could be rubbish what was said?

Good points tho

Gurner