Office keys, access to employee records should be secure and controlled
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Dear Joan:
I am the supervisor at a small government office. There is a union. Recently, on a day when many people were out sick or on vacation, I was the only manager present and we couldn’t get into some locked file cabinets or desks necessary to open the office for business. Searching for keys, I learned that several key rings were kept in the director’s front desk drawer which is never locked. Everyone but me seemed to know where these keys were. My biggest concern is that the key for the cabinet that stores personnel files was on one of these key rings.
Later, I brought this up to the director, saying I felt these keys needed to be kept in a secure place. Also, I wanted to either have a set of keys or know where the keys are kept so I wouldn’t have to be searching high and low if this incident happened again.
The director wants to keep things the way they are. I repeated that I thought the personnel files, at least, needed to be in a secure place. He said that employees should be able to see their personnel file anytime they wanted. I said, yes but, employees need to come to you, ask to see their file, have you get it out and allow them to look at it in your presence and then when they are done, it should be put back in the locked cabinet.
I said that the way things are, anyone can go into the cabinet and look at any and all personnel files. He said everyone is a professional and wouldn’t do that. I reminded him that we’ve had instances where people have been seen going through other people’s mailboxes and desks. Also, there are times when managers are not in the office and staff would have an opportunity to look at anything they wanted.
One of the cabinets never was opened that day. So, some time sensitive work could not be completed. It could not be opened because the person with the key had it on her personal key ring and she was out that day. I was told by other staff that this is not unusual and various other employees have their own keys.
Of course, I still do not have keys and I’m still not clear on what we’d do if the same situation presented itself. This is only a small part of a much larger problem where I’m most often out of the loop, feel responsible but haven’t been able to implement changes.
Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. Is there anything I can/should be doing to change this situation or, at the very least, protect myself? Thanks!
Answer:
Your manager is not in compliance with standard practices. He is asking for trouble if there are no controls on the personnel files and documents are open for viewing by anyone. The way you described the procedure is the norm. Anyone can view their file but it is done in a controlled environment. It prohibits meddling with other employees’ files, changing a performance review number, snooping to see what other people are paid, and a myriad of other problems.
If an employee sues for wrongful termination, harassment, or any other issue, who is to say if their file hasn’t been tampered with? Good luck defending your lax procedures in court. Frankly, the organization is opening itself up to lawsuits if people can snoop and claim they are treated “unfairly” if their pay is different from their peers’.
He may be attempting to practice an “open door” policy to the extreme and he’s naïve if he thinks people are professionals and wouldn’t overstep their boundaries—he hasn’t set any boundaries! The best companies in the world put controls in place for good reason—it’s good practice to keep employees’ information private.
The fact that work couldn’t be done due to locked files is reason enough to create a better system. Unfortunately, your manager seems to be unwilling to listen to reason. Perhaps it’s time to consult your outside legal counsel for another opinion. No doubt he or she will agree with your position. At the very least, the personnel files should have one key and you should have it in your possession—with another person as a trusted back up.
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