Thursday, August 17, 2006 11:25 AM
As has been pointed out by a number of sources in the blawgosphere (including
Geoffrey G. Gussis and
Bob Ambrogri), Sun Microsystem"s General Counsel, Mike Dillon, has started a blawg he calls
the legal thing. As Dillon notes, Sun already has 3,000 webloggers in action, so he decided it was time to join in.
As I read through the initial postings in the legal thing, I was struck by the post entitled Alumni Blog. In the short post, Dillon picks up from a recent conversation he had with a friend about the number of quality people that have worked at Sun at some point in their career. What followed was worthwhile reading and the kernel of a very intriguing idea.
It"s no secret that we [Sun] are taking actions to reduce our operating expenses, including eliminating jobs. Many of the employees who are impacted are also active members of our blogging community. Naturally, the question is what do we do? Should we shut off their access to blogs@sun? That is choice most companies would make. Indeed, some attorneys advised that we take this approach. The thinking was that it would minimize disruption, negative external perceptions and reduce the risk of litigation.
Here"s what we did instead. We created a site for all former employees to blog as part of our Sun alumni community. I have to admit that I held my breath when the site went live. But, far from being a magnet for angry ex-employees or litigation, the site has developed into a wonderful and supportive community made up of some very talented and creative people. For those of you seeking these types of employees. Look here.
The jury may still be out as this is such a new site, but in an ever-changing world where employees come and go, it seems to me that a policy of nourishing (as opposed to cutting off) your alumni base is just good business. You never know, that former employee may someday be your best client. Good stuff.