eng1ne
Aerospace
- Oct 16, 2009
- 49
Hi all,
Having searched the forum for posts of a similar nature, I've found nothing quite relevant to the topic.
I keep an electronic notebook (Evernote-based for those who are familiar or interested) to aid my productivity; manage actions, referencing hard copy notes already filed, log discussions/thoughts/opinions and collecting useful information. I would have no objections to making information from my notebook available to anyone who could justify their request. I - personally - deem none of its contents to be sensitive (though the company might) and it is entirely supplementary to required design documentation that is kept in project files and relevant locations for access of other employees.
The notebook is divided into notes relating to 1) my current employment, and 2) a personal collection of articles, whitepapers and other resources that will serve me well for the future. Both are well structured and easily searchable; they can be filtered by equipment, job number, department etc. and are also entirely cross-referenced (i.e. one note may be related to several topics) etc.
My question is whether this information can be requested in its entirety by my employer. I have an inclination that some will say, "compiled on company time, company's ownership."
My asking has not been prompted by any recent events; though in the event that, say, I leave my current position, I wonder how you would respond to such a request and whether there might be any guidelines/regulations (FYI I am in the UK) on the matter.
If I did leave, the employment related notes would obviously be of no use to me and for the sake of transparency and allowing my successors/manager to have as smooth a transition as possible, I would also be inclined to hand them over without prompting. Many a time they have saved me, or somebody else, literally - hours of hunting for certain information or records of events, who said what etc.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
TTFN
Having searched the forum for posts of a similar nature, I've found nothing quite relevant to the topic.
I keep an electronic notebook (Evernote-based for those who are familiar or interested) to aid my productivity; manage actions, referencing hard copy notes already filed, log discussions/thoughts/opinions and collecting useful information. I would have no objections to making information from my notebook available to anyone who could justify their request. I - personally - deem none of its contents to be sensitive (though the company might) and it is entirely supplementary to required design documentation that is kept in project files and relevant locations for access of other employees.
The notebook is divided into notes relating to 1) my current employment, and 2) a personal collection of articles, whitepapers and other resources that will serve me well for the future. Both are well structured and easily searchable; they can be filtered by equipment, job number, department etc. and are also entirely cross-referenced (i.e. one note may be related to several topics) etc.
My question is whether this information can be requested in its entirety by my employer. I have an inclination that some will say, "compiled on company time, company's ownership."
My asking has not been prompted by any recent events; though in the event that, say, I leave my current position, I wonder how you would respond to such a request and whether there might be any guidelines/regulations (FYI I am in the UK) on the matter.
If I did leave, the employment related notes would obviously be of no use to me and for the sake of transparency and allowing my successors/manager to have as smooth a transition as possible, I would also be inclined to hand them over without prompting. Many a time they have saved me, or somebody else, literally - hours of hunting for certain information or records of events, who said what etc.
Looking forward to reading your thoughts!
TTFN
