Kicked off company email address because manager of the same name has joined the comp

DaraDali · 22-10-2019 12:26pm

I think I am the only one here not horrified by this, in my experience software dev's really wouldnt even get that many emails.

Senior heads in the company can get close to 100emails a day I can understand them wanted a perfect email address for the new member and changing out the other guys.

One person earlier asked "who does this?" Usually the company's CEO would email IT support for a request like this, and you are going to do it.

seagull · 22-10-2019 12:41pm

DaraDali wrote: »

I think I am the only one here not horrified by this, in my experience software dev's really wouldnt even get that many emails.

Senior heads in the company can get close to 100emails a day I can understand them wanted a perfect email address for the new member and changing out the other guys.

One person earlier asked "who does this?" Usually the company's CEO would email IT support for a request like this, and you are going to do it.

Except the new manager isn't getting a perfect email address. He's getting an email address previously associated with someone, and for at least several weeks will be getting all the mails the existing associate would get. You have however many mail groups that have that email on, and it will take a while before they all get updated.

I would guess the average system dev here gets a good few system generated mails through the day. It's a rare day that there wouldn't be 100 mails between deployments, test bugs and project mails. That's 100 mails that the new exec will be getting that he really doesn't want.

Your answer is wrong. It's not the CEO who does something like this. It's an idiot. It creates a lot of unnecessary hassle for both the old and new owners of that email address, and also for the admin managing the email accounts, and anything else that hangs off the email address.

marieholmfan · 22-10-2019 12:46pm

seagull wrote: »

It's not the CEO who does something like this. It's an idiot.

Are those not the same thing?

Samuel T. Cogley · 22-10-2019 3:44pm

DaraDali wrote: »

I think I am the only one here not horrified by this, in my experience software dev's really wouldnt even get that many emails.

Senior heads in the company can get close to 100emails a day I can understand them wanted a perfect email address for the new member and changing out the other guys.

One person earlier asked "who does this?" Usually the company's CEO would email IT support for a request like this, and you are going to do it.

I was asking who does this in relation to setting up personal stuff on a work email. I personally wouldn't.

coylemj · 22-10-2019 5:32pm

How has this thread made it to 4 pages? OP's friend has no property (real or intellectual) rights to a company e-mail address. End of story.

He would have the same problem if he moved jobs, the only difference here is that he can blame the employer. But there is no right to assert.

beauf · 22-10-2019 5:53pm

The issue is not the email address itself. Its the data that might come through it, or what could be accesses though it, either by accident or other means.
It doesn't have to be personal information. There might be business sensitive information, or customer personal information that could be sent to the wrong person as a result.
I wonder how this work if was associated with a cloud account Office 365 or similar.

coylemj · 22-10-2019 10:41pm

beauf wrote: »

It doesn't have to be personal information. There might be business sensitive information, or customer personal information that could be sent to the wrong person as a result.

The company has clearly decided to take those risks. The OP's friend will have to lump it.

OP asked: 'any legal suggestions with this case?' I haven't seen any legal suggestions yet.

beauf · 22-10-2019 11:16pm

A few myself included suggest writing a formal letter or email if you can keep a copy, to the data officer and perhaps HR that you can't be responsible for any risks of data disclosure as a result of this action.

People especially senior people are prone to be forgetful when their stupidity causes problems down the line. It's always useful to some form of written communication to remind them of who said what and when.

Eire Go Brach · 23-10-2019 10:00pm

10000maniacs wrote: »

Two US companies merged recently (banking) and this is one of the fallouts.

In all fairness. If it’s a merger the senior person should get the email. Lots of people talking GDPR. Having a work email. It’s not exactly personal data.

Senior emails are far more important. It’s quite simple.

beauf · 23-10-2019 10:25pm

Just because you work in the same company doesn't mean you can have access to anything.

Should a security Guard have access to someones HR information for example, if they got their emails by mistake.

Should that company gossip know what everyone is paid?

Should the developer be able to see the CEO email.

Bass Reeves · 23-10-2019 10:28pm

Highly unusual. No matter the reason there is no way an email address should be reassigned even if an employee left for a certain transition period should be put in place. Even if it is a requirement not to use work email for personal purposes it still happens and while the company or senior management/CEI may consider it ok the company data protection officer may have a different opinion.
While the new executive may have required a unique personnel name email the old account should have been ceased or redirected to a new email and the new executive account set up with a middle initial or with a dot.

If for any reason any personnel data is put at risk it will be a GDPR issue

Akrasia · 23-10-2019 10:40pm

Place where I work uses first names for the email eg dave@work.com

It’s never been an issue, though I know of at least 2 Marys who were never hired because their emai was already taken

Bass Reeves · 23-10-2019 10:52pm

10000maniacs wrote: »

Two US companies merged recently (banking) and this is one of the fallouts.

May not be the same, if a merger a new email format may have being put in place(as opposed to s take over) instead of AB@ X1 and AB@X2 new format for these maybe A.B@X12 and AcB@X12 with original emails redirected to new web address and priority given to senior executive.

In the case of a take over where one server address is held protocol generally would be for existing holder to retain an address but if there was a change address should be deleted and minor alteration to achieve new address. If whole scale change is required dots, middle initials and initials themselves are used.

Mezcita · 23-10-2019 10:58pm

Akrasia wrote: »

Place where I work uses first names for the email eg dave@work.com

It’s never been an issue, though I know of at least 2 Marys who were never hired because their emai was already taken

Mind. Blown.

Imagine it, Mary could have been the next Sheryl Sandberg but didn't get the gig because her email address was already taken. Forget using Mary2@work.com or something sensible like that. She's out.

Esel · 24-10-2019 10:58pm

I thought dots were 'transparent' so that
joe.bloggs(at)xyz.com goes to the same mailbox as joebloggs(at)xyz.com?

25-10-2019 10:15am

Esel wrote: »

I thought dots were 'transparent' so that
joe.bloggs(at)xyz.com goes to the same mailbox as joebloggs(at)xyz.com?

No. It's not an uncommon implementation (gmail does it this way), but it's not a given either.

wench · 25-10-2019 10:28am

Esel wrote: »

I thought dots were 'transparent' so that
joe.bloggs(at)xyz.com goes to the same mailbox as joebloggs(at)xyz.com?

Gmail is set up that way, but it isn't a general rule that they have to.

25-10-2019 10:46am

Technically, the username part (before the @) is case-sensitive. So you could have [noparse]JohnSmith@company.com[/noparse] and [noparse]johnsmith@company.com[/noparse] going to two different users. But in practice it would be rare for a mail provider to implement this

Guy:Incognito · 25-10-2019 10:53am

Even just from your own point of view, why would you have personal stuff on a work email. You could end up leaving the job at any stage.

Blazer · 25-10-2019 10:59am

Its incredibly bad practice to do this.
When I started with my current company there was 4 other people in the US with my name so I just took a shorter version instead of having a number in there.
Most other people had to do the same.
Even after I left the company and came back a few years later my email was still reserved and never given out and never would.
My company takes data privacy extremely well and even for company emails they are aware of this.
The Op's company? They obviously don't take it so seriously.

jmayo · 25-10-2019 11:19am

banie01 wrote: »

Don't use work email or indeed any email that you don't have full control over as a recovery email or option for any online service.
The email address is company property, its allocation, revocation and content are all at the whim of your friends employer IMO.

Granted, reallocating it is bad form. Its theirs to do what they want though.
That said, its fairly poor practice on your friends part to have any online services and accounts that are not explicitly work related associated to a work email address.

You don't have to be using it for personal reasons and yet you still end up registering on a huge chunk of websites using your work email address.

As OP mentions the person is using it with Microsoft.

You can end up using your personal address on MS admin accounts, on MS Open licensing admin accounts, on support sites for Adobe, Symantec, Trend, etc.
Now best practice would be to use generically named address (shared account in mickie soft land), but company may not want to set these up so user ends up using their personal work address.

If you purchase kit then you are probably using online portals that would probably have your work address associated.

It is idiotic to do this because the new guy will be inundated with stuff that has nothing to do with him and how the feck can you divert the emails to existing guys new email.

Yeah you can build rules, but he would be onto email admins every other day trying to sort it out.

People need to remember that their work address is not their personal property.
Oh and the admins can see everything if they want

Sometimes the level of stupidity exhibited by individuals in positions of power in companies and organisations astounds me.

And how some of these people got to where they are and how organisations still manage to be successful despite the idiots is a neverending source of wonder.

ShaneODub · 25-10-2019 11:44am

I once had something similar happen: Somebody with the same name as me left the company while I was on a 2-week holiday, and I returned to find my email account deleted and my logins disabled. Some time later I applied for an internal role and the interviewer had the other guy's CV so started asking me questions based on the other guy's work experience.

Bass Reeves · 25-10-2019 1:13pm

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Even just from your own point of view, why would you have personal stuff on a work email. You could end up leaving the job at any stage.

While most people will never use work email for really serious stuff such as banking it may be used for other less important day to day trivia, such as the Tesco club card or the home delivery of parcels and shopping. Last company I was with there was a social club and most used there work email. The lad doing it also used to send out Funeral notices. My payslip.csme to it as did my P60 and I used it for both the pension and Health insurance both provided through the company..It would be a mess trying to reorganize all this at short notice so some other lad could have the address. The real issue is if I failed to remember everything the GDPR failure would be with the company

jmayo · 25-10-2019 4:02pm

Bass Reeves wrote: »

While most people will never use work email for really serious stuff such as banking it may be used for other less important day to day trivia, such as the Tesco club card or the home delivery of parcels and shopping. Last company I was with there was a social club and most used there work email. The lad doing it also used to send out Funeral notices. My payslip.csme to it as did my P60 and I used it for both the pension and Health insurance both provided through the company..It would be a mess trying to reorganize all this at short notice so some other lad could have the address. The real issue is if I failed to remember everything the GDPR failure would be with the company

That is an interesting one and could be a huge GDPR issue.

If the guy gets his payslip and things like P60 to his email and they were to go to new guy the company could have lot of explaining to do and AFAIK would be in breach of GDPR rules.

Even though new manager works for company they should have no knowledge of other employees personal information unless they are line manager, HR or payroll.

Granted if you really rocked the boat your future expectations within the company would be severely limited.

It still beggars belief some moron thought this a good idea.

Shows how much they value the original user of the email address.

Bass Reeves · 25-10-2019 5:08pm

jmayo wrote: »

That is an interesting one and could be a huge GDPR issue.

If the guy gets his payslip and things like P60 to his email and they were to go to new guy the company could have lot of explaining to do and AFAIK would be in breach of GDPR rules.

Even though new manager works for company they should have no knowledge of other employees personal information unless they are line manager, HR or payroll.

Granted if you really rocked the boat your future expectations within the company would be severely limited.

It still beggars belief some moron thought this a good idea.

Shows how much they value the original user of the email address.

No it really down to IT guy who did it and there data controller or who ever is assigned to that role. It not about rocking the boat but about making the CEO or whoever gave the instruction aware of the issues relating to what they suggested. Similar situation over different issues happened to me over time and the line is '' I have no problem doing this but are you aware of the implications of this'' to the senior manager. It up to the manager then to take the flak.

I know that some managers can be pig ignorant but it amazing when you highlight an issue to them the way they can change there attitude what was a kind of attitude of ''Go and what I say'' can often be ''thanks for the heads up on that''.

beauf · 25-10-2019 5:13pm

Bass Reeves wrote: »

....I know that some managers can be pig ignorant but it amazing when you highlight an issue to them the way they can change there attitude what was a kind of attitude of ''Go and what I say'' can often be ''thanks for the heads up on that''.

Depends on the person. its not uncommon for people to be dismissive of any feedback. So people stop telling them anything. Then they'll complain about the lack of feedback.

Lantus · 25-10-2019 5:15pm

There is no difficulty in adding a number to the end to differentiate or adding a middle name. It's a common issue in large enough companies with names being the same. More to this than meets the eye.....

Strumms · 27-10-2019 8:19pm

Lantus wrote: »

There is no difficulty in adding a number to the end to differentiate or adding a middle name. It's a common issue in large enough companies with names being the same. More to this than meets the eye.....

Yep, like someone called Scott Kelly..

Scott.Kelly@madyoke.ie
ScottGKelly@madyoke.ie
S.Kelly@madyoke.ie
S_Kelly@madyoke.ie
Scott.Kelly2@madyoke.ie

It sounds like the company may have headhunted this bozo and are just trying to impress him by giving him first choice email.

Either way it’s the height of disrespect and unprofessionalism to inconvenience you and your contacts/customers. Really is just bad form pure and simple.

Kicked off company email address because manager of the same name has joined the comp

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