Information That Should Be Kept Confidential

Information that should be kept confidential are any information that could damage a company's reputation or ability to do business if it becomes public.3 min read

Information that should be kept confidential includes any information that could damage a company's reputation or ability to do business if that information becomes public. Such information is proprietary or sensitive in nature.

Broadly speaking, confidential information is information that is privileged, classified, or the kind of specific information that must not be disclosed.

Confidential Business Information

Every business has information it considers confidential. Such information often pertains to either the business itself or the company's employees.

Confidential information about the business includes but is not limited to:

• Trade secrets.
• Business processes.
• Business operations.
• Inventory details.
• Customers or clients.
• Revenue sources.
• Expenditures and losses.

If you want your customer, client, and employee relations to be characterized by trust, you have to respect confidentiality in your workplace. When clients and employees know you will respect confidentiality, this allows for open and candid communication.

Confidential Employee Information

Businesses usually do a good job of keeping client information private, but this is not always true of employee information. As an employer, if you want your staff to value client and customer information, you need to show the same regard for employee information.

Confidential employee personal and professional information includes but is not limited to:

• Personal data: Social Security Number, date of birth, marital status, and mailing address.
• Job application data: resume, background checks, and interview notes.