Alumni Blog

I was surfing with a friend last weekend who is CFO of a very hot private start-up. Actually, let me clarify. He was surfing. I was doing this. Don't kid yourself - surfing is harder than it looks.

As we floated between sets, he shared with me that his executive team had noticed that their best employees seemed to all have worked for Sun at some point in their career. This lead to a discussion about things that make this place special and keep it interesting from the legal side of things.

I gave him a recent example. It's no secret that we 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.

Posted on 11:23AM Aug 10, 2006 | Comments[6]

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