Administrator. Scenario 1 of 13. Confidentiality

The urgent caller

You are covering the office phone. A caller says he is the brother of your colleague Farah and needs to reach her urgently. Her mobile is going straight to voicemail.

He asks you for her personal mobile number or her home address. Farah is on leave today. You have her details on the staff system.

What is the best call?

Give him the number. It is urgent, and he is family.

Not the best call

You cannot check who he is, and "urgent" is exactly what someone would say to get past you. Farah's number and address are hers. If the caller is not who he says, the harm could be serious.

Say you cannot give out staff details, take his name and number, and pass the message to Farah straight away.

Good call

Farah's details stay private and the message still gets through. If he really is her brother, she can ring him back in minutes. You have been helpful and safe at the same time.

Tell him Farah is on leave today and to try again next week.

Not the best call

You kept the number back, but "on leave" tells a stranger that Farah is away from work and for how long. And if the call is real, an urgent message has gone nowhere.

Put him on hold and ask your manager what to do.

Could be better

Asking is never wrong, and your manager will back you. But this is a rule you can apply yourself: do not give out personal details, do take a message. Take his details first so the call is not lost.

The principle

Personal details are not yours to give out, however genuine or urgent the request sounds. You can nearly always help another way: take a message and pass it on.