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Have your employees ever dashed off an email to a friend from their work email account because they do not have access to personal email at work? Or perhaps they use their personal email account for work related emails because it is more convenient? As benign as either scenario may seem, mixing up work and personal emails could well turn out to be a serious business risk for their employer.

When official and personal email worlds collide, there is a good chance that confidential information is unwittingly shared. Such exchanges could compromise intellectual property, information security policies and even compliance regulations. And all because an employee picked a contact's personal email out of their address book by mistake.

Instead of crying over spilt milk and spending big bucks on cleaning up security leaks, encourage your employees to separate their work and personal emails ruthlessly.

Educate them about the dangers of using their personal and work emails interchangeably and the serious consequences that could result. Include a session on "email habits" in your employee onboarding program and ensure that there is a constant stream of education and measurement. In the long run, these simple strategies will serve to protect your business and mitigate risk.