Would your workforce know what to do in the face of threatening employee behavior? Would your human resources team know how to respond to reports of a violent coworker? Perhaps most crucially of all, would you?
Astoundingly, more than half of American employees report being unaware or unsure of their employer’s emergency preparedness plans, and around a fifth don’t know what they would do if they witnessed or were directly involved with an instance of workplace violence.
These numbers suggest that employers are dropping the ball, which is surprising given that American businesses lose somewhere in the range of $250 to $330 billion every year to the fallout of such incidents. From lost productivity and absences through to liability and litigation—which can result in average legal costs ranging from $500,000 for out-of-court settlement to $3 million for a jury award settlement—a violent or threatening employee, customer, or other individuals can represent a huge threat to any enterprise.
What to Do If You Experience Violence or Threats in the Workplace
Being able to recognize an immediate danger of violence or threatening behavior is a skill, and most employers need to engage external specialists in order to identify potential vulnerabilities, minimize risk, and provide tailored training to suit their unique enterprise. A violence and threat assessment is a great place to start in this endeavor—but what should you do if preventative and reactive strategies are not fully implemented and an incident occurs on your watch?
Workplace violence is an umbrella term that encompasses not only physical attack, but also verbal abuse, intimidation, threatening behavior, bullying, discrimination, and more. While these non-physical acts may not seem so dangerous, they can be warning signs of further risk ahead. This makes it critical to enforce a zero-tolerance policy and encourage reporting. All incidents of workplace violence or threatening employee behavior should be reported and investigated, no matter how large or small.
Behavioral red flags should be responded to with responsible human resources investigations, including observation, fact-finding, interviewing, documenting, discipline, and reporting in alignment with company policies and legal obligations. However, when threatening or violent behavior escalates, it is important to react promptly and take any threat seriously:
If a threat is made, secure your own safety and the safety of others
If you suspect that persons or premises may be in danger, contact the authorities by dialing 911
Seek supervisory and security team support in responding to any perpetrator of workplace violence or threats
Cooperate with responding law enforcement personnel
Following Workplace Violence and Ensuring Future Prevention
Whether an incident of workplace violence results in injury or not, it is vital to understand how it took place and take steps to avoid repetition. In achieving this goal, a corporate culture investigations specialist can be an essential ally. Here at Lauth Investigations International, we provide a spectrum of workplace investigations services that aim to aid businesses not only in their reactive human resources investigations but also in proactive risk mitigation.
Preventing workplace violence can be tackled from a number of different angles. A comprehensive violence and threat assessment can pinpoint vulnerabilities and provide insight for future training and security practices. Meanwhile introducing detailed background checks for new employees can help to avoid hiring someone with a dark past, and a corporate culture audit can support the permanent elimination of toxic behavior in the workplace. Would you like to know more about how the corporate team here at Lauth Investigations International can help you keep your workplace safe, supportive, productive, and prosperous? If so, connect with us today for a no-obligation chat about your unique workplace violence prevention needs.
Every year across the United States, white collar crime affects over 35% of American businesses, resulting in losses that some believe run into the trillions. And yet, prosecutions plummet with each passing year, and only a few thousand perpetrators are brought to justice annually.
This might seem like a mystery, but the hard truth is that the vast majority of victims prefer not to disclose this kind of crime. In fact, it is believed that as many as 90% of instances are never reported to the authorities. While that may seem shocking to some, it isn’t hard to imagine why countless organizations wouldn’t want details of a white collar crime scandal hitting the headlines. So, who can a business owner turn to in the name of not only investigating but also preventing white collar crime? The perfect ally is the private corporate investigator—and here’s why.
Professional Investigators In Your Corner to Combat White Collar Crimewith Workplace Investigations
While it may be some comfort to know that skilled corporate investigators are at hand to roll out their forensic accounting, surveillance, and evidence-gathering skills if your business ever falls prey to a white collar criminal, a far more appealing option is to avoid this danger altogether. So, what can be done to mitigate the risk of white collar crime in the first place?
Strong Entry and Exit Procedures
A key element of preventing white collar crime is not allowing potential perpetrators across the threshold in the first place. In this area, licensed corporate investigators are uniquely positioned to subject potential recruits to comprehensive background checks. While your internal human resources oversight may only stretch to data in the public sphere, we can delve into many of the same databases used by law enforcement and uncover any skeletons hidden within or beyond your candidate’s resume.
Of course, when an employee exits your enterprise, a cautious and inquisitive strategy can also be of value. Not only is this an excellent opportunity to mitigate the risk of disgruntled ex-employees, but those leaving can also provide valuable insight into workplace toxicity that leadership might have missed. If workplace investigations are already underway, a professional investigator may be able to provide interview support during this process.
Establishing a Resilient Corporate Culture
How healthy do you believe the culture is within your workplace? Are your teams home to great communication, cooperation, and mutual respect—or have toxicity, bullying, and small-scale employee theft been allowed to fester? Crucially, poor corporate culture is a recipe for a diversity of business-crippling issues, ranging from theft and malingering through to workplace violence and white collar crime. A corporate culture audit conducted by professional investigators is ideal for revealing exactly what the current landscape is and developing a clear plan to course-correct as required.
Prevention and Detection Mechanisms
If you don’t already have tight control systems and a clear ethical framework built into your day-to-day operations, now is the time to start. Identifying opportunities to improve prevention protocols can be achieved alongside a wider-arching violence and threat assessment for your workplace.
Crucially, a cohesive culture of shared responsibility, strategic oversight, and procedural awareness is foundational to the well-being of employees and enterprise alike. So too is an ever-available reporting mechanism so that white collar criminality can be revealed through the regular opportunity for employees to provide open feedback. Your employees can be your gravest threat or your greatest ally—so choose wisely!
What to Do if You Suspect White Collar Crime
Even with the strongest prevention strategies, no business can be entirely safe from the threat of white collar crime. Vitally, if you suspect that all is not as it should be, taking action immediately is essential. Moving fast is a must in response to these kinds of crimes, because time wasted can mean assets bleeding away. Similarly, any delay can allow perpetrators to quickly cover their tracks. If you require assistance in the launching of fast, discreet, and impactful workplace investigations, the corporate team here at Lauth Investigations International is ready to assist. Our seasoned and expert investigators can dive into digital investigations, surveil your suspect, secure and document evidence, and even go undercover if required to reveal the truth. From there, we can provide guidance on how to navigate legal obligations and negotiations and give expert testimony should litigation occur. Unlike law enforcement, our loyalty lies with our clients first—so reach out today and gain a true ally in the fight against white collar crime.
Are you ready to safeguard your company against the threat of workplace violence? Close to half of human resources professionals in the U.S. say that their organizations have been impacted by workplace violence, and yet more than half of American workers agree that their employers haven’t taken appropriate steps to keep them safe on the job. When we consider that one in four incidents of workplace violence goes unreported, the picture painted becomes yet bleaker. But happily, you can break free of these statistics and lead the curve by combatting workplace violence with a simple but comprehensive strategy.
Being able to mitigate workplace violence begins with a clear understanding of the dangers, a smart assessment of your unique company’s needs, and a savvy management plan to ensure you never get caught off guard. With that in mind, today we’re going to cover the main thinking points to consider when designing a business workplace violence policy, from human resource oversight to regular corporate culture investigations. So let’s get you set up to keep your brand and employees protected.
What Is Workplace Violence?
Many employers mistakenly imagine that their responsibilities surrounding workplace violence only begin with physical harm, but that is not the case. In fact, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines workplace violence as the act or threat of violence, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults, directed toward people at work or on duty.
This means that workplace bullying, discrimination, harassment, and threatening behavior can all fall under the umbrella of workplace violence just as readily as physical assault or an active shooter. Perpetrators may be employers, employees, associates, customers, or clients—but they may just as well be any peripheral outsider whose negative actions spill into the working environment.
Establishing a Violence Prevention Plan
When it comes to establishing a workplace violence prevention plan, no two businesses are the same, and each will need to create a customized strategy. In most instances, expert guidance can be invaluable in tackling each area required to keep your employees safe. For example, outsourcing detailed background checks can prevent those with a history of violent or abusive behavior from making it into your team, while periodic corporate culture audits can ensure that bullying or harassment isn’t taking place right under your nose.
Crucially, first and foremost, you want to make your company a hard target for those inclined towards workplace violence. In this area, a violence and threat assessment combined with a zero-tolerance policy is a great place to start. Next, you want to confirm that your teams are trained and prepared for any danger, knowing to look for signs of threatening, sabotaging, or destructive behavior, thus minimizing possible damage or injury. Not only will these endeavors reflect your strong stance on corporate culture importance, but they may well protect your enterprise against potential litigation—or even possible loss of life.
Putting a Response Strategy in Place
Alongside honing on-site security, recruitment strategies, and ongoing policy training, it is also essential to be ever-ready. Key to this is encouraging reporting throughout every level of your enterprise, with an open-door policy for better human resources oversight and, for larger businesses in particular, potentially a tip line. With that mechanism in place, every reported incident—no matter how minor—must be responded to. Workplace investigations should be scaled depending on the seriousness of the matter at hand, thoroughly documented, and reported as company policy and the law dictates. Inaction can result in both peril and liability. Would you like assistance with sculpting a tailored workplace violence strategy for your business? The corporate team here at Lauth Investigations International are seasoned experts in averting dangers in the workplace so that businesses can thrive at their truest potential. If you’d like to learn more about background checks, corporate culture audits, violence and threat assessments, and countless other forms of workplace investigations services that we provide, reach out to our team today for a no-obligation chat about your needs.
It’s every company’s worst nightmare. The very individual trusted to balance the books and safeguard assets has decided to try their hand at embezzlement. If your accountant or another trusted individual with financial oversight has done your enterprise dirty, what can you do? Rather than panic, it’s time to roll out a four-part plan to seek justice and get back on your feet.
Embezzlement is one of the nastiest kinds of white collar crime because its very nature implies a vicious abuse of trust. When someone intentionally misappropriates the assets that were entrusted to them, the sense of betrayal can be just as brutal as the hole in your balance sheets—which may be modest or may run into millions of dollars.
Shockingly, white collar crime costs American businesses billions if not trillions of dollars each year. Starkly, this means that, yes, it really can happen to you. More optimistically, it means that victims are not alone, and corporate experts such as those here at Lauth Investigations International are seasoned in providing the critical support you need to weather the storm ahead.
Detecting Embezzlement Doesn’t Have to Be the Start of a Nightmare
When an accountant or bookkeeper engages in white collar crime, detecting their actions can be difficult—after all, they are the experts in making the numbers add up. However, this fact alone demonstrates why additional oversight, background checks, and security protocols are so vital in white collar crime prevention.
Once you discover that gaping hole in your company’s finances, there isn’t a moment to lose. Any delay at this juncture can provide opportunity for the thief in your coop to take their final spoils and deftly cover their tracks—so don’t provide them with the satisfaction. Instead, contact an expert corporate investigations company so that they can immediately jump on evidence gathering and guide you through self-protective next steps.
Step 1: Rapid Corporate Investigations
Before you begin the process of recovering the health of your business, it is critical not only to understand the scale and nature of the crime but also to gather the concrete proof that will be required to out-maneuverer its perpetrator.
Within the realm of workplace investigations, this calls for a specific skillset. The corporate investigator may need to deep-dive into forensic accounting, look at CCTV footage, interview employees, conduct background investigations on suspects, and much more. Urgency is key for ensuring that the trail doesn’t go cold.
Step 2: Pursuing Asset Recovery
Depending on the nature of the crime and of your enterprise, asset recovery may be a timely process that runs through the courts or it may take place behind closed doors. Either way, the caliber of your evidence and the integrity of the investigations that generated it will be your ultimate assets. For example, our seasoned corporate investigations team is ever-ready to build and document an air-tight case, advise on legal obligations, and even provide expert testimony should the need arise.
Step 3: Planning For Financial Shortfalls
It can be brutally unfair, but following white collar crime, asset recovery can take time and is often only partial. This makes planning to plug any financial shortfalls key. This might make cash crisis management, restructuring, or debt restructuring strategically important as you keep your organization’s head above water.
Step 4: Safeguarding Against Future White Collar Crime
No matter the scale of losses following a white collar crime, no business will want to repeat the experience. Now that you know who to turn to for effective corporate investigations support, you have gained more than the capability to react to a rogue accountant. If you partner with Lauth Investigations International, you also have an essential toolkit for criminality prevention.
We can assist with critical violence and threat assessments—examining both on-site and virtual security measures. We can help you ensure that no other snake manages to slide into your team with comprehensive background checks, drawing on many of the same databases used by law enforcement. Finally, we can help you build a strong and united corporate culture that is hostile to those who would do you harm. A corporate culture audit can weed out and prevent risk of white collar crime, employee theft, workplace violence, and more—all while forging a more synergistic and productive environment that nurtures success. Learn about this and more by contacting our team today. From crisis-fueled corporate investigations to effective crime prevention, we’ve got you and your assets covered.
Have you ever noticed how defending against certain kinds of corporate threats can seem obvious but others less so? For example, data theft can be prevented with top-notch digital security and physical inventory theft with security teams and CCTV systems. These dangers are easy to imagine and anticipate, but others are ominously shadowy. White collar crime is a shadier case because the enemy often lies within—a trusted member of your team who decides to line their own pockets illegally.
Sure, white collar crimes might be non-violent, but they can dent or sink companies just as readily as bombs do ships. So what is the most important factor when aiming to block a white collar crime stealth attack? The answer might surprise you.
There are numerous practices and procedures that can act as layered lines of defense against white collar crime: human resources oversight, coordinated access control, dual-authorization for asset transfers, background checks for recruits, and more. However, a single factor can be more relevant than any of these, and that is corporate culture.
To understand why, ask yourself a few simple questions. What leads a person to want to rip off their employers, customers, or shareholders? What allows a team to decide not to report the nefarious activity of a colleague? When corporate culture sours, employees on any level can experience resentment, entitlement, or simply little enough emotional investment that they’re willing to turn a blind eye. So let’s explore how to avert these scenarios effectively through the strengthening of corporate culture.
Why You Should Care About the Culture Within Your Business
White collar crime can sound dramatic and unimaginable when we see it in the news, but in reality, more than 35% of U.S. businesses have felt the very real sting in its tail. For businesses that have allowed a toxic workplace culture to stew, the bad news is that white collar crime is just one of the potential symptoms of a corporate curdle. Others include employee theft, malingering, rapid turnover, FMLA fraud, bullying, harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, and more.
In a melting pot of bad corporate culture, you can be sure that by the time you start to spot red flags popping up everywhere, productivity will have plummeted and untold damage may have been done. However, it’s never too late to turn the ship around.
In contrast, a strong corporate culture is home to effective communication, high-caliber talent, shared goals and values, strong company loyalty, engaged and mutually supportive teams, and—critically—a universal sense of responsibility that makes the working environment hostile to those with criminal intentions.
Undoubtedly, it is very difficult to run a scam or scheme in an environment where everyone has their eye on the ball. Critically, employees who feel nurtured and supported within the workplace are far less likely to consider biting the hand that feeds them. With that in mind, let’s explore how to rapidly course-correct your corporate culture and keep it on track.
Combat White Collar Crime With a Corporate Culture Audit
Understanding not only how vital corporate culture is to the successful operation of any business but also how urgent addressing eroded workplace culture can be, we developed a comprehensive service to support proactive clients within the corporate sphere. The Lauth Investigations Corporate Culture Audit serves as a critical health check for businesses and a primary line of defense against white collar crime.
Some of our clients use this resource as a preventative measure, periodically reviewing their current corporate culture standing and setting a course for continuing improvement. Others use it as a fire extinguisher—a means to press pause on a situation that has gotten out of hand and take strategic steps toward a far more solid position. Our corporate investigations team provided tailored auditing, addressing everything from assessing operational efficiency, shared values, and communication practices to uncovering unseen wrongdoing and potential white collar criminality in the workplace. If we illuminate something that you weren’t expecting, we can also assist with swift, discreet, and effective corporate investigations to deliver justice and better protect your interests. To have a team of corporate culture and white collar crime experts in your corner, reach out to Lauth Investigations International today—because prevention is even more powerful than cure.
