by Carie McMichael | Sep 22, 2022 | Corporate Culture
Just like a bad apple in a barrel, toxicity emanating from a bad manager can sour a workplace’s entire dynamic given enough time. Whether the individual exhibiting toxic manager behavior is above or below you in the hierarchy of command, navigating their presence can be challenging to say the least. The first step, of course, is identifying a toxic presence in the management team, so we’ll tackle that momentarily with a toxic manager checklist.
But first, if the toxic manager is your senior or peer, it is a noble move to seek help from further up the chain of command. In fact, even if you decide to move on to greener, healthier pastures, your choice to speak up will likely save others from the hardship of feeling maligned. In contrast, if the manager answers directly to you, having a clear sense of how to proceed can help you deescalate the situation with finesse while documenting it in case further action is required. So let’s dive into these points one by one. Yes, managing a toxic manager is a thing—and hopefully by the end of this article you’ll feel better equipped to master it.
Identifying Toxic Manager Behavior
There are two sources to look to when hoping to pinpoint whether one of your leaders is exhibiting toxic behavior. The first is how they conduct themselves, and the second is how employees interact with them. As such, you can look to a two-part toxic manager checklist:
Examples of Toxic Manager Behavior Traits:
- Authoritarian approach paired with unwillingness to hear employee perspectives
- Hostile response to feedback and corrections
- Leverages hierarchy to disempower others
- Deflects attention from important issues or failings—or blames others for them
- Inflexibility and resistance to change
- A lack of trust in others or constant micromanagement
- Unrealistic expectations of the workload that others can carry
- Maligning, discriminatory, condescending, or resentful language
- Embarrassing or undermining team members in front of their peers
- Bullying, withholding, and violence in the workplace
Examples of Team Indications of a Toxic Manager:
- Hesitancy to speak up
- High stress or anxiety levels
- Elevating number of sick days taken
- High team turnover
- Consistently missed targets
- Unwillingness to talk to HR due to fear of retaliation
- A siphoned flow of information from the team through the manager
- Inappropriate behavior and preferential treatment is tolerated
- New ideas are shut down
- Promotions remain in-clique and diversity is lacking
How to Manage a Toxic Manager
As they say, most employees choosing to give their notice don’t leave the company—they leave the boss. High turnover, plus the many other worrying symptoms of a toxic workplace culture such as theft, malingering, bullying, and discrimination, can all leave a substantial dent in your bottom line and may even lead to litigation. With that in mind, taking action having identified toxic manager behavior is a must. So how exactly does one go about managing a toxic manager?
It is critical to start with a private conversation in case there is a part of the picture that you’re missing. That toxicity may be the result of troubles at home or financial woes, and you won’t understand the landscape until you’ve explored it. That said, know that the team is also watching, so calm and constructive feedback in the moment—that focuses on the behavior rather than the individual—can let employees know that the current status quo is not considered to be acceptable.
When navigating managing a toxic manager, it is realistic to expect some pushback. They may counter your feedback or exhibit hostility. It is important to document every interaction with HR and scale this diligence in line with the severity of the situation. In some instances, modeling alternative behaviors and providing training and support may bring the manager in question back into alignment with your company’s leadership standards and help them continue to grow. In others, performance warnings and eventual dismissal may become necessary. Thorough documentation and a prudent process will allow you to protect the organization from a claim of unfair treatment or dismissal.
Toxic manager behavior can be a worrying sign that the broader corporate culture is decidedly out of whack. If you are concerned that all is not as it should be in your workplace, consider the value of a corporate culture audit to provide invaluable oversight and afford a clear path towards enhanced culture metrics and team performance. Would you like to know more? Check out how the process works or contact the Lauth Investigations corporate team for no-obligation advice today.
by Carie McMichael | Sep 20, 2022 | Genealogy
Do you find yourself asking the question, what is forensic genealogy? It’s a perfectly reasonable query given that this is a professional field that most are unlikely to come into contact with—that is, until the need arises.
The term itself may even sounds a little intimidating. We tend to associate the word “forensic” with law enforcement or even our favorite TV crime dramas. But this doesn’t mean that your heart should race if you are advised contract a forensic genealogist. Let’s delve into exactly what this profession involves, and how its practitioners can serve you.
What Is Forensic Genealogy?
Genealogy involves the study of families, family history, and the mapping and tracing of lineages. As you might imagine, this means that genealogists are tasked with compiling evidence from historical records, genetic analysis, interviews, and more to demonstrate kinship.
So where does the forensic element come in? Crucially, this practice becomes forensic in nature when these facts pursued have legal implications. Forensic genealogists will perform their research in such a way as to ensure scientifically and legally sound results that can be presented in court. So we’re not talking about things like fingerprints per se, but a spectrum of evidence gathering, ranging from photographs to local records, historic name changes, DNA test results, common ancestry tracing, and much more.
After compiling the facts, a forensic genealogist will provide research reports, affidavits, and expert court testimony as required on behalf of the client or authority that hired them. Without a doubt, this means that the standards for forensic genealogy is high, and its practitioners should be well versed in every aspect of the legal process and associated obligations.
Who Might Use a Forensic Genealogist?
So who might call upon the services of a forensic genealogist? A common cause to call in this type of professional is when settling matters of estate or probate. A dual genealogy specialist and seasoned investigator is just the expert to identify unknown or missing heirs so that assets can be rightfully assigned. When someone dies intestate, or if local state laws require that all potential beneficiaries are traced before a will can be granted, the testimony of a forensic genealogist may be instrumental.
Other instances that may require forensic genealogy include cases in which kinship must be proven in relation to adoption, foster care, or guardianship; asserting asset rights and royalties; citizenship petitions; intellectual property cases; criminal investigations; and military repatriation. Ultimately, whenever resolving a conundrum relies on demonstrating family ties and lineage, a forensic genealogist is just the specialist for the case.
- The Evolution of Forensic Genealogy
In answering the question what is forensic genealogy, it is interesting to see how far the practice has evolved. We can trace this profession—particularly in relation to heir searches and identifying unclaimed inheritances—back to the 1950s. Even by the 1980s, there were only around half a dozen established firms in the United States, but today, it is a thriving specialist field that has enabled the resolution of hundreds of cold cases in addition to the service of everyday individuals.
While forensic genealogists may be greater in numbers within contemporary America, it is no less important to conduct due diligence when hiring a collaborator for your needs. Look for confirmed credentials, a proven track record, and the capacity and resources to carry your investigation through to successful conclusion in court.
The forensic genealogy team at Lauth Investigations International are proud to provide an unparalleled and comprehensive service to private clients, trustees, attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and many more entities beside. To learn more about how we can help you in genealogy matters large or small, reach out today for a no-obligation consultation.
by Carie McMichael | Sep 16, 2022 | Corporate Culture Audit Evergreen
For those of us engaged in the niche sphere of delivering corporate culture audits, it came as no surprise when Forbes announced 2022 as the year of workplace culture. Why? Because businesses everywhere are either reeling from recent challenges or learning how to thrive right on through them—and a huge part of the latter is learning how to manifest an enviable and robust culture in the workplace.
Yes, culture plays a powerful role in the performance and overall health of any business. When a workplace is fused with focused energy, cohesion, and intent, mountains can be moved and profits accumulated. Of course, all of that great intention needs to be aligned with the organizations overall goals if it is to pay off. An audit can be a super-charging resource to get all your ducks in a row, but what is a corporate culture audit exactly, and what does the corporate culture audit process involve? Today, we’ll answer all these questions and more.
What Is a Corporate Culture Audit?
A corporate culture audit is a comprehensive examination of an organization’s operations, ethos, and morale. The goal in compiling all of this information is to establish a clear understanding of how current culture is helping or hindering, and how to move the needle towards greater growth and prosperity in the long run. At times, a corporate culture audit may be a reaction to red flag signals such as high employee turnover, poor performance, complaints, workplace theft, and other types of corporate investigation-worthy occurences.
In other instances, the corporate culture audit can be employed as a proactive, preventative, and enhancing tool, allowing companies to avoid the emergence of problematic cultural trends while continuing to elevate both culture and achievement along the way.
Those contracted to perform the audit will look at factors such as leadership and communication styles, workplace environment, recruitment practices, employee behaviors, brand ethos alignment, and historic company culture. Armed with this information, they will then identify culture flaws, conflicts between the organization’s goals and status quo, opportunities to improve governance, and how culture compares with that of the competition.
Choosing the Right Auditor
Thanks to the trend for corporate culture health checks, there are countless companies popping up to advertise this service across the United States. But, it is important to consider the skillset required to make these detailed assessments and the range of expertize that each candidate will—or wont—be able to bring to the table.
For example, by pairing with a corporate culture investigator from Lauth Investigations International, you will know not only that underlying problems and actionable solutions will be identified in relation to culture. In addition, you can leverage our knowledge in areas of threat and security. If a culture audit uncovers a spate of employee thefts or questionable asset handling, we can pursue the matter until the facts are brought to light. We can also illuminate holes in your litigation-readiness strategy so that your legal standing can step up onto par alongside your corporate culture aspirations.
We also offer different tiers of corporate culture audit that can be scaled and tailored for a diversity of business sizes and industry fields. At the introductory level, we will evaluate internal processes and interview relevant personnel, as well as surveying intra-corporate platforms of communication and brick-and-mortar sites before reporting our findings to you. If threats are identified, we can move forward to a corporate investigation so that you can take action on any malignant factors that may be wreaking havoc within your organization.
Finally, we can provide detailed security training and assessments, ranging from digital forensics checkups to active shooter training. Whatever resources are required to empower your employees toward success, the Lauth Investigations team are equipped to assist. If you’d like to learn more about our expertize in this field, discover our corporate culture audits information page, or connect with us today for a no-obligation consultation.
by Carie McMichael | Sep 14, 2022 | Corporate Culture
When was the last time you did a health check of your organizational culture? When sat in the executive suit, it can be easy to imagine that the rest of the workplace is a hive of productivity; a well oiled machine. But what if your organizational culture is eroding right in front of you, and you haven’t even noticed?
Employees like knowing that their voices are being heard. So much so, that a recent Salesforce study revealed that this factor alone can infuse your team with a staggering 4.6x capacity to yield their best performance.
To tune into how morale really is on the work floor, an increasing number of businesses turn to organizational culture surveys. Today, we’re going to look for the qualities that should be built into your surveying strategy if you choose to take this route. We’ll also examine when a corporate culture audit may be a better fit for your business needs. So lets get right down to it.
Why Keeping Up With Company Culture is More Important Than Ever
The instability of the last few years has certainly taken its toll on business culture—not only across the United States but around the globe. Where rolling out organizational culture surveys annually would have once been considered an aspirational achievement, these days it doesn’t really make the cut.
The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, transitioning too and from working from home, climactic stresses, and economic uncertainty triggered by the war in Ukraine all add new layers of complexity to your organization’s cultural vulnerabilities. The good news is that keeping tabs on your team with tools like organizational culture surveys or corporate culture audits can enable you to stay ahead of challenges and build in the resilience that will ensure your business thrives no matter the bumps in the road.
Key Features To Look For in Organizational Culture Surveys Software
If you decide to go the organizational culture surveys route—or even combine multiple culture monitoring resources—what kinds of features do you need at your disposal? Digital survey building tools can be exceptionally handy, especially when they have been created with this kind of use in mind. You’ll want to be able to curate tailored questions that are relevant to your business and add company branding as a starting point, but let’s look at what else you’ll need.
Consider whether you’ll want to roll out different types of surveys, such as those looking at Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) which measures how likely your team are to recommended your organization as a good place to work, or pulse surveys which are—as they sound—brief and frequent in nature.
Finally, you’ll want to consider what kinds of analytics you’ll want at your disposal. The right survey software should allow you to track results over time so you can identify the evolution of corporate culture and zero in on teams and departments individually. You may also want access to benchmarks data, letting you compare your business culture’s performance to that of other companies.
When a Corporate Culture Audit Is the Better Option
Surveys certainly sound good on paper, but they need to be structured and strategically targetted if they are going to be an effective tool. Factors such as survey exhaustion—when employees get tired of seeing all those tick boxes—or bias unintentionally built into your survey can compromise its efficacy. If organisational culture surveys aren’t getting you the results you’d hoped for, it might be time to call on something a bit more comprehensive.
If you haven’t surveyed your organizational culture before, it may be better to launch into the practice with a more insightful process than a survey alone. Similarly, if you are experiencing an escalation of signs of eroding corporate culture such as clique behavior, employee thefts, high turnover, workplace bullying, and even white collar crime, then organizational culture surveys are going to be akin to applying a band aid to a broken leg.
A culture audit will give you a full-spectrum overview of the health of your organizational culture. Why not discover more about this process or contact the specialist corporate team at Lauth Investigations today? We’ll happily share how we can help you forge a culture that can’t be beaten.
by Carie McMichael | Sep 12, 2022 | Genealogy
When the scope of an heir search crosses international borders, finding the right collaborator becomes key. Ultimately, you need an heir search expert who can deftly navigate a diversity of legal jurisdictions on your behalf and draw together the caliber of documented facts that will ultimately be accepted in a court of law. So who should you speak to? Let’s break down the ins and outs of finding the right genealogist or investigator for resolving international estate matters.
What Are the Qualities To Look For in an Heir Search Expert?
Due to an unfortunate lack of concrete standards laid out for those who can claim to be a professional genealogist in the United States, finding the right support to navigate international estate matters can be something of a minefield. Making the issue all the more complicated is that, when probate is opened and filed with the court, the details of an estate enter the public record. So, bereaved families and those serving them may well find themselves fielding vying candidates.
Particularly in the case of international estate matters, it is crucial to choose the right genealogist or investigator to assist. Not only should they be fully credentialed and forthcoming about their pricing and processes, but they should also offer the robust resources required to handle a broad investigation efficiently. This should include a weight of experience in conducting searches overseas, including the capacity to carry out vital record searches and the connections to obtain key records internationally.
For multi-faceted international estate matters, is it wise to identify an heir search expert within a company that affords them the support of multilingual research staff and investigators ready to go boots-on-the-ground abroad where necessary. Crucially, an under-qualified genealogist, while seemingly an enthusiastic option at first glance, can lead you down a road of time wasted, poor communication, and lacking results. Of course, the final puzzle-piece in identifying the right heir search expert is court-related experience. Don’t forget that they must be able to document and evidence their findings to a legally sound standard and may be called upon to testify to that effect.
Turn to an Heir Search Expert From Lauth Investigations International
Lauth Investigations International is a sizable multi-disciplinary firm that takes great pride in an exemplary 30-year track record for uncovering truth and serving clients in complex, multi-jurisdictional cases. Because—in addition to providing heir search services—we also specialize in locating missing persons, asset fact-finding, conducting corporate investigations,and much more, we are uniquely positioned to draw from countless resource pools in the name of setting international estate matters.
Our heir search expert services span locating missing, unknown, or estranged parties for notice of fund distribution in probate or intestacy matters. We can aid in the determination of beneficiaries abroad ahead of trust termination, reconstruct family trees, and provide expert witness testimony in court. In certain instances, we also pick up where a lesser-skilled genealogist has left off, verifying and completing third-party searches to bring them to a swift and rightful conclusion.
Whatever your heir search needs, we invite you to discover a trusted collaborator and a team capable of seeing international estate matters through to successful closure. Connecting with an heir search expert from Lauth International Investigations comes with no obligation and can help you shed light on the best way to proceed. Why not learn more about our comprehensive Heir Search Service, or reach out to our team today for tailored advice?
