While white collar crime may not make the headlines in the same way that political scandal or violent crimes do, to anyone with experience of the damage that can be done, those three little words will certainly bring an unpleasant chill. Perhaps shockingly, the FBI reports that white collar crime costs the United States over $300 billion per year, and yet many companies are woefully unaware of the risks.
Today, a new era of white collar crime is flooding the business world with smart criminality and well-covered tracks. Just as new technologies have opened the door to exciting new services and products, so too is a path laid for those willing to break the law in order to line their own pockets—unless, of course, companies get savvy and leap ahead of their would-be attackers.
Criminal activity that falls under the umbrella of white collar crime is both diverse and hard-hitting. When the prospect of internal investigations has already been raised, there is a good chance that the victim organization is hemorrhaging and time is of the essence. There is no better ally in the race to uncover put a halt to this executive misconduct than a private investigator. But, before we learn how such an investigative specalist can help, let’s cover what constitutes white collar crime, so you can be better versed to mitigate its potentially disastrous consequences.
What is White Collar Crime?
It’s easy to guess that white collar crime earned its name because this type of law breaking commonly occurs within business settings. However, it is not limited to any particular industry or setting. Instead, it describes nonviolent crimes that fall into two categories. The first is occupational crime, committed by individuals for their own illicit gain, and the second is corporate crime, committed for the illegal benefit of the company or organization. Regardless of the classification, they share toxic traits that can destroy a business from within.
In both cases, this executive misconduct might involve fraud, embezzlement, bribery, or blackmail. It may extend to forgery, money laundering, or counterfeiting; insider trading, investment schemes, or identity theft. These crimes may be committed by an employee on the premises, or they may be carried out remotely via electronic means—no doubt with the aim of remaining undetected until the spoils have been looted and the criminals in question are high and dry, leaving you to pick up the pieces.
Protect Your Livelihood With the Assistance Of a Private Investigator
When it comes to tackling white collar crime, a private investigator is an essential collaborator. Protecting your business and assets begins with fully-supported internal investigations, and in this endeavor, a corporate-specialized private investigator offers a skill and resource set that is simply unparalleled. Whether digital forensics, uncovering asset trails, or carrying out surveillance—both in person and digitally—are required, an investigative firm is uniquely poised to help you resolve the situation quickly.
Here at Lauth Investigations International, we take great pride not only in supporting the swift internal investigations that companies across the nation require, but also in providing them with the means to prevent before it even takes root. Our seasoned private investigators tackle white collar crime whenever called to, while our talented auditors deliver innovative Corporate Culture Audits—helping businesses like yours foster an environment that is functionally secure, and culturally unwelcoming to those with bad intentions. Learn more about our innovative services, or if you prefer, contact our team for no-obligation advice on how to armor up against white collar crime and so much more.
Well, it’s almost unanimous. Some 94% of entrepreneurs and 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success. Armed with those kinds of numbers, it’s pretty clear that forging and maintaining top-notch corporate culture should always be a high priority. But, what exactly is corporate culture? How can we tangibly measure it and—all importantly—how do we super-charge it, so that our businesses can thrive and prosper?
Defining Corporate Culture
Well, to get down to the nitty-gritty of it all, corporate culture—sometimes also known as organizational culture—encompasses an organization’s values, vision, ethics, work environment, practices, and behaviors. Together, these many facets can make a company stand out; either creating a welcoming or repellent space for employees, and helping to influence public perception for better or worse.
When a business achieves outstanding corporate culture, the results will not only appear upon the smiling faces of its engaged and happy employees, but also in the attraction of high-caliber recruits, the capacity for innovation, the cohesion of teams, and ultimately in surging profits. In contrast, when corporate culture stagnates and festers, it can become a breeding ground for employee misconduct, floundering brand image, high turnover, workplace theft, and even costly litigation. Yikes—best avoided, then.
Indicators of Strong Corporate Culture
Challengingly, building corporate culture isn’t a case of following a cookie-cutter template. Every business is unique, and pursuing fantastic workplace culture shouldn’t come at the cost of what makes it so. Instead, whatever the personality of your brand and energy of your organization, the following can be found as markers of great corporate culture—qualities that mold to fit the central company character that incorporates them:
A broad culture of trust and respect
The regular expression of appreciation
High efficiency and performance
Strong multi-directional communication
Resilience in the face of challenge
Team collaboration and cohesion
Indicators of Corporate Culture in Crisis
When corporate culture begins to crash and burn, it can be easy to miss the signs. However, when that crisis reaches an advanced stage, there will likely be no area of your business that remains unaffected. If concerned about the corporate culture within your organization, keep an eye out for early indications of the following pervasive issues:
Poor timekeeping
A decline in performance
Escalating workplace theft
Communication silos
Workplace bullying or harassment
High staff turnover
The emergence of workplace cliques
Absenteeism or malingering
Incidents of fraud or white-collar crime
What To Do When Corporate Culture Gets Off Track
For any business that wants to stay ahead of the competition and attract the very best talent, shining a spotlight on corporate culture is a must. In fact, 86% of job seekers will avoid a company with a bad reputation, but the caliber of candidates that a strong corporate culture attracts can generate a 33% increase in revenue. So, what do you do if some of those warning signs above are starting to appear? A great place to start is with a Corporate Culture Audit. By making a sweeping assessment of all of the factors that both comprise and influence corporate culture, you’ll be far better equipped to identify strengths and weaknesses, and make a plan to move forwards. The undertaking of improving corporate culture must be approached with authenticity—it requires a proactive approach to addressing all aspects that are damaging team morale, and the establishment of new patterns of behavior and attitudes. This will ensure that any progress made becomes a solid foundation for the next step forwards.
Here at Lauth Investigations International, we take great pride in providing specialist assistance to businesses aiming to assess, improve, or triage their corporate culture. Our comprehensive Corporate Culture Audit serves as a health-check for contemporary businesses, and we are also ready to provide investigative assistance if any workplace misconduct or criminality is uncovered over the course of the process. Most importantly, our seasoned experts lay out a clear road-map for the corporate culture transformation you desire. Discover more about this unique service, or contact our team today to learn more.
Would you say your business has a clear-cut anti-harassment policy? If you’re thinking, “sure, zero-tolerance is baked into our businesses values,” then you might need to dig a little deeper. That’s because this worrying indicator of corporate culture gone wrong doesn’t adhere to a bold mission statement or core values in a hand book—it relies upon real action and daily practices. You can’t prevent workplace harassment through thought alone. Your workplace’s leadership has to live it.
Workplace harassment—whether it comes in the form of bullying, discrimination, or sexual harassment—can hit any business, small or large. The ramifications can extend from distress and loss of productivity through to PR nightmares and law suits. Undoubtedly, prevention is the ideal path. So, lets break down real strategies that you can implement today.
Get Your Workplace Harassment Policy Up To Date
When was the last time your company policy on workplace harassment was reviewed and revitalized? It’s important that, periodically, policies are revisited and updated. They should be clear-cut and comprehensive, as well as complying with local, state, and federal regulations in regards to all forms of harassment and discrimination. If in doubt, consult with an expert to make sure that all aspects have been covered.
Make Sure Anti-Harassment Values Are In All Employees’ Vocabularies
Just as nobody reads the fine-print these days, not all employees will be ready to recite every company policy—even of you provided them with a glossy print copy. That makes it your responsibility to keep company values alive in people’s minds. This can be achieved by sending out periodic memos, and instituting training and awareness programs. Establish clear expectations as to what acceptable and unacceptable workplace behavior looks like, and lead by example.
Pass the Anti-Harassment Torch to Your Trusted Leaders
Providing more intensive training to department heads, HR personnel, and executives can help you forge a culture within which harassment is unwelcome. In this way, positive reinforcement can come from many directions, making it more difficult for toxicity to take hold. Ensure that those carrying the torch know how to spot warning signs of harassment and make all employees aware of how to report workplace harassment. On something so important for the health of employees and the business itself, the door should always open.
Forge A Strong and Healthy Corporate Culture
A healthy corporate culture is always a goal worth striving for, because when employees feel nurtured and empowered, they are ultimately equipped to innovate and achieve. This means tangible value for any business, but more than that—it means a reduced risk of threats ranging from workplace harassment through to corporate theft or white-collar crime. If you are unsure of the current standing of your organization’s corporate culture, a Corporate Culture Audit can give you a comprehensive overview, as well as a clear road-map towards measurable improvements.
Be Ready to Handle Complaints With Respect
While every effort in prevention is worthwhile, it is impossible to eliminate the risk of workplace harassment entirely. If a member of your team files a complaint or one of your torch-bearers sees cause for concern, it’s crucial to be ready to launch a thorough, sensitive, and diligent investigation. In this endeavor, a seasoned external corporate investigator can be a powerful ally—ensuring that your investigation serves impartial justice while being by the book, optimally documented, and airtight against future legal scrutiny. Why not discover more about Corporate Culture Audits and support for Workplace Harassment Investigations from Lauth Investigations International. Our team are ever-ready to advise and discuss the unique needs of any organization, so get in touch today if you’d like to find out more.
Recent years have seen activist movements such as “Me Too”, “Times Up”, and “Black Lives Matter” drive a positive paradigm shift. More and more people are standing up for their rights to live and work with dignity. This means that the businesses that take a workplace harassment complaint seriously shine brightly as contemporary leaders in their fields—while the businesses that don’t risk losing their relevance to consumers and potential recruits alike.
If you’re here, then the chances are that you’re striving to secure your organization’s footing firmly within the first of those two camps. An essential port of call at the beginning of this journey is establishing a powerful anti-harassment policy, with crystal clear protocols to support it. Today we’re going to be discussing the best practices to incorporate when dealing with a harassment claim. Don’t forget, every harassment complaint poses a major risk to your organization, so—whether navigating a report of workplace bullying, discrimination, or sexual misconduct—attention to detail is vital.
Establishing a Complaints Procedure
Did you know that more than 50% of the filings that arrive with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission each year are retaliation complaints? Well, you do now—so it’s time to make sure that your complaints procedure is action-ready. Consistency is vital when handling workplace harassment complaints, so having a polished procedural roadmap to hand will be invaluable.
This protocol should be tailored to your organization’s size, resources, culture, and mandate. If you’re reading this article because a workplace harassment complaint is already on your desk—but there’s no up-to-date and established procedure to speak of—then consider this the perfect opportunity to create one that is iron-clad. Your complaints procedure should cover:
Outlining your organization’s anti-harassment policies
Handling all complaints with seriousness and professionalism
Acting quickly, while memories and evidence are fresh
Considering if protective steps are required on behalf of the complainant
Documentation resources and instructions
Interview procedures and order of interviews
The importance of an investigation timeline
Communication protocols—such as leadership immediately informing HR
The need to remain neutral to all parties
Whether managers, HR, or external investigators will take the lead
Maintaining confidentiality of all parties as far as possible
Making employees aware of their right to complain and who they can speak to
PR protocols if the harassment complaint goes public
When a Complaint Has Been Received
When an accusation of workplace harassment has been made, time is of the essence. That said, every step taken should be with legal scrutiny in mind, so begin by efficiently making a plan of action and drawing necessary resources together. With legality and justice prioritized, the importance of documentation cannot be overstated.
All interviews and evidence gathered should be carefully documented and dated. It’s also vital to be aware that any written communication—such as emails—may also later become evidence if litigation follows. As such, caution, discretion, neutral language, and sticking to the known facts will serve you well.
Safeguarding Your Organization’s Integrity
Beyond the need to protect your employees and ensure their well-being at work, it is also vital to protect your organization—both in terms of reputation and financial risk. All actions taken and conclusions draw must reflect a thorough and indiscriminate process. A robust approach for businesses aiming to ensure that they will not later be accused of bias is bringing in an external investigator. This type of specialist will be ready to support navigating any workplace harassment complaint with impeccable practice.
A seasoned corporate investigator from Lauth Investigations international will take the lead on your workplace investigation, lifting the associated stress from your team’s shoulders. By turning to their trusted services, you will be able to enjoy absolute confidence in the protocols followed, the quality of documentation, the capacity to stand up to legal scrutiny, and ultimately the conclusions drawn. This can alleviate what would otherwise be a logistical challenge and substantial burden on your HR team.
Anyone who has ever been the victim of any kind of bullying or harassment knows that it can leave a person’s world turned upside down. For businesses getting to grips with how to minimize the risks of workplace harassment, it can be motivating to understand the far-reaching ramifications of these issues—from stalling team performance to broken brand reputation, and from dwindling profits through to swelling legal costs.
In truth, workplace bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment create toxic work environments. They can have a crippling effect on the well-being and performance of many more employees than the victim or victims alone. Read on to discover the many pervasive impacts that these types of misconduct can have, before getting serious about upping your game in its prevention!
A Risk to Health and Well-being
Being a victim of workplace harassment—or even simply witnessing it—can generate problems that your employees carry all day at the office, and back home with them at the end of the working day. These impacts can be both psychological and physical, such as:
Stress
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Depression
Insomnia
Stomach ulcers
High blood pressure
When Performance Suffers Along With the Victim
It’s hardly surprising that when employees are grappling with these kinds of pressures, their work performance will also take a hit. Be aware that symptoms of workplace harassment can manifest detrimentally on employee productivity:
Victims and witnesses may struggle to concentrate
Victims may lose self-esteem
Victims and witnesses may have trouble with decision-making
Victims and witnesses may avoid excelling in order to avoid attention
Victims and witnesses may be reluctant to enter communal settings
Harassers may also underperform while distracted by their misconduct
Is Your Business Dropping the Ball?
Contemporary employers understand that happy employees are engaged employees—and minimizing the risk of workplace bullying, sexual harassment, and all forms of discrimination, is an important element of ensuring that teams remain at their most energized. However, the risk to companies that drop the ball on workplace harassment extend far further than productivity losses alone:
Increased sick leave, rehabilitation, and health insurance costs
Pervasive absenteeism
Rapid turnover and associated recruitment and training costs
Reputational damage that impacts both recruitment and sales
Legal costs and risk of workers’ compensation claims
Eroded workplace culture making theft and other corporate crimes more likely
Turn the Tide With Corporate Investigations and Corporate Culture Audits
When someone makes a workplace harassment complaint, you can quickly and efficiently bring in a skilled investigator, reveal the truth of the matter, and get things back on track. However, what if this kind of misconduct is taking place under the radar? No employer is all-seeing and all-knowing. This makes a Corporate Culture Audit an immensely valuable resource to have in your toolkit.
This wellness check-up for your organization will take the lid off any and all issues that may be impacting your path towards prosperity—from workplace harassment to organizational silos, and many more besides. Lauth Investigations International draws on decades of experience within the corporate field, helping businesses forge a route towards excellence through effective investigative services. Learn more about Corporate Culture Audits, or contact our team today to discuss how we can support you best.
