In 2021, American businesses were struck by a phenomena that no CEO or human resources director could have seen coming. Historically, whenever economies have been hit by recession, employee turnover has dropped as workers hunkered down and rode out the storm. However, as the crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic rolled on, something entirely new began to happen. Despite great turbulence and insecurity, employees started to quit in droves. Economists dubbed it the “Great Resignation”, and it’s not over yet—so what can employers do to avoid the costs that come with empty desks and deserted office spaces, and how can corporate investigations help?
What Happens When You Lose Your Workforce
Savvy employers know that high turnover rates represent a substantial financial burden for any business or organization. To put a crystallizing figure on this potentially catastrophic drain on resources, research from Employee Benefits News placed the cost of a lost employee at roughly a third of their annual salary. But behind the facade of this issue, there is yet more to consider.
According to a study from Adobe, this workplace exodus—or “Big Quit”, to use one of the media’s other favorite descriptors—appears to be being driven by Gen Z and Millennial workers who are feeling dissatisfied at work. Alarmingly, more than half of the Gen Z-ers that were surveyed reported planning to seek a new job within the next year.
But, business owners and human resource directors alike should know that dissatisfied employees open a floodgate of risk to other potential pitfalls, such as workplace theft, corporate fraud, malingering, FMLA abuse, and more. At this juncture, rather than waiting until workplace investigations are coming thick and fast, there’s a lot to be said for taking proactive action, and getting ahead of the Great Resignation-curve.
What’s Going On Behind the Big Quit-Curtain
To the eyes of any statistician, the Great Resignation is paradoxical. Normally, quit-rates climb when the economy is going strong and better prospects are abundant. But as the pandemic stubbornly sticks around, labor shortages and high unemployment should point to an opposite effect. So, what’s behind this sudden confidence in giving notice en masse?
Time spent under lockdown allowed the workforces’ brightest talent to weigh up what they truly want from life. Working from home and the more-flexible schedule that this afforded made employees see their careers through a fresh lens, while hesitance from the American government to provide worker protections, compounded by a rising cost of living and stagnated wages triggered a strike-like mentality—as dubbed “tang ping” in China, and seen around the world.
How Employers Can Break the Pattern
If dissatisfaction is the disease, then making new strides in employee satisfaction is the salve. Manifesting this means understanding your team’s inner workings—and that begins with eliminating damaging elements within your workforce, assessing corporate culture, and launching initiatives that will transform your business into one that attracts those aspiring to something greater in the post-Covid world, rather than one that employees might hope to leave behind.
If a few bad actors are drawing down morale within your team, turning to trusted investigators to undertake swift and effective corporate investigations will certainly help in turning the tide. However, if there is any doubt as to the retention capacity of your workforce, the place to start is undoubtedly a Corporate Culture Audit. This comprehensive assessment will identify the current standing of employee morale, the many facets that could be undermining work-ethic, and all that may be setting the stage for employee losses tomorrow.
Leadership can stave off the effects of the Great Resignation by investing in their corporate culture via audits and investigations as appropriate. Expert corporate investigators from Lauth Investigations will not only deliver an in-depth assessment of the current corporate culture, but also a clear and detailed plan on how to correct any weak-points, build profitable momentum, and foster the kind of culture that draws, rather than repels, the great innovators that you’ll be counting on tomorrow. Learn more about our broad-spectrum Corporate Investigations offering, as well as our renowned Corporate Culture Audit program—or contact our team today to discuss your unique needs in greater depth.
Imagine, if you will, that you’re a mid-level manager, and you’ve had an eye on Bob for a while. Bob’s always struck you as an easy going family guy, but recently you’ve noticed that his behaviour has become a little strange.
Bob’s clothes are a little more flashy and you noticed a brand new wristwatch catching the light under his shirt sleeve—but it’s not just that. Bob has started staying late more than he used to, and doing things like closing his office door more often, or turning his screen away when you walk by. You debate whether you should talk to the HR director about the issue. Your gut tells you something is wrong, but you wonder what can be done about it—can you really trigger a corporate investigation on the basis of a hunch?
Moments like these can be the beginning of an unravelling that reveals an employee engaged in workplace fraud. But, the signs and signals are often blurry at best. Your imagined mid-level manager’s logic does have some fairly solid foundations—research indicates that 42% of fraudsters do, after all, live beyond their means. But just as easily, another individual engaged in fraud may do a far better job of covering their tracks, while Bob might just have come into a small inheritance.
A Problem Not to Underestimate
What are the risks to contemporary organizations? Employee fraud, forgery, workplace theft, malingering, white collar crime—the list goes on. In fact, it’s estimated that US businesses lose up to $110 million a day due to employee related crimes, while a typical employee theft-scheme lasts 14 months before being detected. The reality is that no business can afford to be asleep at the wheel when it comes to employee fraud.
It’s worth saying, too, that when we say no business, we really mean it. If you’re imagining that your company or organization is simply too small to fall prey to these kinds of problems, think again. The sad reality is that the risk of payroll schemes and billing fraud is actually twice as high in small businesses as it is in large ones.
What Exactly is Employee Fraud?
To any business owner, CEO, CFO, or Human Relations Director who hasn’t felt the viciously stinging impact of fraud before, it sounds like a big word. Surely fraud is something relegated to big-scale scandals that hit the news, right? Well, fraud can happen on any scale, and the perpetrator can be an ordinary Joe or Jane—or indeed a Bob gone rogue.
Employee fraud is a deliberate and deceptive act that aims to provide the perpetrator with unlawful gain, taking advantage of their position of authority or trust. It can happen under the watchful eye of any organization—large or small—and the consequences can be complex and far-reaching.
Examples of employee fraud might include financial statement fraud, the misappropriation of assets, payroll fraud, colluding with suppliers, credit card fraud, cash skimming or larceny, bribery, or data fraud. Occurrences can also range in scale from minor false expenses claims, right through to large-scale embezzlement that is haemorrhaging company profits. Whatever the scale, if your business is a victim of fraud, action must be taken.
Tackling Employee Fraud Head-On
Internal threats can come in many forms. If you suspect any form of employee fraud, then the time to launch a corporate investigation is now. When a red flag is raised for these kinds of issues in the workplace, the next steps taken need to be cautious. A heavy-handed approach may send fraudsters under cover, while dangerously disrupting workplace dynamics.
Knowing who to trust is these instances can also be a challenge—could colleagues be colluding, or might HR find it difficult to be impartial about a beloved co-worker? Because of the legal and psychological complexities of employee fraud, turning to a trusted corporate investigations service can be the strongest tactic. Seasoned professional corporate investigators can quickly and discreetly get to the bottom of the matter, and provide invaluable advice on how to move forwards.
Adding Preventative Measures to Your Toolkit
Of course, when it comes to things that can damage the standing of your business, nothing is better than prevention. To aid organizations in the prevention of all forms of corporate crime, Lauth Investigations offers innovate Corporate Culture Audits. This health check for your business will assess the risk of trouble ahead, illuminate current issues, and lay a path towards a more prosperous, productive, and secure future. We also provide a comprehensive corporate background checks—to help you avoid introducing a bad apple to the barrel.
Corporations, organizations, and even small businesses operating in the United States today need to have their wits about them when it comes to all form of trafficking and labor exploitation. Human trafficking is big-business globally—because to perpetrators, it represents a lucrative opportunity with relatively low risks. In fact, the risk falls upon the victim, and sometimes, upon a company that may not even know it’s playing host.
Two years ago, America was stunned when landmark legal action was launched against twelve hotel chains—who were publicly named and shamed—for failing to act on warning signs that women and children were being sex trafficked on their premises. Calling for a single legal judgment in all twelve cases, proceedings were removed to federal court earlier this year, and the cogs of justice continue to turn towards a verdict.
There can be no doubt that this case is one of the many signals telling us that the landscape surrounding due diligence obligations in this area are changing. Today’s businesses can take this as a cue—and even an opportunity—to set themselves apart through integrity-driven policy and a powerful anti-trafficking stance.
The Many Unseen Faces of Trafficking & Labor Exploitation
While the sex trafficking case above may be alarming to read about, it’s vital to know that labor exploitation comes in many guises, and human traffickers may prey on anyone who exhibits a vulnerability that can be exploited. Victims of human trafficking can be of any race, age, or gender, and of any citizenship status—with businesses of all types and sizes serving as the scene where exploitation takes place, or as the perfect cover for its concealment.
Illuminating the issue for better understanding, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines labor trafficking as: “The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery”. Whenever any of these criteria are met, the “T” word applies—and the buck doesn’t always stop with the trafficker.
Estimates suggest that human trafficking strips the freedom of some 40.3 million people around the world, while roughly 24.9 million people are trapped in forced labor. Today’s growing practice of outsourcing and sub-contracting only increases incentives for traffickers, while complicating the task of businesses trying to keep their operations clean of exploitation. Crucially, exploiting these businesses is essential to the traffickers; they require the space, money flow, transportation, or advertising to keep their illicit activities under the radar of the authorities.
Protecting Both Your Business and Victims of Trafficking
Just as companies can be held liable for corporate crime, direct use of forced labor or involvement in human trafficking establishes a slippery slope towards legal ramifications, be they criminal proceedings or third party litigation. We mentioned due diligence obligations, and in consideration of the shifting labor landscape, these should certainly be enshrined in company policies and practices. Proactivity when it comes to detecting and preventing labor exploitation and human trafficking serves as both a shield and public service—while clear strategies to prevent, report, and remedy crimes uncovered means stepping ahead of the issue, and leading by example.
Turning to corporate investigations specialists for support in navigating the risks of all forms of trafficking and exploitation can provide businesses with unparalleled peace of mind. Simple practices that such professionals can facilitate—such as performing contractor and supplier background checks alongside conducting periodic Corporate Culture Audits—can serve as powerful preventative tools.
When worrying signs arise, a documented and decisive corporate investigation will not only shine a light on criminality, but will also showcase an organization demonstrating their civic duty and core values. Whatever the nature of your business, Lauth Investigations is here to assist you in meeting the challenge of exploitation head on. Contact our team today to learn more about what we can do for you.
Health concerns have been a dominant issue for businesses around the globe of late. Whether employees have been testing positive for Covid-19 and having to self-isolate, or hitting the wall through burnout due to universal stressors, the impact on staffing has been pervasive—and many employees have found themselves scrambling to know what to do, leading to both cases of presenteeism and employee malingering alike.
While the very necessary navigation of absences due to the coronavirus is a challenge that must unavoidably be risen to, the abandonment of strong employee policy should not become a peripheral cost. Both presenteeism and employee malingering can drive damaging effects that any business would struggle to recover from. Here, we will explore why—no matter how unusual the circumstances—these issues shouldn’t fall from your radar, as well as how corporate investigation services can help you to course-correct when things have already gone awry.
Presenteeism: The Unseen Drain on Resources
Presenteeism can be defined as the act of choosing to go to work when you’re sick or chronically unwell. A more old-school mode of thought might not see a problem—or may even encourage this behavior—but research tells us that presenteeism triggers a domino of effects that wouldn’t be welcome within any organization. Perhaps more relevant to today’s sporadic work-from-home policies, is a growing trend for presenteeism during teleworking: a phenomenon that is far harder to monitor.
Within an office setting—or any shared workplace—the results of presenteeism span far beyond an employee exhibiting low-value performance or costly errors in judgment. It has also been found to correlate with increased longer-term sick leave, stress-related absences, and mental health problems among employees. It should also be considered a possible canary, pointing to an erosion of corporate culture, sapped morale, and overburdened staff. Looking to the struggles faced during the present pandemic, it’s also worth noting that presenteeism tends to rise when layoffs are anticipated.
The Malignant Spread of Malingering
Just about everyone finds themselves battling a health challenge at some point in their careers, and employers have a duty of care to support their team through illness, until they are able to get back on track. However, a small number of nefarious characters see opportunity in feigned illness, and may take up malingering as a way to avoid performing their duties or coming to work at all.
An employee pretending to be ill so that they can cruise on sick pay or being dishonest about their illness to avoid unwelcome responsibilities, is certainly worthy of discipline or even dismissal. However, just as is the case with presenteeism, proving that a member of your team is misrepresenting the facts can be immensely challenging. To act on your suspicions, you must be able to demonstrate clear and documented evidence of malingering before a judge—should the need ever arise. This is no small responsibility, making turning to corporate investigation services for assistance a prudent step.
How Corporate Investigations Specialists Can HelpMany businesses don’t realize the vast array of services that corporate investigators can provide in the name of keeping productivity on track. In the case that malicious presenteeism or malingering is underway, a skilled and discreet corporate investigator can launch a covert operation to catch an employee in the act. From surveillance and monitoring, to in-depth background checks and digital research, a seasoned private investigator will know how to efficiently reveal the truth, so that your company can find resolution.
When it comes to pervasive presenteeism as a symptom of corporate culture gone wrong, the only way to find resolution is to step back for a broader view. To provide such a bird’s-eye perspective, turn to Lauth Investigations for an innovative Corporate Culture Audit. While you may have your doubts about the health of your employees, a Corporate Culture Audit will reveal the health status of your business as a whole—revealing operational issues that are impacting morale, uncovering employee misconduct, and outlining a strategy to oil the wheels and get your businesses back up to speed.
To most people, the Family Medical Leave Act, aka FMLA, shines as an example of civilizes society—a safety net that allows employees the scope to care for an ailing parent or address debilitating health problems without falling into unemployment. It’s there to protect the interests of the single parent with a sick child, the woman in the midst of a complicated pregnancy, or the cancer patient suffering the side-effects of chemotherapy. However, there are those employees who may engage in FMLA abuse
Sadly, however, a number of employers find themselves at the mercy of the darker side of FMLA. Their plight is not a reflection of a poorly designed initiative, but rather of a creed of employee who feels entitled to abuse that very safety net—leaving the company that provides their paycheck to take the hit, and perhaps even the security of those who need FMLA the most, too.
In certain cases, an FMLA abuse red-flag may be raised by rumors, but the company could find that it still doesn’t have much room to maneuver. This might occur in the case of absences that don’t quite align with medical diagnoses or certifications, those that fall across holidays or either side of weekends, or those encompassing invisible chronic illness that is hard to quantify or measure. In this instances, corporate investigations into FMLA abuse can be delicate to navigate, with poor execution drawing substantial costs of even litigation. When such complexity arises, support from a private investigator who is well versed in FMLA abuse investigations can save both losses and heartache.
The Far-Reaching Tendrils of Endemic FMLA Abuse
A trusting employer may well find themselves asking: why would anyone jeopardize their position for a few falsified days off? In reality, there are many reasons why people justify FMLA abuse to themselves, including a desire for more leisure time or wanting to earn more money by working a second job in parallel.
Some, however, can be indicative of the need to raise the investigative alarm, such as reactive abuse in times of pending workforce reductions, or after the limiting of working hours. Employees who feel undervalued or mistreated may be more likely to abuse the support systems available to them, while those realizing that their colleagues are engaging in all manner of workplace misconduct or abuse may feel drawn to follow the crowd. Fundamentally, FMLA abuse can become a morale-trashing and disruptive presence that triggers a cascade of detrimental impacts.
The Challenges of Tracking FMLA Abuse and What You Can Do
Protections outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act mean that even the most on-the-ball HR department is restricted in terms of what personal medically-related questions they can ask in an FMLA abuse investigation, and the wrong actions can draw legal ramifications. Employers can seek recertification, but the frequency of this practice is also somewhat limited, leaving scope for unproven fraud to run rampant.
A company might also take up the opportunity to seek independent medical exams, as provided for under FMLA legislation. But, this can be a costly process, and may still not get to the bottom of the issue. For many businesses, a far more affordable and effective solution is to engage a corporate investigations firm, who can discreetly carry out specialist surveillance and intelligence gathering within the scope of the law, with the company’s integrity in mind.
The process of achieving the necessary empowerment to deny job restoration to an FMLA abuser requires finesse, but with an expert on hand, companies and organizations of any scale can navigate this process with confidence. Such support will assure informed guidance through case monitoring, navigating communication correctly, and in identifying available paths in the pursuit of due process—as well as expert testimony in the case that FMLA abuse investigations arrive before a judge.
Stop the Rot: Preventing the Spread of FMLA Abuse
The idea to abuse the FMLA system can spread at an alarming pace if employers fail to draw a clear line in the sand—or to forge an environment that fosters values like shared responsibility and the pursuit of excellence among staff. In contrast, when corporate culture is blossoming, the temptation to abuse company resources is reliably diminished. Employers can achieve this bountiful prosperity by engaging pro-actively in periodic corporate culture audits. By being ahead of any unhealthy workplace patterns and working from a clear plan that constantly moves the needle towards envisioned potential, the risk of FMLA abuse, workplace discrimination, corporate theft—and more—can be kept on the back foot. If you require the assistance of corporate investigations services targeting FMLA abuse or want to know more about how auditing can help keep your company thriving, why not contact the Lauth Investigations team today for a no-obligation quote.
