A merger and acquisition investigation is often one of the first steps in prudent due-diligence when one corporation is looking to buy or merge with another.
Caveat emptor. Buyer beware. Consumers often find themselves thinking this when considering whether or not to test out a new product or replace a used one. After all, knowledge is power when it comes to your dollar. Now imagine that the product is not just a new shampoo or brand of cereal, but an entire corporation. Corporations who are flirting with the idea of a merger or acquisition regarding another company have a monumental task before them of performing due-diligence in fact-finding missions about these companies before they buy. If it is a publicly traded company, then a great deal of information about it will be accessible, but what about what’s not on paper? What about the staff, the internal operations, the unmitigated risk factors that could be inherited? A private investigator might be the perfect professional to conduct fact-finding in a merger and acquisition investigation.
Private investigators have the tools at their disposal to get the full picture when it comes to a prospective merger or acquisition. Private investigators have a similar investigative tool chest as law enforcement. It’s not uncommon for private investigators to be former law enforcement personnel. They are adept at moving within the environment unseen as observers, meticulously documenting what they see. They can get an unvarnished snapshot of how the business operates on a daily basis, how engaged the employees are, and how those things impact the daily output. They are adept at developing rapport with witnesses in order to get robust answers to pertinent questions regarding the investigation. Private investigators can also use databases similar to that of law enforcement to develop comprehensive background checks on the people in leadership of the company in order to determine within reason what is their risk of misconduct or negligence. Reviewing items like criminal history, address history, litigation history, and work history, they can profile the decision makers, document their history of decision-making, and how their relationship with their employees impacts the corporate culture of the company.
When it comes to a merger and acquisition investigation, a risk management firm might be the first entity that comes to mind. Private investigators and risk management firms often possess similar investigative methodologies in their experience with observing patterns of behavior and predict multiple outcomes within reason. Private investigators might have unexpected insight into mergers and acquisitions, because while the product, the brand, and the value are all critical factors in these corporate marriages, it is truly the human element that makes or breaks a business. Not unlike law enforcement, private investigators make their trade in analyzing and anticipating human behavior in order to develop leads for their casework. Their diverse experience in this arena allows them to conduct an evaluation of the business that goes beyond numbers and profit, but also how the dynamics between employees and the corporate culture will ultimately affect the parent company’s bottom line. If the private investigator finds that the company experiences repeated disruptions to operations due to inefficiency, apathy, or negligence, it further exacerbates the causation of these disruptions. The corporate culture declines and employees become more apathetic and disengaged. Without major overhaul to the corporate culture, the entity looking to buy might reconsider. When a company has a pervasive problem with employee misconduct of all kinds, including sexual harassment, discrimination, theft, and a high rate of turnover might be flagged as an unadvised risk by private investigators and risk assessment firms alike. The quality of corporate culture moves in a cycle based on how well it meets the needs of everyone involved in the workplace. When that corporate culture is consistently poor, these companies regularly open themselves up to costly turnover, employee theft, and legal action. If your company is involved in a merger or acquisition with another company, consider hiring Lauth Investigations International for your intelligence needs. Our team of private investigators is comprised of former military and law enforcement personnel who are ready to get to the truth for our clients. We’re adept in undercover and surveillance operations and carry an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau. Call today at 317-951-1100
While other countries throughout the globe are starting to make a full recovery from COVID-19, the United States still struggles to keep infection numbers down. As the states continue to open up, new cases are still reported every day, due in part to the spread of the coronavirus in the workplace, many employees are wary of their employer’s level of COVID-19 compliance. Many Americans are facing a difficult decision between their livelihood and their health. In turn, employers across the country are now facing sanctions, fines, and bad press for failing to protect both their employees and their customers.
The government-issued ordinances regarding business operation and social distancing changes depending on where you live—and so does the penalty for noncompliance. In Indianapolis, multiple businesses have been issued fines for not enforcing social distancing rules or enforcing the mandated face mask policy. In addition to fines, these noncompliant businesses are also facing backlash from their employees who are feeling undervalued and find themselves in a dangerous work environment.
Businesses who are noncompliant with COVID-19 restrictions are not only opening themselves up to penalty on behalf of the counties where they are located but they are also opening themselves up to subsequent litigation from their employees. Whether that litigation ultimately survives the burden of a civil court remains a moot point, as the initial stages of a lawsuit can still be costly to a small business. Therefore, business owners must go the extra mile not only to comply with the restrictions, but also to make their employees feel valued in a high-stress situation.
It’s typical for a business to contract risk assessment firms to determine their level of preparedness for a terroristic event such as a mass shooter, or to determine their vulnerability to external theft. These assessments are an investment in the future of the business—a preventative measure that will protect the business from incurring losses. However, investing in COVID-19 compliance is also a way to protect a business from fines, litigation, and fallout.
With the knowledge that they are being screened for COVID-19 compliance, businesses might appear to be in accordance with the ordinances. However, any private investigator will tell you that the best way to evaluate human behavior is when they do not believe they are being watched. In order for business owners to get a comprehensive picture of how their enterprise is being managed and conducted, they should contract a private investigator to perform due diligence.
Private investigators are ideal professionals to perform a COVID-19 compliance investigation and other operations that fall under the umbrella of risk assessment. Private investigators are professionally trained to blend into the background and become part of the fabric of the environment. From under the radar, they can openly document COVID-19 restriction violations for employers and former employees alike who believe their business or employer is/was noncompliant. Private investigators use the best available surveillance technology to document these violations for their final summary and can provide the client with expert recommendations on how to right the ship.
Private investigators can go the extra mile in performing these assessments by interviewing current employees, covertly or otherwise. COVID-19 noncompliance on behalf of an employer can be easily perceived as in indifference to health and wellness of their employees. Studies have shown that when employees do not feel valued by their employers, their level of engagement in their position goes down, and consequently, so does their productivity. Not only that, but employees who feel undervalued or ignored by their employers are more likely to steal from their employers, both by virtue of property and company time. As the culture of the workplace declines, so the business owner can expect to see a decline in weekly output and profit.
COVID-19 noncompliance can damage a business’s workplace culture for years to come If drastic changes are not made. Call Lauth Investigations International today for a free quote on our COVID-19 compliance operations. Our team is comprised of former military and law enforcement personnel who have diverse experience in intelligence operations of all types. Call 317-951-1100 today or visit us online at lauthinveststg.wpengine.com
When gaps appear in corporate accountability, can private investigators step up to conduct an independent corporate investigation?
The White House reported last week that it will be taking steps towards minimizing investigations into corporate misconduct and reducing a government agency’s ability to open more than one probe into a single company concurrently. While independent agencies such as the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Federal Communications Commission, those agencies might still be susceptible to enforcement by an executive order from the president.
A spokesperson for the White House budget office, an umbrella for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has declared on behalf of the proposed action that “These principles protect both individuals and small businesses while at the same time enforcing the law against wrongdoers. Providing a fair process of all Americans is what’s at the heart of this executive order.”
While it’s true that a corporate investigation can consequently devastate a small company, the entities that will receive the most protection under this proposed action would be larger businesses and Fortune 500 companies. Corporations of all sizes can always benefit from an independent corporate investigation conducted by an objective third-party. In pursuit of truth, independent or private investigators can illuminate the unseen machinations of any corporate investigation. Regardless of the intention of the proposed action, one of the ultimate consequences is that there will be less corporate oversight throughout the United States, allowing pervasive issues to continue harming the corporation or organization from within. As employees, upper management, and consumers alike demand investigation and/or accountability for the wrongdoings in any given corporation or organization, there will be an intelligence vacuum, in which private investigators can use their skillsets to bring context to complex corporate investigations.
This proposed action may potentially protect businesses from malicious litigation or malicious whistleblowing, but it also erodes the voices of employees and consumers with legitimate concerns who cannot be heard otherwise. One of the greatest benefits of government oversight into any matter is that the government has the most resources and financial support available to properly regulate and enforce policy. Restricting the government’s ability to investigate internal issues that are impacting the workforce or the public means that pervasive issues will easily slip through the cracks and continue to inflict varying degrees of harm. The only recourse an employee or consumer might have at that point is an independent corporate investigation.
An independent corporate investigation is best conducted by a person who is not in any way associated with the corporation in question. While risk assessment firms are also known for conducting similar independent corporate investigations, private investigators are another type of professional who might be able to get answers in times of corporate crisis. Private investigators can diversify their services to meet a variety of intelligence needs, and some private investigators choose to specialize in only a handful of investigation types. Whether the private investigator diversifies or specializes, many private investigators may be missing out on opportunities to apply their investigative knowledge to corporate investigations in a way that can improve businesses from within to better their local economy, and affect change for larger corporations with a national reach.
Through their licensure by the state(s) where a private investigator practices, they have access to a wealth of information through verified databases similar to those used by law enforcement every day. Private investigators can use only a few details about a subject or subjects to generate a full background check on an individual or a corporate entity in order to have all the facts relevant to the case. For an independent corporate investigation, a private investigator can view items on employees and consumers such as criminal history, address history, credit history, and litigation history, and contextualize those items for the investigation. Through these databases, private investigators can also look up information about a corporate entity and garner relevant facts regarding its past actions, behaviors, and litigation.
Two of a private investigator’s most prolific and well-known talents are surveillance and undercover operations. When it comes to an independent corporate investigation, the ability to operate under the radar is crucial. In pursuit of truth, subjects in these type of investigations must not be aware they’re being watched. A private investigator knows how to blend in with a crowd or become part of the background of day-to-day life. Private investigators can wire themselves with surveillance technology, and seamlessly assimilate into a workplace in order to document daily internal operations. They can speak with witnesses and develop a rapport that ingratiates the witness to reveal relevant information. Through these intelligence operations, the private investigator is able to objectively document subjects in the work environment.
Because private investigators are typically independent from any law firm or government agency, their fact-finding also carries some additional transparency that is invaluable in an independent corporate investigation. This reduces the impact of any “they-said-they-said” narrative introduced by counsel in any consequential litigation. With even less government oversight on corporations in the United States, private investigators are ideal professionals to bring crucial context to the unheard problems within their structure.
Private investigators by their very nature have a proclivity for transparency and problem-solving. As the old adage goes, “knowledge is power.” Through private intelligence, private investigators can bring light to malignant situations that rot corporate culture and hurt public relations. In pursuit of the truth, they apply their methodology to multi-faceted, complex situations to get answers for their clients. Private investigators who do not currently offer corporate investigation services might be missing out on opportunities to expand their professional network and apply their services in new ways. Even small firms or singular private investigators contracting their services could apply fact-finding, surveillance, and undercover operations to investigate corporate misconduct. In this way, private investigators can fill in the gaps that can occur in corporate oversight and accountability.
The private investigators at Lauth Investigations International are dedicated to providing our clients to make empowered decisions in a complex business world. Our diverse list of intelligence services can be designed to fit the investigative needs of our clients. Call 317-951-1100 or visit us online at lauthinveststg.wpengine.com.
A nonprofit background check for supervisory board members is not only prudent in the name of good hiring practice, but also in the name of protecting the nonprofit from toxic leadership that can rot the organization from within. Luckily, a private investigator can provide the intelligence needed for full transparency.
When it comes to nonprofits organizations, knowing who to put in charge is paramount to the organization’s mission. When executives or professionals who serve in a supervisory capacity misbehave, it can have devastating consequences for the organization. From litigation to bad public relations, misconduct has the potential to damage the name of a nonprofit organization for years. That’s why it’s so imperative to run comprehensive, thorough nonprofit background checks on supervisory board members and executives.
United Way recently came under fire in the news after allegations surfaced regarding a hostile work environment. An anonymous letter allegedly authored by former employees of Untied way cited instances of racism, harassment, and nepotism on the part of leadership and failure to act on those abuses by leadership. This ended with a Untied Way board member stepping down after she intimidated one of the alleged authors of the letter.
However isolated individual instances of this type of misconduct may seem, the phenomenon of identifying and curing toxic workplace cultures is becoming more urgent. Corporations and nonprofits alike across the country are starting to take a more comprehensive look at how the internal operations of their entity can manifest in harmful ways. Lack of oversight and accountability are two ways in which toxic work environments flourish. That’s why many charitable organizations are opting for nonprofit background checks on their proposed leadership to ensure that the true mission of the nonprofit remains intact.
Private investigators are ideal professionals to conduct nonprofit background checks. They can review the relevant items on a subject’s background check that might interfere with their ability to supervise a nonprofit, such as criminal history, work history, and litigation history. Private investigators have diverse experience in evaluating human behavior and performing a risk assessment regarding their capacity in a supervisory role. Private investigators are able to place such relevant items in context. For example, a long address history might indicate a history of transience, which can translate to lack of dependability and lack of accountability. However, if the subject was forced to move again and again by virtue of their employment, that is important context that is needed in the investigation summary.
There are obvious items that would appear on a background check for a nonprofit board member that would pique interest, such as criminal history and work history. However, a background check does not have to be limited to what’s on paper in a nonprofit background check. Private investigators are adept in reviewing facts found, but they are also adept in searching for what’s outside the databases. Private investigators can locate and speak with former employers, former supervisors, and former supervisees who have worked with the prospective board member. By getting to the human sources during fact-fining in a nonprofit background check, private investigators can illuminate the professional and personal impact of that person on others. This creates a more transparent picture of how a prospective board member may impact the nonprofit.
An internal investigation of United Way’s internal operations downplayed the allegations proffered by those who authored the letter. However, given the misconduct from board members following the allegations, United Way might invest more in nonprofit background checks going forward. If your organization is experiencing pervasive issues with misconduct, including racism, harassment, and discrimination, call Lauth Investigations International today for a free quote on our corporate culture audit program and learn how you can improve your organization from within.
The United Way investigation was triggered by a list of former employees who singed an anonymous letter detailing a hostile work environment.
If you follow the mission and directives of nonprofit organizations, you’ve likely heard of United Way Worldwide. According to their website, the nonprofit “advances the common good in communities across the world. Our focus is on education, income and health—the building blocks for a good quality of life.” However noble their mission statement, United Way has been in the news recently as former employees have come forward with reports of a hostile work environment, prompting an internal investigation.
The United Way investigation began when former employers decided to take a stand against a toxic corporate culture. The allegations of a toxic, hostile work environment came in the form of a letter that was signed by an anonymous group of former United Way of Summit and Media, citing pervasive problems such as racism, sexual harassment, and nepotism. While the word “anonymous” raises eyebrows in conjunction with whistle-blowing, it bears pointing out that these former employees claim they will be subject to retaliation. The letter was sent to United Way board members on July 31, prompting board chairman Mark Krohn to announce the onset of an internal investigation.
Harassment and bullying are just one of the allegations made by the former employees who signed this letter, and this has led to one United Way board member already resigning. One of the first dominoes to fall in the United Way investigation was former board member Elizabeth Bartz, who was in charge of running government affairs in Akron, Ohio. Leadership from the United Way of Summit and Media began investigating Bartz after there were allegations that she had verbally abused employees on social media. Bartz used Facebook Messenger to send a private message to another former employee, calling them a “toothless piranha” and accusing them of attempting “to ruin UW” with their allegations of bullying in harassment—ironically by engaging in bullying and harassment. This led to Bartz’s resignation.
Bartz’s reaction to the anonymous letter might actually validate these anonymous claims by former United Way employees. However, according to an article by the Beacon Journal, these anonymous former employees are feeling ignored after an investigator reported that the allegations in the letter “were mostly unsubstantiated.” A former employee who claimed to speak for the group told the Beacon Journal, “It’s clear it’s not an objective report…We can’t keep talking if we’re not going to be valued and our experiences are going to be diminished. It’s pretty disheartening when someone says they were sexually harassed and they are told it was ‘he said/she said.”
The frustration and feeling of defeat expressed by these anonymous employees are the effects of poor corporate culture in motion. Like a piece of antique furniture with termites, poor corporate culture can rot a company from within. Looking at the list of grievances these former employees are citing—racism, sexual harassment, nepotism—these are all enormous and complex problems that are not created in a vacuum. The corporate culture of the workplace must be an environment where these issues are able to thrive in order to develop a pattern of behavior. When employees make claims about these types of internal issues, it is in the best interest of the corporation to submit to an independent corporate culture audit.
If your corporation or organization is experiencing repeated instances of internal difficulty, it might be time for a corporate culture audit. A corporate culture audit is a program that examines the internal policies of a corporation or organization, how those policies are enforced, how they effect the employees, and how those employees relate to each other as a result. If the corporate culture in a company is good, that positivity is baked into the internal operations, employees feel valued by their organization, and therefore will remain engaged and invested in maintaining productivity. Pervasive, repeated internal problems may not stem from a single factor, but the entire corporate culture of the workplace. Think of a corporate culture audit like a medical check-up for a business or organization. Lauth’s investigators evaluate the culture from leadership down, identifying the major factors in disruption, and advise leadership on how to improve their business from within. For more information on our corporate culture audit program, click here.
