Corporations that have seen a decline in their corporate culture are turning to internal investigation and risk assessment firms for help in 2020. The discourse around corporate culture has evolved significantly over the last few years, with employees voicing their desire for work-life balance and how corporate culture directly impacts their decision to stay with a company. Leadership is better-educating themselves on how their actions feed into the cycle of corporate culture, and how they can improve employee retention by making meaningful changes that grease the wheels of success in their business or organization. However, many corporations have their anxieties about conducting internal investigations in a fishbowl—where employees are able to see the methodology in motion—and how this will impact their workforce and their business.
Corporations can find themselves open to scrutiny from both
their employees and their customer-base when they announce an impending
internal investigation. Some corporations, for a myriad of reasons, opt to have
internal investigations under a cloak of classification in order to protect the
integrity of the investigation—however, in the interest of transparency, many
corporations opt for a visible investigation, warning employees, shareholders,
customers, or all of the above, of an impending internal investigation. This
means that the investigating bodies will be under a microscope of scrutiny
within the corporation, as their methodology, decorum, and their practices will
a source of debate around the proverbial watercooler.
Regardless of who is contracted to conduct the internal
investigation, or under what level of declassification, if there is visibility
of an investigation, there is a delicate balance of transparency and
professionalism needed in pursuit of the truth. One of the most difficult tasks
an internal investigator has at the inception of the investigation is
establishing a rapport with relevant parties, such as leadership and the
workforce in order to garner frankness from persons who will be crucial to the
fact-finding process.
Investigators must establish credibility with the client and
relevant subjects in the case. This means ensuring those individuals are aware
that the investigator shares their values and is only interested in identifying
problems to improve the business—not damage it—indicating a high level of
accountability that will have a ripple effect throughout the corporation or
organization.
In tandem with establishing credibility, investigators must
be straightforward about their objectives, outlining what the client hopes to
achieve and their proposed methods of reaching that goal. Investigators must
never make promises they cannot keep by making declarations before they know
the facts. Corporate investigators must always pursue a resolution to a
business’s problem that does not impair their long-term goals—by the same
token, it is imperative that the investigator informs the client that there
might be some negative consequences as the result of their findings, such as
turnover, further inquiries, or bad publicity.
Objectivity is key in any internal investigation. It’s one of the reasons some companies elect to have a private investigator or risk assessment firm conduct their investigation, as opposed to an in-house investigator or member of house counsel. No employee with a stake in the outcome of the investigation, even indirectly, may be 100% objective in identifying pervasive issues in an organization. In addition to that objectivity, an independent investigator—unknown to the corporation or organization—investigators can move through a workplace undetected. This will take the edge off of the “fishbowl” factor that is common with internal corporate investigations. Private investigators can adopt a persona and conduct their investigations without the eyes of concerned coworkers; interviewing employees, collecting evidence, evaluating the location, and reviewing internal communications can all be conducted in plain sight.
Internal corporate investigations with a “fishbowl” factor can be an inherent challenge for corporations. Above all, it’s important to remember that employees are your greatest asset, as they feed into a cycle of corporate culture that can successfully stimulate your business or organization. An appropriate level of trust and care must always be taken when subjecting your workforce to an internal investigation. When employees feel valued, they will become empowered and engaged to give their best to the benefit of your organization.
Regardless of the industry, all businesses should be
vigilant with regards to employee theft. Employee theft can come in all shapes
and sizes, from an administrative assistant pocketing some extra Post-Its to
hardcore embezzlement on behalf of leadership. It can be easy to dismiss
repeated instances of employee theft as isolated incidents, implementing
disciplinary action or termination, and moving on with the work week. However,
many executives and managers may not realize that repeated instances of employee
theft could be indicative of a much larger problem in their corporation or
organization.
From a position of leadership, it’s easy to dismiss a single instance of employee theft; the employee is the one who made a choice to steal from their company or organization, and that employee was wrong for doing so. Discipline or termination typically follows, and leadership walks away feeling confident that they’ve removed a bad apple from their barrel. However, pervasive issues with employee theft are symptomatic of a systematic problem within the business or organization that go beyond a single employee’s bad judgement.
Why do employees steal?
The three most common reasons employees steal are not very
difficult to understand.
employees feel as though their employer has wronged them, or their compensation is inadequate.
employees believe that employers insure such losses—therefore it is a victimless crime.
employees know they will not be held accountable if they are caught
All of these reasons may characterize the employee as “disgruntled,” a term with a cultural context that often absolves the employer of any misconduct. When a corporation or organization has repeated instances of multiple employees committing theft, it’s a sign that the corporate culture of the workplace is less than healthy. A single employee pilfering staplers is not symptomatic of unhealthy corporate culture, but 5 employees pilfering staplers is a sign that employees do not feel valued, and therefore do not respect their employer.
The cycle of healthy corporate culture always begins with happy employees, because when employees are happy, they are more engaged, and contribute positively to the productivity of the organization. This pleases leadership, which incentivizes them to make decisions that raise morale, such as rewarding success with pay-raises, benefits, and thoughtful, constructive collaboration. The cycle begins anew with happy employees. Poor corporate culture means that undervalued employees will contribute negatively to workplace productivity. One of the ways poor corporate culture manifests is through employee theft—and it’s not just about profits or staplers. When employees are disengaged from their duties, they’re more likely to take extraneous breaks, or taking longer breaks than permitted, which is theft of company time. This often comes from a rationalized perspective, in which the employee does not feel their own time is valued within the organization, and therefore will place the same perceived value on company time.
Whatever the type of theft, repeated instances of employee theft cannot be ignored. It may be a sign that your business or organization needs a corporate culture audit. A corporate culture audit is like a check-up—when you go into the doctor for a standard check-up, they evaluate all of your major bodily functions for signs of disease or deterioration, and a corporate culture audit is no different. When investigators conduct a corporate culture audit, they evaluate all of your business’s internal operations, hiring processes, and principle employees for roadblocks that hinder productivity and contribute to poor corporate culture. The identification of these pervasive issues will lead to investigators providing leadership with expert recommendations to dislodge the blockage, allowing the cycle of corporate culture to right itself through cause and effect.
If you think your business or organization needs a corporate culture audit, call Lauth Investigations International today for a free quote on our Corporate Culture Audit program. For over 30 years, Lauth has been providing corporations with solutions to stimulate their business. In pursuit of truth, call 317-951-1100, or visit us online at www.lauthinveststg.wpengine.com.
The ubiquity of smart technology and information technology has made work-life balance more attainable than ever in the United States workforce. Telecommuting has made it possible for single parents to work while also caring for their children, and for single individuals to pursue personal passions while maintaining a sustainable living. However, this blurring of the lines between work and life have also brought work stress closer to home for millions of Americans, severely impacting their mental health.
The conversation surrounding work-life balance and its
effects on mental health has developed significantly over the last ten years.
Leadership in major corporations have become more aware of how their corporate
culture not only effects their workforce, but also their brand, productivity,
and their stock holders. The Health and Safety Executive published national
statistics declaring that 28.8 million work days were lost in 2018 due to both
physical and mental health reasons. While physical helath of employees has
always been one of the priorities for major corporations, mental health has
only recently come to the forefront of corporate priorities. In an article by
Sarah Chilton published by Forbes at the beginning of January, Chilton said, “In
some sectors there are cultural issues which are likely to exacerbate the
problems, or make it harder to openly discuss mental well-being. In particular,
high pressure environments, or night shift work for example, can contribute to
mental health issues. My own sector, the legal sector, with its highly
pressurized and competitive environment where there is a long hours and heavy
workload culture, can significantly affect mental wellbeing, but also the willingness
of employees and business owners to discuss it openly.”
This connectivity that Chilton mentions comes in the form of platforms like Slack, Monday.com, and other telecommuting tools that can be huge assets to corporate communication and productivity. These platforms can connect employees located around the countries, for a seemingly more holistic approach to corporate success. When your work is well-connected to the devices we use in our personal lives, such as our phones, our laptop computers, and home-based artificial intelligence like Alexa and Google Home devices, a bleeding source of stress is introduced that can further disrupt our desire for a work-life balance.
Regardless of an employee’s physical location within the
organization, many corporations are beginning to adopt work ratios that have
been proven to reduce this bleed, such as the 25:5 rule. That means a 5 minute
break for every 25 minutes of work completed. This can come in many forms, such
as walking meetings, meal breaks—anything that would stimulate an employee
physically in order to refocus their minds on their work once they return from
that break. This also reduces the physical impact of jobs that force employees
to sit for long periods of time, which has devastating effects on posture,
eye-strain, and lack of circulation in lower extremities that contribute to
health problems such as blood clots and diabetes.
When corporations invest in the mental health of their employees, the positive ripple effects may surprise even the most seasoned executive. Corporate culture moves in a cycle. When employees feel that their mental health is valued at their place of work, their level of engagement is higher in their capacity. This leads to a better quality of communication between employees and stronger engagement on behalf of individuals, which promotes productivity. This increased productivity not only pleases leadership, but also improves the quality of customer service within the organization, which also has the potential to impress and reassure shareholders.
It’s mind-boggling to think that some of the most controversial scandals in our country’s history have taken place only in the last decade. Corporate scandal is a hot media item, with the misbehavior of employees at all levels facing public scrutiny. Information on corporations and their corporate culture is more visible than ever as experts continue to place more and more importance on work-life balance, and satisfaction in the workplace remaining the driving force behind employee engagement. As technology and the ubiquity of accessible information continues to advance, private United States citizens are becoming more informed about the largest corporations in the nation, how their behavior effects their corporate footprint, and how their own consumerism can affect these corporations.
BP Oil Spil
There’s no better place to start than at the beginning. In April of 2010, the oil and gas conglomerate BP began the new decade with an oil spill so catastrophic that we’re still talking about the environmental impact ten years later. The corporate scandal also involved devastating loss. The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, which broke open the will, dumping between 2.5 and 4.2 million barrels of oil into the gulf before it could be capped once more. For thousands of miles, the oil slicks contributed to the deterioration of marine life and had cost the corporation in excess of $65 billion dollars before 2020. In an article published in June of 2010, Peter Fairly of MIT Technology stated, “A culture of tighter safety and more experienced regulators might have prevented the BP Deepwater Horizon leak.” Under the terms of a settlement, BP agreed to pay the Natural Resource Damage Asessment Trustees up to $8.8 billion for restoration work to rebuild the natural environment that was damaged by the spill.
Foxconn Suicides
Later in 2010, there was an alarming string of suicides at a plant run by Foxconn, a Chinese corporation that produces roughly 40% of the world’s consumer electronic components—technology that builds our smartphones, gaming consoles, and other forms of smart technology. These tragedies were covered heavily in American media as questions arose to the quality of labor conditions in these Chinese plants. In subsequent investigations, it was revealed that workers could be working 12-hour shifts, with less than a dollar (U.S.) in their pocket for food. While the suicides received a great deal of coverage, and had public relations repercussions for corporations that utilize Foxconn exports, there have been at least 8 additional suicides at the same factor have been reported since 2010.
FIFA Corruption
Few things are more universally loved across the globe than soccer, or football, as it’s known in the rest of the world. In May of 2015, millions of soccer fans were shaken by the FIFA corruption corporate scandal. The Department of Justice indicted the Federation Internationale de Football Association leadership on charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and money-laundering. The indictment outlined various instances of an excess of $15 million dollars in bribes taken by executives for preserving advertisement marketing rights for decades. The scandal lead to the resignation of President Sepp Blatter in June of 2015 after he managed to escape indictment. Millions of dollars in legal costs and loss of corporate sponsorship severely damaged the reputation of the organization, netting losses of $122.4 million.
Theranos & Elizabeth Holmes
The scandal surrounding the health technology company known as Theranos was a cluster 15 years in the making. Once again a corporate scandal that effected public health, both the executive and the corporation were villified in the media. Stemming from a fear of needles when she was a child, founder Elizabeth Holmes was seeking to develop a technology that would lead to higher accessibility of blood-testing throughout the world. Her device supposedly would be able to perform a smattering of biological tests from a single drop of blood. The Wall Street Journal published an expose in October of 2015, exposing more of the company’s deception and further implicating some of Holmes’ colleagues in the scandal. Holmes was charged with massive fraud in March 2018. Formerly thought of as a young genius, she is scheduled to stand trial in 2020, facing up to 20 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
Big Pharma & the Opioid Crisis
Corporate scandal is at it’s worst when it comes to public health. The ever-growing opioid crisis in the United States is hands down one of the most pervasive scandals of the last decade. In 2017 alone, there were over 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States. Of those overdose deaths, 67% came from an overdose of opioids. From the Midwest to the Northeast, opioid deaths spiked between 2016 and 2017. As of November 2019, six pharmaceutical companies were under federal investigation and were facing federal charges for their responsibility for the opioid crisis. Amongst other big pharma companies, Purdue Pharma reached settled for billions of dollars for communities in 23 states that were affected by their shipment of opioids, forcing the company to ultimately filing for bankruptcy. The settlement set major precedent as the first of it’s kind in our American legal system.
It’s important to remain very organized and transparent when conducting an internal investigation in order to protect the business or organization.
When conducting an internal investigation, it’s imperative that the investigation be comprehensive and impartial from the beginning. Depending on the size and resources of the company, this is not always possible. Corporate investigations, while necessary, can often be a monumental burden to a small business or organization. Many medium to small businesses/organizations do not have the budget to conduct a comprehensive, detailed investigation on an internal issue. This leaves them to their own devices in the pursuit of solving the problem. When there is no team in place to solve internal problems, workplace investigations tend to fall on the shoulders of Human Resources personnel. This means that in addition to their regularly scheduled duties, the HR representative must also embark on a deep dive into the internal complaint, covering all their bases with regards to the investigation. If even a small detail is overlooked in internal investigations, it can leave the corporation or organization open to wrongful termination lawsuits or other types of litigation.
Human resource employees are the salt of the earth within any business or organization. In many circumstances, they are the grease that propels the wheels of progress in internal processes. This means they constantly have multiple projects in-progress and always have a minimal level of supervision for the entire workforce. Factoring in the capacity for human error, mistakes are inevitable in an internal investigation. That’s why it’s imperative for human resource employees to have a comprehensive step-by-step plan when initiating internal investigations. While every investigation will be different and may require a different approach, many of the investigative beats follow the same pattern as outlined by the Society for Human Resource Management:
Conduct a comprehensive intake interview with
the complaining or initial witness, requesting the scaffold information for the
investigation, including the who, what, when, where, how, and why. It’s
important that the employee understand the need for discretion during an open
investigation into the complaint. This reminder for discretion must come with
the caveat denoting any confidentiality rules that would infringe upon an employee’s
rights to discuss their status of employment.
Once the intake interview is conducted, the
complaining witness and other eyewitnesses must put their statements in writing
to document this stage in the investigation.
Diffuse any flaring tensions within the case. The
more elevated the emotions, the more attention that factor of the investigation
requires. Even during an investigation into an open complaint, it’s important
that employees feel safe in their work environment. The workplace must be stabilized
and disciplinary action must be reserved until the investigator has the entire
picture.
Decide if the subject of the investigation—the individual
who is named in the complaint—needs to be placed on administrative leave or
allow voluntary leave during the investigation. It’s important that at all steps
of this process that any established no-retaliation policies be reinforced.
Identify what other resources are needed to
conduct this investigation. Regularly consult with in-house counsel regarding
the legality of the steps you are taking.
Based on the statements collected at intake,
identify the parties that still need to be interviewed and what questions will
be asked in that interview.
Interview the accused with the intent to find
the truth. Transparency is important at every stage of this investigation, so
provide detailed allegations from the complaining employee’s statements, and
allow the accused to provide comprehensive answers to the questions asked. Ask
for witnesses to their version of events. At the conclusion of that interview,
always ask if there’s anything else that the accused would like to add.
Re-interview subjects in the case as necessary
pending any new information or evidence.
Keep meticulous notes at all stages of the
investigation. Due to the possibility of litigation following the conclusion of
the investigation, it is imperative that transparency be maintained throughout.
Avoid editorializing in your notes and record only what you are told. Keep
secondary performance issues separate from the investigation.
Create a summary of your report based on all of
the evidence you’ve gathered and the witnesses you’ve spoken to. Resolve all
factual disputes first, moving on next to the emotional factors in the case.
Again, be sure to consult in-house counsel at all stages of the investigation. Determine
the best course of action at the conclusion of the investigation. Meticulously
document all disciplinary action following the conclusion. Remain alert for
forms of retaliation on behalf of all parties involved in the investigation.
If your business is ill-equipped to conduct an internal investigation, consider hiring a private investigator to find answers. Private investigators can have more flexibility than many other types of investigators, due to having an average case load of 3-4 cases at one time. Private investigators can also mitigate some of the costs of internal investigations by conducting a comprehensive investigation with minimal impact to the daily operations of a business or organization. Call Lauth Investigations International today for a free quote on our corporate investigation services. Or, if you’re seeking a long-term solution in improving your workplace culture, call for a free quote on our corporate culture audit program to improve your business from within. Call 317-951-1100 or find us online at www.lauthinveststg.wpengine.com
