High turnover, legal problems, and reputation damage to a business can all follow from a toxic corporate culture. Companies who ignore workplace culture run long-term losses in the competitive corporate environment. Before they become crises, a proactive corporate culture audit can find problems. These audits give companies vital new perspectives on employee satisfaction, communication, and general office dynamics. Early problem addressing helps businesses to keep a good culture that lowers risks and promotes long-term success.

What is a Corporate Culture Audit?

An audit of corporate culture is a review of the values, policies, and actions defining the working environment of a corporation. It points up areas of strength and weakness as well as guides businesses toward better, more efficient workplaces.

The Purpose of a Culture Audit

A company culture audit aims to find problems possibly influencing the workplace. Direct observations, leadership reviews, and employee comments help companies to clearly grasp their own internal environment. Making wise decisions on corporate policies, practices, and strategies depends on this information.

Key Areas Assessed in a Corporate Culture Audit

Several important areas—including employee engagement, communication efficacy, leadership alignment, diversity and inclusivity, and the existence of toxic behaviors—are evaluated during a culture audit. Every one of these elements is quite important in deciding if the business creates a good or bad working atmosphere.

Lauth’s Approach to Corporate Culture Audits

Using a thorough strategy combining questionnaires, interviews, and direct observations to compile data, Lauth Investigations evaluates business cultures. This diverse approach helps companies to spot possible problems and apply sensible fixes. Lauth makes sure its audits give accurate, practical insights by concentrating on both qualitative and quantitative data.

Strategy 1: Identifying Toxic Behaviors Early on

Unprofessional behavior, bullying, and discrimination are among the toxic habits that could compromise the working environment of a corporation. Usually invisible at first, these problems can rapidly grow out of control and have serious repercussions.

The Hidden Impact of Toxicity

Negative habits can impair morale, irritate staff members, and cut output. If these problems go unaddressed, legal consequences and increased turnover rates could follow. The Work Institute’s 2024 research indicates that toxic behavior is usually a major contributor to major employee turnover that is avoidable.

Early Detection Through Audits

Corporate culture audits identify harmful practices before they become more prevalent. Employee comments help audits to find problems including harassment, bias, and exclusion. Early intervention helps stop these behaviors from spreading and doing long-term harm.

Addressing Toxicity Effectively

Once harmful habits are found, companies can act with corrections including training, mediation, or policy changes. Early address of these problems not only helps to avoid catastrophes but also raises employee satisfaction and lowers legal risks.

Strategy 2: Promoting Inclusivity and Diversity

Lack of inclusiveness could cause discontent, disengagement, and even accusations of discrimination. A good work culture depends on embracing diversity and building an inclusive atmosphere.

The Benefits of Diversity

According to McKinsey & Company’s 2024 research, different businesses are 35% more likely to outperform one another. A diverse staff draws top talent, promotes innovation, and improves problem-solving. It also guarantees that several points of view are taken into account, so improving the results of businesses.

Evaluating Inclusivity Through Audits

Corporate culture audits evaluate team dynamics, leadership diversity, and recruiting policies to gauge a company’s degree of inclusiveness. They point up places missing diversity and offer ideas for enhancements to foster a more inclusive surroundings. Policy adjustments, hiring campaigns, or staff resource groups could all fit here.

Fostering an Inclusive Environment

Making an inclusive atmosphere requires constant work. Companies may advance equality, lower prejudice, and foster a more friendly environment for every employee by filling in diversity and inclusiveness gaps. Improved engagement and retention follow from employees more likely to stay at businesses where they feel appreciated and valued.

Strategy 3: Strengthening Communication Channels

A good business culture depends on clear, efficient communication. Bad communication could cause misinterpretation, strife, and less cooperation.

The Impact of Communication on Productivity

Poor communication could cause misunderstanding, irritation, and lost possibilities. According to a 2024 Harvard Business Review poll, 86% of workers attribute significant corporate failures to inadequate communication. greater team chemistry, smoother processes, and more employee satisfaction follow from greater communication.

Assessing Communication Through Audits

Corporate culture audits assess the degree of firm information sharing. This includes examining departmental communication flow, leadership message clarity, and employee perceptions of their ability to freely voice ideas or issues. Bad communication could indicate issues including inadequate openness or poor leadership.

Improving Communication Systems

Once communication gaps are found, companies can put changes including more open platforms for debate, regular feedback sessions, and better internal messaging into action. Improving communication helps to build confidence, teamwork, and efficiency, therefore improving the output and involvement of the workforce.

Strategy 4: Enhancing Employee Engagement and Well-being

Productive, loyal, and help to create a good working environment engaged employees are. Employees who are disengaged are more likely to depart and might sour team morale.

The Importance of Engagement

The success of a company directly depends on employee involvement. According to Gallup’s 2024 survey, engaged workers are 17% more productive than their less engaged colleagues. increased motivation, better job satisfaction, and increased likelihood of long-term corporate retention characterize engaged employees.

Measuring Engagement Through Audits

By evaluating job satisfaction, work-life balance, and access to employee well-being services, culture audits assist to gauge degrees of involvement. Understanding the elements influencing engagement helps businesses to establish a more favorable atmosphere that motivates people to flourish.

Boosting Engagement and Well-being

Companies can use wellness programs, flexible working schedules, and chances for professional growth to improve involvement. Apart from raising employee satisfaction, these initiatives help to create a better and more efficient workplace.

Strategy 5: Aligning Leadership with Company Values

The shape of business culture is significantly influenced by leaders. When acts of executives contradict corporate ideals, employees may become confused, mistrustful, or disengaged.

The Role of Leadership in Culture

The direction of the corporate culture is set by its leaders. Organizations with aligned leadership teams report 22% higher employee satisfaction and 30% higher retention rates, claims the Center for Creative Leadership. Leadership has to always support the principles they demand from their staff and act accordingly in their own decisions.

Examining Leadership Alignment with Audits

A corporate culture audit determines whether the core values of the business match the leadership. This includes assessing leaders’ communication, decision-making, and team supporting behavior. Employee comments and observations of leadership style help one find misalignment.

Ensuring Leadership Development

When misalignment is discovered, businesses can start leadership development and training initiatives to strengthen corporate values and raise the caliber of its leaders. Making sure executives complement the goals of the business builds confidence, raises employee satisfaction, and boosts the general culture.

Conclusion

Preventing workplace problems and promoting a favorable, efficient atmosphere depend on corporate culture audits. Companies can build an environment where staff members feel appreciated and involved by spotting harmful practices, supporting diversity, improving communication, and guaranteeing alignment of leadership. Early problem addressing made possible by audits helps companies raise staff retention, satisfaction, and general performance. Companies that give their culture top priority are more likely to survive and stay out of an expensive crisis in the competitive market of today.

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What Are Insider Threats?

Insider threats are actions taken by people inside a company that can harm the business. These people can be employees, contractors, or even business partners. Sometimes, they do these harmful things on purpose. Other times, they do it by accident, but the results can be just as damaging.

For example, a worker might accidentally share a company’s secret information with the wrong person. In another case, an employee might purposely steal customer data to sell it to someone else. Both of these are insider threats, even though one was an accident and the other was on purpose.

Why Are Insider Threats Dangerous?

Insider threats are dangerous because the people inside a company already have access to important information. They know the company’s secrets, systems, and weaknesses. Because of this, they can cause more harm than someone from the outside.

Imagine if a worker who knows all the passwords to the company’s computer system decided to share them with someone else. This could allow a hacker to get into the company’s system and steal important data. Because the worker had inside access, the hacker’s job becomes much easier.

Common Types of Insider Threats

There are different types of insider threats, and it’s important to understand each one so companies can protect themselves.

1. Malicious Insiders: These are people who intentionally want to harm the company. They might be upset with their job, want revenge, or want to make money by selling company secrets. These insiders are very dangerous because they know the company well and can plan their attacks carefully.
2. Careless Insiders: Sometimes, insiders do not mean to cause harm, but they do so by being careless. For example, an employee might accidentally click on a phishing email that gives hackers access to the company’s data. Even though the employee did not mean to do harm, the results can be just as bad as if they did.
3. Third-Party Insiders: These are people who work with the company but are not direct employees. For example, a contractor might have access to the company’s systems and accidentally leak important information. Because they are not full-time employees, they might not follow the same security rules, making them a potential threat.

How Corporate Investigations Help?

Corporate investigations are a way for companies to protect themselves from insider threats. These investigations involve looking closely at what is happening inside the company to find any problems or risks.

Investigators might look at things like emails, computer files, and even security camera footage. They do this to find out if anyone is doing something that could harm the company. If they find a problem, they can work to fix it before it gets worse.

Steps in a Corporate Investigation

There are several steps involved in a corporate investigation. These steps help ensure that the investigation is thorough and finds any potential insider threats.

1. Identifying the Problem: The first step is to figure out what the problem is. This could be a missing file, strange behavior from an employee, or a security breach. Identifying the problem early is important because it allows the investigation to focus on the right areas.
2. Gathering Evidence: After identifying the problem, the next step is to gather evidence. This could include looking at emails, checking computer logs, and interviewing employees. The goal is to find proof of what is happening so that the company can take action.
3. Analyzing the Evidence: Once the evidence is gathered, it needs to be analyzed. This means looking closely at the data to find patterns or signs of wrongdoing. For example, if an employee is sending a lot of emails to a competitor, this could be a sign that they are leaking information.
4. Taking Action: After the evidence has been analyzed, the company can take action. This might mean firing an employee, changing security protocols, or even involving law enforcement if the situation is serious. The goal is to stop the insider threat before it can cause more harm.
5. Preventing Future Threats: The final step is to put measures in place to prevent future insider threats. This could include better training for employees, stronger security systems, or regular checks to ensure everything is running smoothly.

The Role of Technology in Corporate Investigations

Technology plays a big role in corporate investigations. With the help of advanced tools, companies can monitor their systems more closely and detect insider threats more quickly.

For example, many companies use software that can track employee activity on company computers. This software can alert the company if an employee is doing something suspicious, like trying to access files they shouldn’t. This early warning system can help prevent insider threats before they cause any damage.

Case Studies: Real-Life Examples of Insider Threats

To understand how serious insider threats can be, let’s look at some real-life examples.

1. The Edward Snowden Case: Edward Snowden was a contractor for the U.S. government who leaked classified information. He had access to important files and used that access to share secrets with the public. This case shows how dangerous insider threats can be when someone with inside knowledge decides to act against the organization.
2. The Coca-Cola Recipe Theft Attempt: In 2006, an employee at Coca-Cola tried to steal the secret recipe for Coca-Cola and sell it to Pepsi. Pepsi reported the attempt to Coca-Cola, and the employee was caught. This case highlights how insider threats can be driven by greed and how they can be stopped with the right measures in place.
3. Target Data Breach: In 2013, hackers stole credit card information from millions of Target customers. The hackers gained access to Target’s systems through a third-party contractor. This case shows how third-party insiders can pose a threat, even if they do not work directly for the company.

Best Practices for Preventing Insider Threats

Preventing insider threats requires a proactive approach. Here are some best practices that companies can follow to protect themselves:

1. Conduct Regular Employee Training: Employees should be trained on how to recognize and avoid insider threats. This includes being aware of phishing emails, securing their workstations, and following company security policies.
2. Implement Strong Access Controls: Not everyone in the company needs access to all information. By limiting access to only those who need it, companies can reduce the risk of insider threats.
3. Monitor Employee Activity: Regularly monitoring employee activity can help catch suspicious behavior early. This could include checking email usage, reviewing access logs, and keeping an eye on file transfers.
4. Use Technology Wisely: Implementing the right technology can help companies detect and prevent insider threats. This could include security software, encryption tools, and regular system audits.
5. Foster a Positive Work Environment: A happy and engaged workforce is less likely to become a source of insider threats. Companies should work to create a positive work environment where employees feel valued and heard.

Insider threats are a serious risk for any company. Because these threats come from within, they can be more difficult to detect and prevent. However, with the right strategies, including corporate investigations, companies can protect themselves. By being proactive, using technology, and following best practices, businesses can reduce the risk of insider threats and keep their operations safe.If you suspect an insider threat or need help with a corporate investigation, contact Lauth Investigations International today.

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Understanding Corporate Audit Culture

Corporate audit culture encompasses the values, attitudes, and practices related to internal and external auditing within an organization. It reflects how seriously an organization takes monitoring and evaluating its financial and operational activities. A strong audit culture promotes ethical behavior, risk management, and continuous improvement, thereby contributing to the organization’s overall success and sustainability.

Critical Strategies for Building a Robust Audit Culture

Establish a Clear Audit Charter

A clear and comprehensive audit charter is the foundation of a robust audit culture. The charter should define the scope, authority, and responsibilities of the audit function and outline the audit process, including planning, execution, reporting, and follow-up. A well-defined charter ensures the audit function operates independently and objectively, providing unbiased insights and recommendations.

Foster Top Management Support

Strong support from top management is crucial for the success of the audit function. Senior leaders should actively promote the importance of auditing and set a tone of accountability and transparency. They should allocate sufficient resources to the audit function, including budget, personnel, and technology. Top management should also demonstrate a commitment to addressing audit findings and implementing recommended improvements.

Implement Comprehensive Risk Management Practices

Effective risk management is integral to a robust audit culture. Organizations should establish a risk management framework that identifies, assesses, and mitigates potential risks. This framework should be integrated into the audit process, ensuring that audits focus on high-risk areas. Regular risk assessments and updates help auditors stay informed about emerging risks and adjust their audit plans accordingly.

Ensure Independence and Objectivity

The independence and objectivity of the audit function are critical for its effectiveness. Auditors should be free to perform their duties without undue influence from management or other stakeholders. This independence can be reinforced by reporting lines, where the audit function reports directly to the board of directors or an audit committee. Objectivity can be maintained by adhering to professional standards and ethical guidelines.

Promote Continuous Professional Development

Continuous professional development is essential for maintaining auditors’ competence and expertise. Organizations should invest in regular training and development programs for their audit staff. This training should cover the latest auditing standards, methodologies, and technologies. Encouraging auditors to obtain professional certifications, such as Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) or Certified Public Accountant (CPA), can also enhance their skills and credibility.

Leverage Technology and Data Analytics

Technology and data analytics can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process. Advanced audit software and data analytics tools enable auditors to analyze large volumes of data quickly and accurately. These tools can help identify trends, anomalies, and potential risks that may not be evident through traditional audit methods. By leveraging technology, organizations can improve the accuracy and scope of their audits.

Encourage Open Communication and Collaboration

Open communication and collaboration are vital for a thriving audit culture. Auditors should communicate regularly with management and other stakeholders to inform them about the audit process and findings. Collaborative efforts between the audit function and other departments can lead to more comprehensive and effective audits. Creating an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing information and raising concerns contributes to a positive audit culture.

Implement a Robust Follow-Up Process

A robust follow-up process ensures that audit findings and recommendations are promptly and effectively addressed. Organizations should establish clear procedures for tracking and monitoring the implementation of audit recommendations. Regular follow-up audits can verify someone took corrective actions, to assess their effectiveness. This process helps ensure continuous improvement and accountability.

Maintain a Focus on Ethical Behavior and Integrity

Ethical behavior and integrity are cornerstones of a robust audit culture. Organizations should promote a strong ethical culture by establishing and enforcing a code of conduct. This code should outline the expected ethical standards for all employees, including auditors. Regular training on moral behavior and the importance of integrity in auditing can reinforce these values. Encouraging a whistleblower program can also help identify and address unethical behavior.

Evaluate and Enhance Audit Performance

Continuous evaluation and enhancement of audit performance are crucial for maintaining a robust audit culture. Organizations should regularly assess the effectiveness of their audit function through internal and external reviews. These reviews can identify areas for improvement and provide valuable feedback. Organizations enhance their audit processes and outcomes by implementing best practices and staying updated with industry trends.

Conclusion

Building a robust corporate audit culture requires a strategic and proactive approach. Organizations can create an effective audit culture by establishing a clear audit charter, fostering top management support, implementing comprehensive risk management practices, ensuring independence and objectivity, promoting continuous professional development, leveraging technology, encouraging open communication, implementing a robust follow-up process, maintaining a focus on ethical behavior, and continuously evaluating audit performance. This culture ensures compliance and accountability and contributes to the organization’s success and sustainability.

Keep updated with our articles at Lauth, and be informed of the auditing culture.

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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.

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No matter their talent or oversight, no business owner or CEO has eyes in the back of their head. Indeed, it is often the case that corporate culture—also known as workplace culture or organisational culture—goes sour before leadership notice the slide. Big problems like employee theft, workplace bullying, sexual harassment, fraud, non-compete violations, and all sorts of other unpleasantries can run rampant under the radar. That’s when it’s time to trigger a corporate culture investigation.

For anyone experiencing an escalation of grievances among their team, bringing in the workplace culture cavalry may be the best possible option. When internal investigations don’t seem to be improving the situation, an overarching corporate culture audit will uniquely illuminate all the real root causes that currently remain in the shadows.

In some instances, corporate entities incorporate an organisational culture audit into their standard practices in order to ensure that pervasive rot of this kind never gets the chance to take hold. However, for those unversed in the value of the corporate culture investigation, read on to discover red flags that should make contacting a workplace culture investigator the next thing on your to-do list

1. Your Team and Leadership Keep Passing the Buck

Accountability is a strong barometer of workplace culture, and when attitudes have devolved to finger-pointing, shrugs, and deflection, you can be certain that corporate culture services are required. When people are passionate about what they’re doing and believe in the values that drive their everyday role, they rarely hesitate to step up to the plate. A corporate culture investigator will be able to map out the issues behind negative patterns, and plot a clear path towards reinvigorating your team’s accountability.

2. Productivity Has Bottomed Out

A drop in productivity and an increase in passing the buck often go hand in hand, but this isn’t always the case. When productivity slows to a snail’s pace, it may be a sign that employees are unhappy, a hostile environment has developed, or communication is not flowing as it should. A workplace culture audit will reveal the source of the down-shift before helping your team get back up to speed.

3. Employees Have Lost Their Moral Compass

Strong employee ethics are a core element of a thriving corporate culture, and when evidence suggests that morality has taken a tumble, it likely means that your team is in the grips of an identity crisis. Fixing this issue requires not only reviewing mission statements and values, but also utilising an organisational culture assessment to see how those ideas are playing out day-to-day. Taking this work further, a corporate culture ethics audit will also reveal if any members of your workforce are behaving nefariously, so you can put a stop to damage being done from the inside.

4. Workforce Diversity Has Diminished and Cliques Are Taking Hold

Modern companies are increasingly clued up on the value of diversity when it comes to building game-changing brands. Conversely, when homogeneity sets in, you can be certain that your company’s potential is being stunted. A lack of diversity in terms of race, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation should always be considered a culture audit red flag. A clique mentality will degrade morale, while blinkered approaches to personnel will rob you of vital talent and innovation. 

5. Returns On Your HR Investments Have Stalled

If you keep throwing resources at recruitment, training, and retention, but aren’t seeing the results you desire, then its time to answer some important organizational culture assessment questions. Leadership often don’t realize that they’ve fallen into a groove of poor recruitment, promotion, and training practices, and are actually perpetuating their own disappointment. A corporate culture audit will examine and evaluate these processes, and can even be expanded with corporate background checks.

6. You Can Cut the Tension With a Knife

The idea that working under extreme pressure is valuable has happily long been debunked. Of course, a little healthy adrenaline can be exciting in the workplace, but the balance must always remain tipped away from the perils of workplace burnout. To keep your team firing on all cylinders, it is important to shine a light on the origins of workplace tensions. A corporate culture audit will help you right the ship before it runs aground.

7. Resolving Workplace Problems Has Begun to Feel Like a Game of Whack-A-Mole

Disciplinary procedures, underperformance records, harassment complaints forms, internal corporate investigations: are these pieces of paper beginning to give you a Ground Hog Day vibe? If you’re stuck in a holding pattern, throwing resources at reoccurring issues and trying to patch up the holes made by profits lost along the way, it’s definitely time to make a change. 
Does any of that sound familiar? If the answer is yes, then it’s time to change the record. Comprehensive corporate culture investigation provides a wide-angle view of why businesses can’t escape their current groove. More importantly, workplace culture services also aid in building a strategy to step out of that pattern once and for all, uniting teams and driving productivity as never before. Discover more about Corporate Culture Audits from Lauth Investigations, or contact our team directly to discuss your organization’s unique cultural needs.

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How much is employee burnout costing your business? In an era that sees many employees wear their weekly overtime and success metrics as badges of honor, keeping your team on an even keel has become a delicate dance. Burnout as a concept has certainly entered the collective lexicon as something that none of us want for ourselves, but increasingly, employers are looking to quantify how much team members going over the edge costs them at large. And what does the data tell us? Well, it paints a clear picture that preventing burnout in employees is key to holding productivity high, improving turnover, bolstering corporate culture, and so much more.

So, how much can a few frazzled employees really be costing you? Well, research indicates that burnout is at epidemic levels in the United States, leading to almost 120,000 deaths and $190 billion dollars in costs each year. Getting a little more specific, data from Gallup tells us that the burned-out employee under your radar is 2.6 times as likely to be actively looking for work elsewhere, and is 63% more likely to take a sick day in the meanwhile.

If runaway turnover rates are giving you a headache, then it’s time for a Corporate Culture Audit so you can get to the bottom of the issue—because these kinds of operational and ideological missteps can steer a course for expensive rapid-fire turnover and escalating losses.

Defining Burnout and Improving Turnover

In the name of preventing burnout in employees, it helps to understand the nature of the beast. Conveniently, this isn’t something we have to do for ourselves, because the World Health Organization has already done it for us. They classify employee burnout as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” and list its symptoms as:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings negative towards one’s career
• reduced professional productivity

When the WHO take the time to define something, then we know its a widespread public health problem, which means it’s bound to be impacting every facet of the businesses who fail to address it. What’s worse is that burnout can become contagious, spreading through an organization like a rabid infection when the driving factors are not pinpointed and stamped out. So, what lies at the root of this worrying sign of corporate culture gone astray?

Pinpointing The Causes of Burnout and High Turnover

The most common causes of employee burnout include poor direction, support, and feedback from leadership; unrealistic performance pressures; eroded culture; inefficient operational practices; and work overload. All too often, employee burnout is an entirely unnecessary impact of poor communication, workplace silos, strategic flaws, or a festering toxic corporate culture. The good news is that all of these things can be easily addressed once identified.

The key to uncovering the factors at play is a comprehensive overview, and the best route to achieving that is a Corporate Culture Audit. If you need more convincing, it’s handy to note that more than three-quarters of American workers are being negatively impacted by workplace stress. Armed with that knowledge, you’ll know that elevating your team out of that pool will give you quite the competitive edge.

Our expert corporate investigators are always ready to deploy, outfitted with just the skill set required to bring problematic permeating factors to the forefront. Their role is to help your organization lay out a clear path ahead. One that includes preventing burnout in employees, improving turnover, boosting performance, and more. If you’re ready to eliminate the beast once and for all—improving the longevity of your workforce in the process—then our team is waiting to discuss how they can assist.

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If your enterprise or organization is riddled with issues like employee theft, sexual harassment, hostility, or fraud—and internal corporate investigations aren’t throwing up a bean—then it’s pretty clear that you’re going to have to call in the corporate private investigations cavalry. But, what if if you haven’t spotted any obvious warning signs but nothing is going as smoothly as it should? That’s where a corporate culture audit can come in handy.

Sometimes, the signs that corporate culture has slid sideways are glaringly obvious, but at others, they can be a little more demure. If you know that your business is not meeting its true potential, a corporate culture audit is just the solution for the job. This proactive and comprehensive assessment offers up a health check for all areas of your businesses, providing evidence-based strategies that will help you turn the corner once and for all. If this has piqued your interest, then lets dig a little deeper. Read on for seven indicators that you should take as a sign that urgent action is needed.

1. Pervasive Problems Have Become a Broken Record

If the same old loss reports, harassment complaints forms, or underperformance records just keep on sliding across your desk, then it’s time to raise the alarm. Ask yourself: Have you been pouring resources into internal corporate investigations and disciplinary actions, or perhaps sucking up holes left by minor but repeating corporate theft?

Either way, the nature of the problem—be it small or large—is fundamentally insignificant. Whether rooted with internal processes or personnel, until you get to the source of the pattern and address it, the cycle will not be broken. In contrast, when corporate culture is corrected, operations and employees alike can begin to truly flourish.

2. Accountability Has Fallen Out of Your Team’s Vocabulary

If your workplace meetings and exchanges tend to tumble into a charade of shrugging and finger-pointing, you can be certain that corporate culture has grown sickly. Engaged, happy employees within a healthy workplace environment are far more likely to step up and take responsibility for their actions. When everyone seems more interested in deflecting accountability, it comes with the cost of slumping productivity, and wasted time on all levels.

Particularly perilous, when leadership is behaving badly a mindset of “If the boss is doing this, it must be okay.” sets in. Grappling with executives and leaders who aren’t holding themselves accountable can be particularly challenging for internal corporate investigations, but an external investigator is perfectly poised to make impartial assessments, and suggest effective remedial options.

3. A Contagious Form of Apathy Has Struck

We all have our better days and our worst days in terms of productivity, but when activities have mysteriously slowed to a snails pace office-wide, you can be certain that a hidden cause awaits discovery. A healthy corporate culture shines with engagement, elevating the experience of both employees and customers. If your team instead exude a vibe of sapped energy and drained morale, then whatever lies behind it needs to be identified and neutralized before your profits and reputation take a hit.

4. The Employee Ethics Compass is Spinning

When we talk about employee ethics, we mean something universally shared rather than the cumulation of individual moral stances. It’s down to companies and organizations to establish a clear framework of values that employees can get on board with. This means more than talking the talk—the walk has to be walked too.

If employee ethics have lost their clarity, your team are likely to exhibit signs of an identity crisis—with cohesive productivity paying the ultimate price. One of the elements tackled by a corporate culture audit is assessing collective understanding of and quality of mission statements and values. From there, worthy common goals and a shared sense of purpose can be established.

5. Your Workforce is Lacking in Diversity

When it comes to corporate culture, one of the biggest red flags to be alert to is a lack of diversity in the workforce. What’s more, allowing homogeneity in terms of race, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation to become the status quo means actively stunting your organization’s ability to develop and grow.

Statistics tell us that the most common version of this picture is cisgender, straight, white men in leadership roles—recruiting, promoting, and mentoring others who tick the same boxes. However, a rut in terms of diversity can take many forms, and all are equally limiting. Employees who are able to bring a variety of experiences and perspectives to their team provide the strongest path towards innovation, evolution, and staying ahead of the competition. Not something to let slide!

6. Employees Are Working in a Pressure-Cooker Atmosphere

It’s true that the capacity to work under pressure is a prerequisite for plenty of job roles. However, all forms of baked-in stress needs to be effectively counter-balanced to avoid workforce burnout. Employees who are running on empty will not only lose engagement, but they may also begin to fall into a mentality that raises risk of corporate theft, misconduct, workplace bullying, or even white collar crime.

Employers who safeguard their employees’ wellbeing—harnessing workplace support, benefits, paid-time-off, and vacations—are more often than not rewarded with a team that can fire on all cylinders whenever required. Specialist corporate investigations can help to highlight an impending burnout that hasn’t been spotted by leadership, before major damage is done.

7. Poor Investments in People Keep Sending You Back to the Drawing Board

All too often, leadership can be entirely unaware that they are stuck repeating bad recruitment and promotion practices. Inescapably, investing in the wrong people is always a huge drain on resources—as the hiring, on-boarding, and training stages are repeated again and again.

Muddying the water further when individuals don’t meet expectations, focus frequently remains solely on retention strategies. While this is an important part of forging a strong corporate culture, investing in the right people from the get-go is also crucial if terminations and turn-over are going to be brought into line. In this area, a corporate culture audit may extend from examining recruitment and promotion policies into carrying out corporate background checks.

Corporate culture audits are a fantastic way to gain comprehensive insight into the health-status of your business—something that is often impossible to achieve from within. The results of our investigations will allow us to provide expert guidance on how to bolster the wellbeing of every aspect of your business. With a trusted corporate investigation specialist on hand, you can also be confident that investigations can be scaled as necessary, for impactive and cost-effective results. Learn more about Corporate Culture Audits from Lauth Investigations, or contact our team today for a free quote.

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When it comes to your business, you don’t know what you don’t know. Successful corporations are more than their bottom line, and corporations must be conscious of all their internal operations to ensure they’re getting their maximum output or profit. Leadership must be vigilant in seeking problems out in their organization to ensure there are no leaks in the bottom line. That’s why more executives are opting for seasonal corporate culture audits to identify corporate weaknesses.

Weakness is a subjective word, but definitively, we’re talking about structural or personnel weaknesses that contribute to weekly disruptions within the corporations. These disruptions can come in many forms, including employee misconduct, theft of trade secrets, external theft, and worker’s compensation fraud. Whatever the problem, a comprehensive corporate culture audit can serve as a net to catch these unseen problems. Purveyors of corporate culture audits can range from corporate intelligence firms to independent private investigators, but regardless of the size of the operation, diverse experience in corporate investigations is key. After all, the investigator must know what they’re looking for in order to identify corporate weaknesses.

Think of a corporate culture audit like a medical checkup for your business or corporation. Just like a medical checkup, a private investigator proverbially acts as a physician routinely looking for problems. Just like a physical, a private investigator can identify corporate weaknesses that the “patient,” or client, did not previously know existed. In this way, leadership can stay on top of things and eliminate any internal problems. The most pervasive corporate crises are likely to fly under the radar, with the perpetrator(s) making competent attempts to cover their tracks. Unfortunately, this means that the problem can go undetected until irreversible damage is already done, not unlike a debilitating disease that has gone untreated.

One of the greatest examples of these undetected risks is white collar crime. When it comes to misconduct, any official action will inevitably cross an executive’s desk. Because of their level of access and oversight into all company matters, it’s frighteningly simple for an executive to cover their own tracks in an ongoing pattern of misconduct. In the case of an independent private investigator, they can easily infiltrate a business and place themselves in a strategic position where they can observe and document the behavior of all employees without being detected. This preserves the integrity of the investigation and ensures that the executive cannot suddenly destroy all of the evidence. One of the most common is embezzlement, or other forms of financial fraud within the corporate structure. Hiring an investigator to complete a corporate culture audit not only buys oversight, but objective intelligence-gathering. When an investigator attempts to identify corporate weaknesses, they do it with an independent an objective point of view. This ensure that no stone will remain unturned, and that all results of the investigation are subject to only the highest level of scrutiny in any subsequent legal action against the corporation.

If your corporate needs a corporate culture audit, call Lauth Investigations International today at 317-951-1100 for a free quote on our corporate culture audit services. Our team of investigators is staffed by former military and law enforcement personnel, and we carry a glowing A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Call Lauth today to learn how we can identify corporate weaknesses with a corporate culture audit.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world in many significant ways, but none so illuminating as how the workforce views capitalism and corporate culture. At the onset of the pandemic, most businesses were forced to cease onsite operations in order to comply with the stay-at-home order. While some employees were furloughed due to the changed economic landscape, other employees had their positions transitioned to some form of telecommunication—zoom calls, chat boxes, and email inboxes that have become impossible to clean out. Everything has changed, which has left some working people wondering why working from home is an impossibility in an age where it can help change a corporation’s culture.

Working from home can give an employee a better sense of work-life balance. Everyone who has worked a full-time job has at one time or another craved a greater work-life balance in order to maintain their health and happiness. Many Americans across all industries and tax brackets have expressed some desire to work less for a myriad of reasons. Employees who have never had flexibility in their jobs before are enjoying the flexibility of working from the comfort of their homes. While this is not comforting to all employees, especially ones with children who are also in the home and likely involved in virtual learning, the sudden cushion of their own couch underneath them while working from home makes them wonder why this was never possible before.

Corporate culture is the manifestation of the relationship between leadership and their employees. It is sometimes referred to as organizational culture. It concerns how policies and communication from the top of a corporation can directly influence the level of employee engagement and satisfaction at multiple levels of an organization. When a company’s management does not show initiative to improve operations surrounding these types of complaints, it can create a culture of silence & resentment within the workforce. Healthy corporate culture creates a cycle of satisfaction and productivity that both benefits the bottom line and improves employee engagement for a balanced, stream of operations.

The mandate of working from home has placed some companies on notice, as the situation has exacerbated the stress of many in an already turbulent time. As work and life and work continue to pass over each other, braiding themselves into context with one another, employees are starting to expect more care from their employers were regards to their corporate culture.

There will always be businesses and business models that cannot support telecommuting as a way of day-to-day operations. Studies have shown that separating work space from living space, the routine of commute and workday operations, the continued face-to-face contact with other employees and how it impacts daily output. Not to mention that every corporation and team is unique. Every work environment is a complex eco-system in its own right—internal structure, policies, how those policies are enforced, leadership, the personalities of all interacting employees—all of these factors creating unique professional experiences. Working from home continues to recontextualize life for working people, and leadership must use this open window to start investing in their corporate culture audit.

Think of a corporate culture audit like a checkup for your business. An investigator comes into the workplace, interviews employees, reviews daily operations and polices, and how those items are enforced. The investigator looks at all of these factors and how they effect the cycle of corporate culture. The investigator then provides leadership with methods to improve their corporate culture by investing in the happiness of their employees.

If you find your business is in need of a corporate culture audit, call Lauth Investigations International today for a free quote on our corporate culture audit services. Our corporate culture audit can be customized to fit businesses of all sizes and needs. Our private investigators are made up of former military and law enforcement personnel and we carry an outstanding A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Call 317-951-1100, or visit us online at lauthinveststg.wpengine.com.

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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.

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