Recognizing misconduct issues within your organization can be challenging. However, it is vital to protect both the health and safety of employees and the overall success of the organization. While a healthy workplace culture emanates from the top down, misconduct incidents are often managed by human resource departments that oversee all employee and personnel issues.
According to Gartner, 60% of organizational leaders are developing their HR teams’ effectiveness as a part of their strategy to improve the future of work in 2024, including uncovering misconduct. With 45% of employees feeling burned out and the cost of turnover continuing to increase, HR’s efforts to improve the employee experience has never been more important.
With 58% of employees reporting misconduct behavior, according to SHRM, immense pressure is put on HR leaders to resolve issues and mitigate potentially costly risks. As such, it’s critical that organizations can clearly identify if they have a misconduct issue and then appropriately investigate and resolve the problem.
TYPES OF MISCONDUCT ISSUES
In addition to harassment and discrimination, some common workplace misconduct investigations include theft and fraud, violence, and general forms of employee misconduct such as violation of organizational procedures, unprofessional behavior, or insubordination.
While it may be easy to think that workplace misconduct is rare, a recent study found that 75% of employees have witnessed workplace bullying and that 20% of American workers have been victims of some form of workplace bullying.
IDENTIFYING MISCONDUCT WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Identifying misconduct can be challenging, as reporting rates are often low, due to fears of retaliation from managers or other team members. In addition, certain risk factors can make it difficult for organizations to root out the cause of toxicity, preventing organizations from finding real solutions. As such, it’s important to provide a third-party, unbiased solution for reporting that also provides real-time data and analytics for full transparency into the cultural health of an organization.
With Work Shield, employees have 24/7 access to report incidents of misconduct anonymously or non-anonymously through a multi-channel platform. Once an incident is reported, Work Shield assesses the situation to determine the appropriate course of action. If an investigation is warranted, dedicated investigators conduct a thorough, impartial, and prompt investigation. Following the investigation, a recommended path to resolution is provided. In addition to handling specific incidents, Work Shield offers organizations real-time data and analytics on workplace misconduct, allowing leadership to identify trends and “hotspot” locations. This valuable insight helps organizations make informed decisions and mitigate financial, reputational, and legal risks.
Utilizing Work Shield saves organizations time, money, and internal resources. It also helps employees know that their voices will be heard when misconduct occurs, fostering a compliant and ethical workplace culture.
