Expert Advisory Case Studies

Global Compliance has developed ethics and compliance assessments or programs for more than 4,000 organizations around the world. Please click on one of the links below to read an example:

• Confidential Insight Case Study: Learn how we provided insight to a company embroiled in a high profile scandal so that the organization could begin building a culture of integrity.
• Industry Benchmarking Case Study: Learn how we created an industry-wide study group in order to help a client benchmark its ethics and compliance program.
• Risk Assessment Case Study: Learn how we identified the risks related to the expansion of a utility client and how the company could begin to address them.
• Program Assessment Case Study: Learn how we benchmarked a healthcare company’s Code of Conduct and formulated a plan to improve the Code itself and Code training.
• Culture Assessment Case Study: Learn how we conducted a study of a manufacturer’s ethics and compliance program and suggested ways to correct missteps and reinforce positives.
• Compliance Assessment Case Study: Learn how we helped a major global chemical company address problems with its Anti-Trust and FCPA programs.
• Program Structure Case Study: Learn how we worked with a large energy firm to identify gaps in its compliance program.
• Functional Integration Case Study: Learn how we worked with a global food company to integrate its ethics and corporate responsibility programs.
• Stakeholder Relations Case Study: Learn how we worked with a global apparel company to make it more responsive to the concerns of its socially responsible investment (SRI) community.
• Conducting a Sensitive Investigation Case Study: Learn how we worked with a small company to confidentially investigate alleged wrongdoing by a senior manager and then helped the company address the systemic problems that led to the situation.
• Due Diligence in an Acquisition Case Study: Learn how we worked with a health care company to ensure a successful integration of workforces during its merger with an acquisition.
• Case Study Library: For a complete list of Case Studies from Global Compliance, visit our Case Study Library.

The Challenge

The Board and senior management of a company facing a very high profile ethics scandal was struggling with how to right the ship.  Their goal was the development and embedding of a true culture of integrity throughout their organization.  Just silencing their vocal critics and the media was not enough--what they did needed to have traction and be sustainable.  And achieving this goal required true candor and trust in whomever they chose to help them.

The Solution

The client turned to Steve Priest, who leads the team of expert advisors at Global Compliance’s Ethical Leadership Group^TM (ELG), and whose reputation working with companies under a variety of difficult and sensitive situations is widely known.  As the Wall Street Journal has observed, Steve is “one of the most sought after consultants in keeping companies on the straight and narrow.”

The Result

With the help of several expert advisors from our in-house team at the Ethical Leadership Group, this company is building a comprehensive ethics and compliance strategy aimed at building a true culture of integrity.

The Challenge

A long-time client of ours in the Food Service Industry was frustrated by the lack of industry benchmarks. Their Board wanted to know where they stood vis-à-vis their peers. National studies did not meet the Board’s needs, nor were ad hoc efforts to benchmark with fellow ethics officers in the industry successful.

The Solution

To meet our client’s needs, our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group created an industry-wide study group. We contacted peer companies’ ethics officers and in collaboration with them, we created an extensive set of questions which provided the framework for in-depth interviews.

The Result

Based on the interviews, ELG produced a 100-plus page Report complete with comparative data and analysis and with specific recommendations for each company participating in the study.

The Challenge

A Utility company was planning for significant growth in its base load generation capacity. Regulatory requirements had led to the creation of extensive risk assessment processes, but the existing efforts were not adequately addressing reputational and ethics implications.

The Solution

As part of a broad-based assessment, our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) examined the company’s readiness for rapid expansion of its vendor base, the implications of leadership’s time commitment to the expansion projects, the impact of pressure on employees and employee perceptions during the time of change.

The Result

ELG helped the company identify specific problem areas in its policies, Code and training programs concerning vendor relations. We also helped leadership to better understand employee worries about change, the increasing pressure they were under and the need to redouble its efforts to encourage open communication especially among supervisors.

The Challenge

A healthcare company was concerned that its Code of Conduct was too legalistic and difficult to read. Though employees certified each year that they were in compliance with the Code and internal surveys indicated employees were familiar with its content, management suspected that the real truth was that it was largely ignored and viewed as irrelevant. The company was concerned that since the Code was its principal communications vehicle for ethics, its ineffectiveness was marginalizing the entire ethics and compliance effort.

The Solution

Our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) conducted a benchmarking review assessing the company’s Code in comparison with features of other industry best-practice (and worst practice) Codes. The resulting matrix suggested specific areas for improvement. In addition, ELG conducted interviews and focus groups with select employees representing functions who had expressed concern over the Code in the past. In conjunction with management, ELG participated in employee and management teams assigned to review and suggest improvements for policy areas including conflicts and gifts.

The Result

Based on the benchmarking, focus groups and the work of the employee and management teams, ELG drafted a new Code of Conduct and provided the company with specific additional steps to improve communications and training.

The Challenge

A high-tech manufacturer had a best practice program in place, but it was worried that employee morale and pressure to perform were creating an environment that undercut the ethics and compliance effort. In particular, management was concerned that downsizing and reorganizations had demoralized employees and that they had “disconnected from the company” and could no longer be counted on to protect company interests or to report wrongdoing.

The Solution

Our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) worked closely with management to select locations worldwide where we could meet with employees and senior management to gauge the impact of change and uncertainty on employee morale.

The Result

We identified specific actions that had been taken by HR and others over the previous year that had created pockets of dangerously low morale. But we also identified vestiges of pride, collegiality, a roll-up-the-sleeves practicality and a desire to participate in shaping the company’s future that was largely unexpected. Our Report outlined specific recommendations to correct the danger zones while at the same time redeploying ethics and compliance assets to engage employees and help build a positive culture that will not only enhance ethics but also serve as a strategic asset as the company looks to its future.

The Challenge

A major, global manufacturer with a best practice ethics and compliance program had identified several risk areas where it believed it had effective programs but where the risk of non-compliance carried a high potential for significant harm.

The Solution

In collaboration with management, our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) assessed the company’s Anti-Trust and FCPA programs. The assessments included a review of recent cases and the company’s internal response.

The Result

While the company’s overall efforts were found to be adequate and, in some ways exemplary, the risk exposure was determined to be high. While policies and processes had recently improved, employee perceptions and understanding lagged. In response a more targeted approach to compliance training and audits was recommended and specific implementation strategies were detailed.

The Challenge

“We have a problem”, explained the General Counsel of a large energy firm. “We thought we were a good company. We thought we had a decent compliance program. But in the past year we have had several problems that lead some of us to wonder if either of these beliefs is true. What can you do to help?”

The Solution

A quick review of the existing compliance program found many gaps. Our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) worked with the CEO and General Counsel to create an ethics and compliance structure appropriate for their business, then drafted charters and job responsibilities, and helped them select the best candidate for the position. Baseline assessments also found critical employee concerns that were addressed individually, and by making targeted changes in procedures and investments in training, communications, and discipline.

The Result

Employee understanding of and support of company standards and values have improved. More importantly, employee trust in the organization has increased markedly.

The Challenge

A global food company for whom we have done considerable ethics and compliance work over the years has sought guidance from our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) on how it might most effectively integrate its ethics efforts and its CR efforts. The functions are linked structurally in the organization, but the individual pieces – which work well in their individual roles – have not yet maximized the opportunities of seamless integration.

The Solution

ELG is bringing its ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility expertise to bear on helping this client develop systems and processes that will promote full functional integration between these far-flung groups within the client’s global organization. This involves examining culture, incentives, business drivers, and the total array of factors that go into understanding and managing large, complex, multinational and multifunctional organizations.

The Result

This is a work in progress, but the operative word is “progress”. The client has demonstrated a strong interest in making this work, and ELG’s ongoing efforts in support of this goal have clearly helped make a difference.

The Challenge

A global apparel company was looking for help in building an effective ethical sourcing program that was responsive to the needs of the business and sensitive to the concerns of its socially responsible investment (SRI) community.

The Solution

One of our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) worked closely with this client to develop a strategy of constructive engagement with one of the company’s most vocal and influential SRIs. The process included developing and improving the company’s own ethical sourcing processes, as well as participating in meetings with this shareholder group to listen, understand and respond to their concerns in a manner consistent with the broader business interests of the client--yet responsive to the concerns of the shareholders.

The Result

Relations between the client and the SRI have improved dramatically over the course of this process, which is ongoing. The investors still have concerns, which they express through constructive dialogue, and the client has been open and responsive to the engagement process. Such efforts are a journey rather than a destination, but all participants have taken great strides on this journey.

The Challenge

A small organization was confronting allegations that one of its most senior managers was violating the company’s ethics policies and Code of Conduct. An internal investigation would be problematic, given the position of this senior manager. The company’s board of directors wanted an outside and independent investigation, both to address any potential ethical concerns, and to ensure no one in the organization was above the company’s ethics standards.

The Solution

Our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) conducted a formal investigation into the alleged misconduct. This investigation was handled with the utmost discretion, and a full report was prepared for the board of directors.

The Result

The investigation revealed that, while the senior manager had indeed not fully complied with the company’s ethics standards, this was a symptom of a larger organizational problem which needed to be addressed. Subsequently, the company conducted a wide range of ethics activities aimed at explaining company standards to employees and managers, and redrafting portions of the ethics policies to be less ambiguous and more direct.

These actions helped the company create a better culture of integrity, rather than simply focusing on a single instance of misconduct.

The Challenge

A health care company was in the midst of a major acquisition. Their ethics program was well established. They were concerned that the acquired company’s exclusive focus on compliance could create integration problems. Furthermore, they were aware that employees at both companies were focused on issues of job security and that many were stressed by the uncertainty and perceived higher workloads. Senior management wanted to assess and manage the stress and anxiety, but they also wanted the integration to be finished as quickly as possible.

The Solution

To assess the ethical climate and employee perceptions,  our in-house expert advisors at the Ethical Leadership Group (ELG) we met with a range of employees covering every level – from senior executives to middle managers and supervisors to men and women who worked in the pharmacy operations. We conducted 26 interviews with senior executives and 48 focus groups at 14 separate sites, meeting with 422 employees.

The Result

We identified specific problem areas. Not surprisingly, change has an impact on employees, and in this case themes surfaced that needed to be addressed quickly before they created rifts that could undermine the success of the acquisition. For example employees commented that:

• The integration started fast and well, but now it seems little is going on, and we are not close to being integrated yet.
• We need to hear more from leadership about the business, plans, changes, and our future.
• We are anxious about whether we will have jobs once the integration is completed.
• We feel overworked and stressed out because it seems like the work is increasing while the headcounts are decreasing.
• The employees from both legacy companies felt that the “other company” has more influence.
• Once identified, these issues become part of the integration plan, and ultimately the acquisition was a success without significant employee problems.