Case Study: Conducting a Sensitive Investigation

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.

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 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.