In a recent article, Emma Jacobs and Andrew Hill of the Financial Times discuss how leaders can re-evaluate their corporate culture and spot signs of "rot" that may illuminate conduct issues.
One source of early warnings could be the information companies already collect: data on sickness and staff turnover, engagement surveys, exit interviews, and whistleblower hotlines. However, the value of such data sources will only be realized when employees are made to feel that it is safe to speak up and that meaningful action will be taken with the information. "If you have no calls to your speak-up line, it's almost certainly not because you have no issues," says David Rodin, founder of ethics consultancy Principia.
Leaders may also analyze insights gained from company review aggregators, such as Glassdoor, or social media websites where employees may feel more comfortable speaking their minds anonymously.
And, when bad behavior is discovered, Leaders should not assume it was an isolated incident. "My general experience of business is that where there's one problem, there are usually others: your antennas are up and should be up," says Antony Jenkins, former Barclays chief executive who took over in 2012 following the Libor scandal.
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