Don’t let the door hit you on the…
An article in the Wall Street Journal today referenced exit interview statistics collated by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB). In 2008, the CEB reported that 42% of employees would not recommend their employer to others. In 2011, that number jumped to 76%.
“Big deal,” you say. Employees are being asked to work harder, and some of them are leaving. Disgruntled employees that are voting with their feet can’t harm your company, right? On the contrary! Let me share some thoughts.
The employees that are sharing this information during their exit interviews are being honest and forthright. How many employees choose not to answer questions truthfully as they exit a company? I would hazard a guess that a sizable percentage chooses not to bad-mouth their employer, no matter how disgruntled they may be.
If over 75% of employees that are leaving are disgruntled, what about the employees that remain? Surely some of the remaining employees are just as disgruntled as the ones that are leaving? The only difference is that they have chosen to stay—or they have no options outside of the company.
As soon as an employee becomes disgruntled, does he or she leave a company? Rarely. The anger and frustration normally fester and grow until the employee can no longer stomach working for a company that he or she hates. While the pressure builds and the resentment grows, it is realistic to assume that the employee’s performance will suffer.
All very interesting, but why include this in a blog about fraud?
Readers of this blog may recall my previous post where I discussed the “fraud triangle.” The triangle contains three elements: pressure, rationalization, and opportunity. Disgruntled employees don’t like working for their company. In fact, some may hate the company with a passion that’s normally reserved for mortal enemies. How hard do you think it is for them to rationalize that committing fraud is justified? Would committing fraud help them “get even” with their employer?
So, disgruntled employees have at least one component of the fraud triangle covered: rationalization. They also likely have the opportunity to commit fraud, as oversight and compliance efforts have been cut back in companies of all sizes. All that remains is a form of pressure to complete the triangle. That shouldn’t be too hard to find. Not many employees can claim to be better off today than they were five years ago.
Given my expertise, it is not surprising that I read the WSJ article and thought of the points raised above. What I hope you learn is that disgruntled employees leaving your company is not cause for celebration. It may be a symptom of a much bigger problem that might end up costing your company money. Lots of it. I hope that I am wrong, but history has a habit of repeating itself.
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