The Cost of Getting it Wrong

To wrap up our series on selecting a workplace investigator, we want to spend some time on why it is important to effectively and competently conduct a workplace investigation the first time. 

Duh.  Because re-work is expensive.  But the cost is way more than just the second investigation.

Likely no one thinks it’s ideal to repeat a workplace investigation.  And yet, it happens more often than you may think.

When I was young, my dad used to routinely tell me his kid-version of a common business analysis:

It takes 5 times as much to do it wrong as to do it right.

First, there’s the time and money you spent doing it wrong the first time.

Second, there’s all the time and money you spent undoing your mistake.

Third is the time and money spent doing the first thing right.

Fourth and fifth are all the things you could have been doing to make money but couldn’t because you were messing around with steps two and three.

We all know it’s likely more expensive than that. But honestly, that’s just the straight-up time and money on the investigation process and possibly the litigation that follows.  That may not even be the biggest line item in your analysis.

Trust.  Consider that the complainant may have worked up the courage to report the complaint.  And then you bungle the investigation.  There goes trust.  And it’s not just the trust of participants.  Other employees and maybe stakeholders are watching too.  When people lose confidence that concerns will be handled fairly and competently, problems of all kinds can go undisclosed and fester.  People can also start to doubt your organization’s competency or credibility.  Eventually, these things will cost you.

Engagement.  After trust goes, engagement often follows.  An employee who no longer trusts the organization is unlikely to become or remain the “above and beyond” employee, even if they are capable of that elsewhere. 

Productivity and Performance.  When employees lack trust and engagement, productivity and performance declines.  Completing their work can start to feel like eating dry Shredded Wheat.  Very few of us are motivated by money alone.

Retention and recruitment.  The last bump on this staircase fall is turnover.  Existing employees leave or are exited, word spreads, and new ones are reluctant to join.  The costs add up quickly:  covering for vacant positions, recruiting, training, loss of corporate knowledge and skill, and potentially paying new employees more than the ones who left.  You may also have severance costs. 

Make no mistake, turnover is expensive.  Further, the consequences of these breakdowns can follow companies and leaders for a shockingly long time.  Rough math puts the cost of replacing an entry-level employee at 30-50% of their salary, while replacing senior leadership can be as high as 213%.  This is real money and the market seems to be going up, not down.

Don’t dismiss the risk of fallout. Don’t cheat yourself of a learning opportunity by minimizing employee’s reactions to mere “glumness” or dissatisfaction with the investigation results.  Workplace mental health can have profound consequences for your employees, their colleagues, the organization and beyond. 

The flip side has a better outlook.  If your organization finds itself in an investigation, how you handle it, regardless of the outcome, is an opportunity to build trust and prove your character as an organization.  This difficult experience can become a cornerstone for a more engaged and productive team.

Never waste a good crisis.

But also, please don’t take a crisis and make it worse.