Integrity violations can be wide-ranging and always raise a lot of issues within organisations. And a report of an integrity violation almost always comes unexpectedly. Sometimes, it may be a whistleblower who files a report, or you might receive an anonymous report. But signals of an integrity violation can also emerge from a routine audit. These can range from the selling of company confidential information to fraud in the administrative process.
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Since the #MeToo movement took off, we have also seen an increasing number of reports involving (sexual) harassment, bullying, discrimination or transgressive behaviour in the workplace—read more about that on this page. Hoffmann can help your organisation in many respects. If an incident has already occurred, we can conduct a thorough integrity investigation for you. If you wish to prevent integrity violations from happening, we offer a behavioural programme, and we can go one step further with our red teaming programme, with which we can test your organisation for integrity.
Our approach: how do integrity investigations work?
Step 1
We start by making an appointment with you for an intake meeting when you receive a report of an alleged integrity violation. During this interview, we discuss the report and the results of the preliminary investigation if you have already conducted one. If you start a preliminary investigation yourself, it is important to conduct the investigation as discreetly and carefully as possible. This will prevent you from unnecessarily harming people, which could complicate fact-finding at a later stage if the preliminary investigation was done carelessly.
Step 2
On the basis of this intake interview, we draw up a tailor-made plan of approach for the fact-finding investigation. Hoffmann fact-finding investigations are always objective; we carry out each one in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and with respect for the employees involved. This plan of action specifies the likely steps to be taken. These steps may include, for example, speaking to individual employees. Who these will be and for what purpose depends entirely on the type of investigation.
Conducting the right integrity investigation involves customisation, and the course of the investigation cannot always be predicted exactly in advance. We will discuss all the steps under consideration with you, the client, during the investigation.
Step 3
Hoffmann is available for you when any follow-up steps after an integrity investigation are necessary and desired. Experience has taught us that investigations, alongside satisfying their intended objective, often provide leads for tackling any vulnerabilities that have been brought to light. Read more in the next section. Our psychologists can provide aftercare by way of individual consultations with employees who may be experiencing any fallout linked to the investigation, such as the departure of a valued colleague.
Would you like to learn more about the benefits of integrity investigations?
Have you started to wonder how Hoffmann can help your organisation in the event of, for example, transgressive behaviour, be that racism, discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment? Then please do not hesitate to contact us without further obligation. Our specialists are at your service.
Our specialists would be pleased to assist you.
Or contact one of our consultants directly.
Preventing integrity violations
Is your organisation searching for a way to prevent integrity violations or other transgressive behaviour? Hoffmann believes that the early identification of risks of such behaviour can prevent a great deal of misery. Yet operating in a compliant manner does is not a stand-alone matter. It is part of the bigger picture of management, employees, processes, culture, norms and values. It is important that everyone throughout the organisation conducts themselves professionally, knows the rules, such as the code of conduct, and actually follows through on them. But how do you get all your employees on board when it comes to this desired behaviour?
Hoffmann has developed a behavioural model that is specifically designed to support you in changing behaviour to desired behaviour within your organisation. This behavioural programme is based on a well-known psychological theory that demonstrates that desired behaviour occurs when someone wants to do it (motivation), can do it (capacity) and has the chance to do it (opportunity). This theory forms the basis of our tailor-made services. At the heart of this is that we first look at what behaviour arises and why it occurs before moving on to exploring ways to improve it. The code of conduct or integrity policy within your organisation forms the starting point in this.
The aim of the behavioural model is to create an organisation in which employees abide by the rules, recognise the importance of controls, call each other to account when they see others not abiding by the rules and experience an organisational culture in which management leads by example. In short: an open corporate culture in which compliance is achieved.
Employees are involved in the approach from the very first moment. You can expect individual conversations with employees and a practical report with concrete advice. We also include workshops in which knowledge and behaviour are central. Where, for example, attention is paid to recognising transgressive behaviour and acknowledging the consequences of issues such as sexual harassment or discrimination in the workplace. We offer guidance that ranges from setting up policies to implementing themes in practice—practice in which desirable and principled behaviour form the basis of daily cooperation.
Would you like to know more?
Do you need advice on how to prevent integrity violations? You can contact us with no further obligation.
Our specialists are at your service.
Testing your integrity policy or code of conduct
Red teaming can be a means of assessing ethical behaviour. It offers opportunities to see how your employees behave in scenarios customised to the organisation. Red teaming is a method which entails using realistic scenarios to test an organisation and is often used to detect information security vulnerabilities. Hoffmann, however, can also use specific scenarios to test an organisation’s integrity culture.
Integrity policy or code of conduct
Many organisations have a code of conduct that sets out how people should conduct themselves. This may be a document that is signed upon joining the organisation, or there could be an integrity policy in place that employees know of, perhaps in the broader sense, but that is about it. Yet these documents form an important basis for establishing the desired employee conduct.
The integrity culture of the organisation is formed by people and their behaviour: Only jointly do they serve to build an organisation with integrity.
Our approach is tailor-made
Some organisations periodically discuss dilemmas or examples of desirable or undesirable behaviour in meetings. By addressing these issues, the culture of the organisation can be made more tangible. The next step is to measure what employees do in practice. The aim here is not to address employees individually, but to see how the integrity policy is translated into practice: where are things going well and what could, or should, be done better? This provides starting points for the organisation to address precisely these vulnerabilities.
We will work out a number of scenarios together with you. The starting points vary from one organisation to the next, depending on cultural issues. A simple example could be someone sending out sensitive information, with an email immediately afterwards saying that the previous email was not intended and asking people to delete it. What would your employees do? All scenarios involve customisation on the basis of wishes, requirements and risks. We are careful to avoid scenarios that deliberately provoke employees and, of course, everything is based on current laws and regulations.
The outcomes are translated into focal points for the organisation which can then be addressed. By discussing the examples and explaining what did not go well, you take the first steps to changing behaviour. It can also be important to find out why certain behaviour occurs in order to remove any barriers to exhibiting appropriate behaviour, and that brings you back to our behavioural programme as explained earlier on this page .
Would you like additional information?
Do you have questions, or are you interested in an integrity red teaming exercise?
If so, please do not hesitate to contact us without further obligation.
Our specialists would be pleased to assist you.
Or contact one of our consultants directly.
Contactformulier Integriteitsonderzoek