I TRUSTED HER

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A disgusted business owner from the admirable state of Florida called me the other day to share startling news about his company’s management team. Overtly successful, the company has annual revenue in excess of $8,000,000, with exemplary gross margin and net profit metrics, enveloped by a company culture firmly established on trust, accountability, and business ethics.

Overtly.

The business owner was recently informed of some questionable actions taken by his Human Resources Manager. In this company, the Human Resources Manager had multiple functional responsibilities: standard human resources tasks (e.g., staffing, performance management, benefits enrollment), administrative duties, and weekly payroll. By happenstance, the business owner came across a payroll report showing some financial irregularities warranting immediate, confidential action.

Upon receiving this information, the owner called me to discuss options. True to form, we assumed the employee was innocent until proven guilty, as adjudicated by a thorough, timely, and prompt investigation; in this case, conducted by the company Controller. Concurrent with that investigation, the Human Resources Manager was suspended to minimize any potential bias to the investigation.

The forensic investigation conducted by the Controller showed convincingly that the Human Resources Manager manipulated the company payroll software platform by increasing her hourly pay rate and weekly hours worked for over five months. Total wage theft exceeded $15,000.

Upon hearing the results of the audit, my unsurprising recommendation was immediate termination; readily accepted by the business owner. Conversely, to my great surprise, the business owner wanted to take the process further by pressing criminal charges against the thief (I mean, former Human Resources Manager); readily accepted by my professional standard. By way of explanation, I was deeply surprised by the business owner’s commitment to justice, based on my experience in which most business owners view such transgressions (e.g., theft, forgery, fraud) as mere administrative offenses with the denouement of simple dismissal, due to their belief that the court system will never convict a protected class member, the legal costs would be too exorbitant, and the company culture could be irreparably damaged.

As the business owner and I discussed possible implications, he let it be known that he was personally and professionally offended by her theft, embodied by his visceral comment “I trusted her.”

Trust is critical.

If you don’t trust any one of your employees, that employee must go away. If you don’t trust someone in your social circle, you must avoid that person from now on. If you don’t trust your own judgment in any aspect of your life, you must stop that action immediately and find someone trustworthy to guide you.

When confronted, the Human Resources Manager denied everything; she was terminated immediately.

Consistent with his decision to take legal action, the business owner contacted external counsel seeking a prudent course of action. Predictably, his attorney argued against pursuing the process, invoking the standard refrains that it would be too expensive, time-consuming, and perilous if a countersuit was levied.

The courageous business owner remained undaunted and directed the attorney to move forward. The attorney sent a demand letter to the former Human Resources Manager, to which she never responded. Fueled by the business owner, the attorney then called the police, who arrested her at 2am that evening.

The entire process took five months to complete during which time she ultimately plead guilty to the felony, received 55 months of probation, 20 hours of community service, with full restitution to be paid back to the business owner’s company within 36 months. Florida justice prevails again; admirable indeed!

Do you think the business owner will trust his attorney’s judgment in the future? Would you?

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