Vocal Employees Are Your Risk Management Secret Weapon

In 1996, Ted Kaczynski, a terrorist dubbed the Unabomber by law enforcement, was caught following a nearly 20-year search. After the FBI offered $1MM for his arrest and widely publicized his manifesto, Kaczynski’s brother and sister-in-law recognized his handwriting and linguistic patterns and contacted the FBI. The $1MM reward paid to David Kaczynski (the majority of which he donated to victims of his brother’s bombings) is just one of many such rewards offered over the years. The U.S. Department of State recently offered $10MM to anyone with information that can assist authorities in the capture of former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for allegedly running a major transnational drug trafficking ring.While many people will report information about crimes without a cash reward, monetary incentives have proven valuable enough that offering them has become commonplace. Faced with the reality that employees often don’t speak up about threats they identify within their workplace, particularly if a threat is viewed to be ambiguous, community financial institutions (CFIs) might find incentivizing employees to weigh in about any potential problems within their organization equally rewarding.Typically, it is junior employees, who are often the most hands-on staff within a business, that are most likely to identify potential threats. Just because employees suspect something may not be right, however, doesn’t mean they are going to say anything about it. In fact, according to research recently published by the American Psychological Association, the more ambiguous a threat appears, the less likely employees are to say anything. This reality can prove costly to organizations. Why Employees Might Not Speak Up About ThreatsResearchers found that factors such as the mental effort required to assess a potential threat’s legitimacy, employee reticence when it comes to anything that could be perceived as questioning superiors, and the fact that many employees already have more on their plates than they can handle often results in people saying nothing when ambiguous threats are perceived. Think, for example, about workers at a chemical plant. In the event of a dangerous chemical leak, alarms will sound and employees will immediately enact whatever protocol has been established to secure the facility and keep everyone safe. When a potential threat is less certain, however, apathy is more likely. Should employees within the same chemical plant notice a barely discernable odor with an unclear source and no alarms sounding, it is not unlikely that workers will just continue to go about their daily routines, especially if there’s no other obvious sign of danger. Lessons from Other Industries

To avoid such apathy, organizations should proactively encourage employees to speak up whenever they have concerns. One example is Toyota Motor Corp., which has built a culture where employees are actively encouraged to assess and immediately report any risks or errors they identify. Toyota utilizes what is known as an Andon system where employees who notice a problem can push a button to activate a visual signaling system that halts production and alerts supervisors to whatever issue has arisen. The banking industry may not have use for Andon systems, but there are plenty of steps that CFIs can take to encourage more risk-oriented cultures within their organizations. Encouraging employees throughout all levels of an organization to be more vocal and actively look for and report potential risks or threats, as well as possible opportunities, can help overall profitability and risk management. While a chemical leak within a bank branch is unlikely, there are plenty of potential risks that employees should be on the lookout for, from elder financial abuse and money laundering to internal fraud and even robberies.Tips on Getting Employees to Speak Up  The following are a few strategies CFIs may want to consider to encourage employees to be more vocal:

Employees have long been accustomed to top-down decision-making within most organizations, where executives and managers may not necessarily be open to unsolicited feedback. However, encouraging an environment where employees are free to speak up can help with risk controls, can be good for business, and can ultimately give employees a greater sense of belonging.