Former footy legend turned business investigator says he is seeing an influx of SOS calls from victims of corporate betrayal

In the modern marketplace, rampant exposure and access to other opportunities prevents the majority of workers from staying in the same job for an extended period leading to some big issues

The silly season is upon us — the one preceding Christmas party hangovers, exorbitant spending and excruciating sunburn. NRL fans know it all too well. It’s time of the year when players swap and change teams with mercenary precision. It’s already started at the Broncos, where a number of senior stars have been told to look elsewhere despite having multiple years to run on their current contracts.

But for business owners, it’s silly season all year round. Just like one-club players in rugby league, career employees are all-but extinct. In the modern marketplace, rampant exposure and access to other opportunities prevents the majority of workers from staying in the same job for an extended period.

Employees leaving one job to start a rival enterprise is becoming more common, according to Complete Corporate Services managing director Scott Sattler.

Although staff turnover comes with significant costs associated with hiring and retraining, businesses have adapted to accommodate it.

However, what many businesses can’t withstand are employees who leave to start-up a rival enterprise with the intention of stealing clients and/or talented colleagues.

In our experience, this insidious behaviour is becoming more commonplace and it is not just in specific industries like Hospitality, IT and law firms, it is widespread, and we have been identifying this common thread evolve more so over the last four years.

Perhaps it’s the age of instant gratification. Perhaps social media is driving people to be more ambitious. Perhaps loyalty is being eroded across the board, not just in professional sports.

Whatever the reason, we’ve received an influx of SOS calls from businesses that are victims of corporate betrayal. In some cases, the perpetrators have taken advantage of training, mentorship and company resources to launch clandestine raids on clients while still on the payroll.

In one high profile case currently before the Federal Court, our investigators uncovered private communications sent from company property brashly declaring intentions to pilfer and poach.

In that case, the proprietor was blinded by his affection toward the employees, whom he had trusted and given much responsibility.

Engaging a fresh set of eyes effectively opened his eyes to the extent of deception at play.

In business, much is made about preventing loss of physical assets like money, stock and inventory. But having worked on cases touching upon both, I believe the new wave of internal theft of people – clients and staff – is more devastating for the simple reason they cannot be readily replaced. Without expert assistance, these crimes are also more difficult to prove and prosecute.

The following are some tips for businesses moving forward in this area.

1. Conduct an independent risk assessment on your overall operations and identify where your business is exposed to the above risk. Ask yourself, what could they take, if they left.

2. Often, intellectual .property protection can be enhanced through IT security upgrades and access classification.

3. When was the last time you updated your policies and procedures to address your requirements?

4. Ensure your employment contract adequately covers, and provides protection of your IP and that of employees.

5. Provide comprehensive Induction which covers your position, and their employee’s obligations;

6. Undertake separation interviews where responsibilities are reinforced.

7. Monitor from afar those who leave, and ensure they are not taking your business with them.

So when you read about a footballer changing clubs while under contract over the next few months, spare a thought for all the honest business owners out there who, through no fault of their own, are playing against former team mates, illegitimately beefed up on stolen clients and staff.

Scott Sattler is the Managing Director of Complete Corporate Services, a Risk and Investigation organization.