Around 660,000 new companies are set up every year, and of these, some 60% will fold – for a variety of reasons, within three years.
What do you do if you think one of your fellow Directors is considering moving on and taking clients with them, meaning the company may have to close?
Do you have a watertight employment contract to prevent this, what do the Articles of the company say or what are the shareholdings? Legal advice should be sought both at the appointment stage and subsequently. Covenants could be broken when they leave and take clients without prior agreement.
If you have suspicions that your colleague is about to go it alone or go into business with someone else – what do you do?
What about surveillance to check that they are visiting where they say they are? Prior to that it is equally important to undertake a background profiling report on the individual utilising office based tools. Have any new companies been set up recently by your fellow Director – it could be that they are in the name of a spouce or family member to try and hide this.
How about checking company emails through the Directors company laptop or desktop computers? Still nothing? Suspect all emails have been deleted or moved to private email addresses? What about utilising computer forensic experts to analyse emails. Some emails don’t actually disappear even though they are no longer on say Outlook.
We find that the gathering of accurate initial information is key to any investigation. This could also include the address of a subject, other addresses eg holiday home, details of any family members, vehicle details. Subsequently, if a client wishes to then move onto any physical surveillance a fuller picture of the subject is already to hand.
Surveillance, undertaken by suitably expereiced operatives, can result in many things. It must be bourne in mind that this may not turn up anything in which case that is still a result and one that may alleviate any fears that the subject is about to leave. Other outcomes are more concerning eg is the subejct visiting your mutual clients but promoting their new business. Is the subject meeting with a competitor with a view to selling their shares in the business or similarly buying into someone elses company. Are they selling goods or services relating to your business but pocketing the funds and not declaring this?
Photographs or video footage, as part of a co-ordinated surveillance operation can give clues as to a persons activity and challenging a fellow Director with minimal evidence could also cause friction unless you are absolutely certain of their actions. A follow up phone call or the setting up of a meeting yourself with a known associate can check facts on your colleagues intentions.
Ultimately communication is the key to understanding another person and when there are say two Directors in a business, each needs the trust and honesty that such a partnership brings. When there is a breakdown in this, a solution needs to be found to move forward, however difficult that may be.