Workplace Honesty: It's the Only Policy
After another fellow human resources manager moved on to "greener" pastures and his responsibilities were passed on to me, his corporate telephone calling card number was reassigned to a newly hired accounting manager who reported to the company's controller. Unfortunately for the new guy, the accounts payable department continued to send the monthly calling card report for that particular number to me, probably thinking that I had taken over the departed manager's card.
Looking at the first monthly report, I noticed that the newly arrived accounting manager had run up quite a long distance phone bill and decided to hold off telling accounts payable to redirect the monthly reports. Next month, another large bill arrived with long distance calls being made during evenings and weekends to non-company locations near and far.
Somewhat disturbed by this blatant "thievery," I showed the reports to the company's controller, who was equally disturbed. The controller had a little talk with the accounting manager who said that his previous employer allowed employees with calling cards to use them for personal use and he was just continuing the practice. Although the controller doubted this little bit of information, he let the guy off with instructions to restrict his calling card use to company business.
Some months later, the controller came to my office to alert me that he was in the process of terminating the accounting manager because he was caught falsifying an expense report. It seems that the controller became suspicious of the accounting manager's honesty, or lack thereof, after the calling card incident and had kept a close eye of his subordinate's expense reports. A recent group dinner bill submitted by the manager raised the controller's suspicians anew. He called a number of the people listed on the expense report and they all denied having dinner with the manager on the date listed on the expense report. I told the controller he should terminate the guy for stupidity rather than dishonesty. The manager probably would have never been caught had he not tried to manipulate his long distance telephone calls in the first place.
Sometime after I was named the head of a company's human resources department, the office services supervisor told me that a recently hired senior manager often visited the supply room on his way home and loaded up with reams of paper, pencils, pens, notebooks, and other office supply stuff before heading out the door. Somewhat reluctant
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