Articles - Thomas Milton Lee & Associates -
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I. Investigations
What you need to know before hiring a private investigator
or conducting a private investigation
Hiring a private investigator for a private investigation
is an important transaction and one that needs to be undertaken
with much care, as when hiring other professional service
providers. Engaging the services of a private investigation
firm involves several issues that must be clearly understood
by the client. Proceeding with care and understanding the
risks will make the process of hiring and working with private
investigators a more effective and useful endeavor.
The laws, customs and practices in each jurisdiction may
vary greatly when conducting a private investigation. For
instance, it is actually unlawful to conduct a private investigation
in China, Lebanon and many other nations. There is potential
exposure to the private investigator for violation of the
laws and potentially adverse spillover to the underlying
client who orders the investigation. Private citizens must
consider these issues when interviewing a private investigator
business. In addition, the means and methods of conducting
a private investigation vary greatly. If the investigator
is not experienced and knowledgeable of the relevant issues,
it may turn out that the information gathered by the private
investigator may have limited or no value to the client
once it is secured. For instance, where a private investigation
company conducts an asset search and is able to obtain evidence
of certain off shore bank accounts, this may be a great
lead or usable as leverage by the client or their lawyer
in private negotiations, but it is very likely that a judge
or court magistrate in a pending lawsuit may bar the private
investigator from introduction of such evidence.
Outlined below are four essentials items to consider when
conducting a private investigation or hiring a private investigator:
1. Be sure the Private Investigator is Licensed
In most U.S. States and many countries throughout the world,
the law requires that private investigators be licensed.
The private investigator must register their organization
with the Texas Department Of Public Safety. In addition
to the requirements for bonding and insurance, it is typically
required that the principal investigator for an investigation
company, or the individual private investigator, if the
investigator operates independently, pass a rigorous written
test; that (s)he have a minimum number years of experience
performing investigations and that the principals and investigators
have a full background check, including criminal history,
references, and prior employment. Verifying that a private
investigator or private investigations company is properly
licensed can usually be checked on the Internet or by phoning
the appropriate governmental authority and should be done
before the private investigation commences.
2. Be sure the Private Investigation Company or
Private Investigator is established and reputable
In addition to licensure, it is important to verify the
reputation, track record, integrity and history of the private
investigation firm or private investigator. This can be
done by requesting at least five to ten references of past
clients of the private investigator or private investigation
firm. When you talk to the references, find out how long
ago they were a client and what fees the private investigation
firm charged. Find out the best and worst things the past
client has to say about the private investigation company
and any particular private investigator they may have dealt
with.
In addition to reference verification, check to see if the
company is registered with Dun & Bradstreet or another
business research firm. Verify that the private investigations
company has been in business as long as it stated to you
and also verify who the principals of the company are and
the history of the private investigations company.
Finally, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if
there are any complaints against the private investigator
or investigations firm. Ask the private investigator or
private investigations company about any past complaints
or other adverse information. The private investigator should
be willing answer the questions you pose.
3. Be sure to get a Letter of Engagement and Scope
of Work
Any reputable private investigation firm should supply you
with a proposed letter of engagement. This agreement should
spell out the precise terms and conditions of the proposed
assignment The agreement should cover, among other things,
the hourly rate for each private investigator, an estimate
of the total cost of the assignment, the time frame for
securing the results, the names of the specific personnel
assigned to work on the project, points of contact within
the company, the list of objectives and the overall goals
of the assignment.
In many jurisdictions, the communication between the client
and the private investigator, or the private investigator
and the client’s lawyer, may actually be protected by the
attorney-client privilege if an attorney is involved in
the matter. Some of the work secured during the private
investigation may also be protected under the attorney work
product doctrine. The letter of agreement should delineate
whether or not the work is confidential and/or privileged.
Lastly, make sure the agreement covers refunds, invoicing
and all other administrative issues.
The letter of engagement agreement should be both a road
map as well as a safety valve for the client and the private
investigation firm, and must be fully understood and agreed
upon by all parties before the assignment commences. Of
course, it is perfectly fine for the client or his attorney
to review the agreement and suggest edits. The key is that
the client is knowledgeable and comfortable before signing.
4. Be sure to understand the legal and practical
risks of conducting a private investigation
Just as with any important undertaking, conducting a private
investigation brings with it certain risks and issues that
must be identified and understood by the potential client.
Most of them are fairly straight forward and not of great
concern. For instance, when hiring a private investigator,
you must know the limitations of any private investigation
firm in terms of the laws of the State and Federal government.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Financial Disclosure
Act, the Trading with the Enemies Act, the Polygraph Act,
anti-wire tapping laws and many state privacy laws may be
implicated when conducting private investigations.
The private investigator should be familiar with these laws
and rules and should be able to explain the significance
of them as they relate to your particular case. For instance,
there are several federal laws that bar tape recording conversations.
You want to be sure that you are not hiring a private investigator
to break the law as there could possibly be exposure to
the end user client in terms of legal and reputational risk.
II. Corporate Security
We offer the fore sight to combine uniquely qualified security
professionals and 21st century technology to provide efficient
and cost effective corporate security solutions for all
our customers.
Flexible security programs
Management responsiveness
Stable, well-trained security officers
Security officers are professionally managed and accountable
Commitment to client satisfaction
Strong safety culture
Specialize in labor disputes of work stoppages
Forty years experience for providing security officers
for industrial, commercial, government, and institutional
accounts.
Whether your business requirements are local or across the
country, our management team will work closely with your
team to maintain a good security program. Our team will
meet your current needs and become dependable partners in
the growth and planned expansion of your business.
Our initial free consultation will be the first step in
understanding your current business requirements and long
term asset protection goals. Make one phone call or send
one e-mail and we will take it from there. Setting an initial
appointment to meet at your facility, will allow us to evaluate
your present security program.
III. Mystery Shopping
Why does Mystery Shopping Improve Customer Service?
The term 'mystery shopping' has become quite prevalent in
today's society. The principle reason companies use mystery
shopping companies is to measure employee behavior, productivity
and customer service skills during day-to-day business interactions.
Traditionally, mystery shoppers enter a place of business
with the intent of observing and interacting with its employees
in order to rate their performance on various factors. Typically,
the employees would not be aware that they are being monitored,
assuming that the mystery shopper is a regular customer
or guest. One strategic purpose behind this endeavor is
to ascertain how an employee actually performs and acts
when his or her supervisor is not observing.
Why is it important to determine how an employee
acts in the absence of supervision?
The answer is relatively simple. It has been proven time
and again that employees do perform differently under a
watchful eye than they do when unattended. Job security,
desire to please and succeed, and an internal sense of pride
play a role in how a worker responds to being monitored.
A University of Chicago article entitled "What Do Laboratory
Experiments Tell Us About the Real World" (Levitt,
List, June 2006) affirms that people do behave differently
when motivated by a watchful eye, as evidenced by the following
excerpt: "The weight that an individual places on 'doing
the right thing' is likely to increase when a subject is
being watched." This quote validates the perception
that employee actions and performance would be more favorable
and positive if they knew that they were being monitored,
insinuating that observation even alters and reinforces
our ethical values.
When you take into consideration the fact that mystery shoppers
report exceptional employee behavior, attitude and skills,
the concept of a secret shopper should not be threatening
to monitored workers. If an employee is aware that any customer
they serve is potentially monitoring and recording information
about their effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, they have
an opportunity to favorably impact the findings. Being the
target of this form of evaluation actually places control
over the situation and outcome in the employee's hands.
Most employees who know they are being watched will go out
of their way to extend superior customer service skills.
These skills are incorporated in a positive attitude, pleasant
demeanor, helpfulness, and task performance. While under
surveillance, employees do tend to expend a higher level
of effort to meet the expectations of their employers.
This philosophy was proven in a study by Melissa Bateson,
Daniel Nettle, and Gilbert Roberts
(1). Their findings were reported in an article entitled,
"Cues of Being Watched Enhance Cooperation in a Real
World Setting". To determine employee behavior, they
placed an honesty box in the employee lounge, where it was
understood by all employees that they were on their honor
to place money in the box for their coffee and other drinks.
A sign was posted near the box as a reminder. Participation
was monitored daily, and the money was counted and documented.
Then, they strategically placed a banner on the sign which
depicted a photograph of a pair of human eyes to give the
impression that employee contributions to the honesty box
were being monitored. Their data showed that significantly
more funds were placed in the box when the banner with the
eyes was posted than when it was not. The difference was
too great to dismiss as chance, with almost three times
as much money being placed in the box when the eyes were
present than when they were not. The authors state, "Our
results support the hypothesis that reputational concerns
may be extremely powerful in motivating cooperative behavior."
The article further indicates that subconscious cues of
being observed are strong enough to change behavior.
In essence, the article states that it is not just the act
of being observed that changes behavior, but that the mere
perception or implication that we are being watched is sufficient
motivation to alter people's actions. Because our fundamental
beliefs and morals are imbedded in our subconscious, we
are psychologically influenced when we believe others are
capable of seeing us as we exercise our morals publicly.
We become more cognizant of the impression we make upon
others as a result.
Would strategic monitoring improve your business'
customer service?
While a business' motivation for monitoring employees, either
secretly or otherwise, can be partly attributed to the desire
for financial gain or success, employee responses are usually
linked more directly to a sense of altruism, duty or loyalty.
These are intangible motivators, which indicate that people
place more importance on their desire to please others and
their social reputation than on more concrete monetary benefits.
Having control over the impression we make on other people
is one of the strongest psychological factors which result
in conforming our actions and behaviors to expectations.
When employees know they are being monitored or observed,
they willingly alter their behavior as reflected in the
honesty box experiment. The eyes were a gentle reminder
that they were expected to perform in a certain manner,
and they were certainly effective. Most people chose to
cooperate and be a part of the majority, rather than chance
being singled out as noncompliant. Internally, our subconscious
is rewarded and our sense of pride is fed when know we have
performed to the desired level of expectation.
If the employee is aware that he or she is currently being
evaluated, they may feel a need to strive to perform to
higher standards than usual. The incentives toward this
behavior include a desire to please, reputational concerns,
and job security and stability. An effective mystery shopping
program, when employed with frequency, will reinforce those
desires creating a higher level of consciousness as staff
perform their job duties. With positive reinforcement, the
increased desire to please becomes a habit, resulting in
better employees who continually model behavior for their
peers in day-to-day settings.
Does your business need secret shopping companies
like Us?
Mystery shopper programs are increasingly favored methods
of observing employee behavior and performance. One of the
strongest reasons is that mystery shoppers are a third-party
or objective guest or customer. When coupled with appropriate
training and feedback delivery, mystery shopping reports
can be received more favorably than traditional monitoring
by management or administration. Mystery shoppers are perceived
to be peers rather than hierarchy in the chain of command.
Their observations, when delivered constructively, give
the staff member a slice-of-life approach to viewing their
own actions and behaviors.
It should be noted that mystery shoppers and similar methods
of observing and monitoring employee performance may give
some employees the impression that their work is not satisfactory
and, therefore, it is necessary to spy or check up on them.
However, if the mystery shopper’s purpose is explained as
an evaluation method to reinforce and reward appropriate
behavior and the findings are used to coach instead of finding
fault, the results will be improved. The trick is to make
sure that meaningful recognition and rewards are in place
when the monitored behavior reaches or exceeds the standard
set forth. In other words, cheer them on when you catch
them doing right.
After all, as Bateson, et al, state in "Cues of Being
Watched..."(1), most people are cognizant of the factors
which affect their reputation and seek to positively impact
the same. Being watched can actually be conducive to a cooperative
environment, if done properly and with dignity.
IV. Executive Protection
What are executive protection and security services?
Executive protection services make use of security professionals
such as bodyguards, EP agents, or executive protection specialists
to protect the welfare and safety of an individual. Executive
protection can also extend from physical protection of an
individual to protection of a company’s property or assets.
In some cases, executive protection professionals also are
assigned to help protect an individual’s family.
Who uses executive protection?
Celebrities, corporations, companies, company VIPs, and
government officials have all traditionally used EP services
to keep themselves, their property, and their families safe.
However, in today’s world, more and more everyday individuals
are finding that executive protection helps them, too.
Why do people hire executive protection agents?
Everyday individuals hire executive protection for many
reasons. EP agents can be crucial in threat assessments,
for example, and can help keep those involved in child abuse
investigations or domestic abuse investigations safe. If
a threat has been made against a person or family, executive
protection or bodyguard services can offer protection that
local law enforcement cannot.
What is involved in executive protection services?
Usually, a person interested in executive protection will
speak to a private investigator who will offer a threat
assessment to determine whether a risk exists and what that
risk may be. If the client and investigator decide that
executive protection is a good idea, one or two agents (either
armed or unarmed, depending on the situation) are assigned.
These agents go where the individual goes and they aim mainly
to provide non-invasive, non-confrontational avoidance,
which means that their main concern is to stay out of the
way and without aggression to prevent incidents or security
risks from arising. If the person who is being protected
n threatened, the agents can step in to defend that person,
can seek help from law enforcement, and can generally do
many things to help defuse the situation. Their main concern
in these situations is to get the person they are protecting
out of the situation and out of harm’s way.
What should I look for in executive protection professionals?
In most states, executive protection experts or bodyguards
need a private investigator’s license. However, you should
also look for agents who have the skills you need. For example,
if you are looking for security in a high-risk area away
from home (such as in Israel or the Middle East) look for
agents with military and weapons experience. If you are
looking for someone to protect you and your property and
company systems, look for agents with computer knowledge.
Interview several executive protection professionals to
find someone you trust and feel comfortable with.
V. Employee Investigation Services
There’s more to employee background screenings than just
searching databases and printing results. Thomas Milton
Lee takes background screenings to the next level by combining
the elements of state-of-the-art technology, analysis provided
by highly trained research professionals and a strong commitment
to quality client service.
Thomas Milton Lee analysts work with some of the country’s
top employers to provide comprehensive background investigations
that span pre-employment screening to international business
research.
Thomas Milton Lee consultants also assist human resource
departments in assessing and designing employee hiring programs
that tightly conform to state and federal guidelines.
Thomas Milton Lee conducts internal investigations with
the knowledge and experience necessary to instill employer
confidence -confidence in the investigation process and
confidence to support appropriate action. Thorough and impartial
investigation demonstrates the exercise of reasonable care
to prevent and correct inappropriate workplace conduct consistent
with the laws. Increasingly, society demands that employers
engage internal investigation to address alleged improprieties.
Employees also expect employers to investigate in response
to complaints of harassment, discrimination, unfair treatment,
and hostile work environment. Gone are the days when "he-said,
she-said" controversies are dismissed out of hand as
unsubstantiated. A good faith analysis of the available
facts and credibility assessment is the expectation.
Thomas Milton Lee conducts over 100 investigations a year
for employers - employers who appreciate the necessity of
a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation to support
informed decisions and deflect liability. Beyond meeting
the law's expectation for appropriate investigation, Thomas
Milton Lee interviews provide individual participants with
a unique opportunity to be heard by a third party. A Thomas
Milton Lee investigation can de-escalate emotionally charged
situations while creating comprehensive documentation to
support appropriate corrective action.
Take the mystery out of your employee complaints and conflict
issues with a Thomas Milton Lee workplace investigation.
Thomas Milton Lee conducts investigations related to:
Harassment and discrimination complaints
Allegations of "hostile work environment"
Workplace Violence
Employee/supervisor misconduct
Illegal activity, like drug use or theft
Anonymous complaints
Performance audit/Management audit
Thomas Milton Lee investigators work with you to assess
the issues, identify the risks, and develop an approach
to ensure a prompt and lawful investigation. Thomas Milton
Lee also provides expert witness services.
Count on our expertise for legally sound approaches to evidence
gathering, interviewing and credibility assessment. Results
are presented in a comprehensive investigation report, your
legally defensible basis for informed decision making.
Your relationship with Thomas Milton Lee continues beyond
the investigation process! Knowing the facts, once they
are established, is not enough. As always, Thomas Milton
Lee attorneys are available to assist with post-investigation
analysis and resolution as a function of your membership.
This separate analysis considers options in light of applicable
law, past practices, and your own organizational culture.
VI. Security Service
What is it?
Security consultation is a term used when we are asked to
give the "best" security practices or advice on
technologies or software that will help improve security
of a system. This service is linked to vulnerability testing
and security auditing, however it is not seeking a security
hole or vulnerability, rather it is giving advice on how
to lock down a system without performing an audit or test
of the system in question.
Do I need it?
The purpose of a security consultation session is to avoid
the costs of performing a vulnerability test or security
audit. This does not replace them, however, it would make
such services much faster as fewer negative results would
be discovered, which makes the tests and audits faster,
but also the implementation of the findings would be fewer,
thereby making it faster for your administrator to fix the
issues that they bring up. This service is recommended to
be performed at least once every two years.
Why should I choose Thomas Milton Lee?
Thomas Milton Lee offers the business community a broad
range of security consulting services which are designed
to protect enterprises from non-business losses, regardless
of the size of the business. Non-business losses are estimated
to cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars each year.
The initial step of the consultation process is a thorough
survey of the client’s risks. No security plan or program
can be effective unless it is based upon a clear understanding
of the actual risks it is designed to control. More than
two dozen specific areas of a client’s business operation
are scrutinized. Such areas include perimeter and facility
security, cash handling procedures, computer security, proprietary
information, hiring practices, benefit abuse, emergency
procedures, and contingency planning. Following the identification
of risks and vulnerabilities, thoughtful analysis is undertaken
by diversely experienced professionals at Thomas Milton
Lee. This analysis results in the development of specific
countermeasures and corrective recommendations. The client
is provided with a detailed written report which outlines
the current risks and provides specific recommendations
to reduce or remove the risks.
Thomas Milton Lee is also available to assist the client
in developing cost estimates related to the implementation
of recommended security and risk prevention enhancements
to the business operation. We complete the security consultation
process by offering the client full service for the implementation
of the selected enhancements. We will select and recommend
a security contractor through a competitive bid process,
schedule and coordinate work flow, oversee equipment installation,
and train staff to a level of proficiency in the systems
operation. We conduct follow-ups to ensure client satisfaction.
VII. Process Servers
Process is a term referring to judicial paperwork which
directs a person or company to do an act according to the
rules of the court. Delivery of copies of legal documents
such as summons, complaint, subpena, order to show cause
(order to appear and argue against a proposed order), writs,
notice to quit the premises and certain other documents,
usually by personal delivery to the defendant or other person
to whom the documents are directed.
