There is a common saying among corporate executives:
“Don’t do anything that would be an embarrassment to yourself and your company if described on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.”
Well, it wasn’t the Wall Street Journal, but the Tampa Bay Times recently published a front page article about GardaWorld, the armored truck and security empire built over the last several decades. According to the article and GardaWorld’s web site, the company is a full service global provider of security related services including guard and armored car services. The private Canadian company has grown rapidly from its inception in 1995 to a provider of security services generating over $4 billion in revenue. Okay, back to the article…
Just the title alone struck a cord…
“Moving Millions, Leaving Mayhem.”
…but just wait until you see the pictures, watch the videos, or hear the stories. Or better yet, read the full article filled with the stats.
Apparently the GardaWorld executives are not aware of that common saying, or they blatantly ignored it. It seems to me they should have been front page news long ago.
The main question raised in the Times article is: At what price has GardaWorld grown?
The year-long investigation by the Times focused on the armored car services business in the U.S. and specifically, on the safety of its trucks and drivers. Based on its research, including many interviews of former employees, the Times reporters found plenty of evidence that at least some of Garda’s trucks were poorly maintained and that some drivers were poorly trained and operated the trucks unsafely. And “poorly trained” is an understatement (if you ask me)… from the article: In 2012, two drivers were asked to describe their training under oath. They answered identically:
“Here’s the keys. Don’t kill anybody.” One of them added: “I’m not joking.”
If that’s not encouraging mayhem, I don’t know what is.
The article reported astonishing industry safety data and found that Garda has the worst accident record in its industry – more crashes (and more crashes on a per mile driven basis) resulting 19 deaths (since 2008).
A Garda database showed at one time there were…
And over 2 and a half years, over….
Huge props to Christine Bouquin for taking on the role of Director of Risk Management, speaking up, and trying to make a difference at this organization. It takes courage… something a lot of audit and risk professionals are lacking (in my opinion).
Here’s the bottom line.
Corporate leaders make decisions every day about ethics when they prioritize stakeholders’ interests. The critical question for the leaders of GardaWorld: Is growth and profitability more important than employee and public safety? Because when employee and public safety is at stake, the issue becomes an ethical one. And then I take it personally.
My guess (and hope) is that as a result of the Times investigation, Garda leaders understand they have a serious decision to make. Either they will “deny and deflect” or they will “do the right thing” by fully investigating and fixing the safety problems that exist. I can’t wait to follow this story and see what’s next. And I truly hope someone reminds them that…
Ethical leadership is not “Leaving Mayhem.”
Join us on August 12 & 13th in Denver to discuss more “ethics and fraud mayhem” in today’s society – visit www.FraudRetreat.com to ready more!
