Majority Of Seattleites Say Corporate Integrity Deteriorating According To New Research From Eagle Hill Consulting

Integrity Implosion Starts at Top With Only 11 Percent Saying Corporate Executives Have Highest Integrity

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Aug 08, 2018, 13:00 ET

SEATTLE, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Eagle Hill Consulting finds that the majority of working age Seattleites believe that integrity is on the decline in corporate America. Fifty-five percent of respondents say that integrity has gotten worse among companies during the past five years. Some 72 percent say that integrity is falling across the nation.

In a new poll, Eagle Hill found that the integrity decline starts at the top. Only 11 percent of Seattleites say that corporate executives have the most integrity in the workplace, while 46 percent say that their colleagues have the most integrity.

"Seattle stands apart from other cities with high expectations for corporate behavior," says Michael Frantz who leads Eagle Hill's Seattle office. "But, these findings are troubling because it says Seattle companies are falling short rather than setting the standard for culture and values."

"This integrity implosion is an opportunity for Seattle companies to re-examine their culture and values. This means conducting culture audits, carefully hiring people aligned with your culture, and closely examining whether company leaders are setting the example and held accountable for problems. Ultimately, companies that excel will have a competitive advantage when it comes to overall business performance and hiring top talent in an increasingly competitive labor market here in Seattle," Frantz says.

Without a foundation of integrity, a company is at risk. Integrity is the cornerstone of how employees make decisions, act and react in ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. When a company's integrity is in question, the negative impacts on earnings, customer retention and employee morale can be devastating.

"Culture and values are the heart and soul of any organization. When leaders and employees understand, embrace and live those values every minute at work, the result will be an organization that consistently delivers on its mission and goals," says Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill's president and chief executive officer.

The findings are contained in a new Eagle Hill polling analysis, The Corporate Integrity Implosion: Seattle, available here.

The polling also revealed that:

The corporate integrity implosion is part of a larger phenomenon. Some 72 percent of Seattleites say that integrity is falling across the nation, while 81 percent say integrity is on the decline among government institutions.
Seattle workers have substantially more faith in the integrity of their colleagues and boss than corporate executives. Nearly half (46 percent) say their colleagues have the most integrity, just behind their boss (43 percent). Faith in executive leadership lags far behind at 11 percent.
The overwhelming majority of Seattleites believe corporations and executive leadership might do something unethical. Some 87 percent say that corporations might do something unethical while nearly 70 percent say executive leadership might do something ethically questionable.
Nearly half of Seattleites say they have witnessed unethical behavior at work, but few report it. Nearly half (47 percent) of those polled say they have seen someone do something unethical at work. Yet, only 27 percent have reported unethical behavior at their workplace. Some 24 percent say they don't report the behavior because they fear how it might impact them personally.

The Eagle Hill Corporate Seattle Culture survey was conducted by Ipsos in April 2018, and it included 507 interviews across the Seattle metro-area adult working population. The survey polled respondents on issues of culture, specifically integrity, respect, trust and unethical behavior in the workplace. The results were weighted to reflect US demographic factors including age, income and gender.

Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is a woman-owned business that provides management consulting services in the areas of business strategy, organizational transformation, human capital transformation, process improvement, program management and change management. Eagle Hill works with a range of public, private and non-profit organizations across the country with offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and in Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com.

SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting