CCI staff share recent surveys, reports and analysis on risk, compliance, governance, infosec and leadership issues. Share details of your survey with us: editor@corporatecomplianceinsights.com.
21% of workers say they’ve been directly targeted by harassment
Nearly four in 10 employees (38%) report witnessing workplace harassment in the past five years, with 21% having been directly targeted, according to a survey from compliance training provider Traliant.
The survey of 2,193 US-based employed adults working in organizations with 100 or more employees found that Gen Z employees reported the highest exposure, with 46% witnessing harassment and 33% experiencing it firsthand. Customer-facing industries reported the highest exposure, with half of hotel, restaurant and bar employees witnessing harassment and 29% personally experiencing it, compared with 32% and 17%, respectively, for office workers.
Among those who reported harassment, 38% expressed dissatisfaction with how their employer handled the report. Fear of retaliation persists as a significant barrier, with 71% of employees who feel unprotected citing concerns about retaliation. While 51% of employees would report harassment in all situations, 33% would only report if they could do so anonymously.
94% of boards say general counsel should be engaged early on high-impact risks
Some 94% of board members agree general counsel should be engaged early on high-impact risks and opportunities, including 76% who strongly agree, yet most GC-board interaction remains episodic rather than institutionalized, according to a survey from legal executive search firm BarkerGilmore.
The survey of 157 GCs and 34 board members found that while 86% of general counsel agree they should shape enterprise strategy at formation rather than only at execution, 54% of general counsel and 71% of boards report direct meetings outside formal sessions are only occasional. Executive sessions without the CEO “never” occur for more than 40% of both groups, constraining candid dialogue on sensitive matters.
General counsel currently allocate 20% of time to strategy and would ideally increase that to 24%, while boards rated strategy as a primary value driver at 47%. Legal operations consume the largest share of GC time at 23% despite a desire to reduce focus. Some 62% of general counsel find board feedback helpful or very helpful, yet 29% describe it as only somewhat helpful and 9% as not helpful. From the board perspective, 41% acknowledge performance expectations are somewhat unclear.
Other key findings:
- The strongest engagement occurs at the committee level, with 40% of general counsel and 59% of boards reporting monthly or quarterly interaction with committee chairs.
- Some 55% of general counsel request more frequent interaction, while 75% of boards echo the call for more frequent, ongoing communication.
- Boards place high value on post-meeting action summaries, with 82% rating the practice as effective or highly effective.
More than half of business leaders say data problems limit strategic impact
Insufficient real-time data (29%) and limited access to other departments’ siloed data (28%) are the top data-related barriers limiting strategic impact for business leaders and practitioners, according to a survey from Workiva, a cloud-based reporting and compliance platform provider.
The survey of 1,497 professionals found that 96% agree chief financial, information and sustainability officers must unite around a shared strategy for data governance to succeed. Among institutional investors surveyed, 95% agreed business leaders underestimate the risk fragmented data causes in financial reporting. Some 91% of leaders and practitioners say AI has contributed to timely and strategic financial decisions in their organizations.
Many companies have dedicated budgets (71%) and IT team support (73%) for digital transformation initiatives. However, misaligned priorities within the business (19%) and insufficient time to analyze data (20%) also limit strategic impact.
