In a recently published blog, I discussed why internal auditors need to use more than their senses of sight and sound when auditing culture. I quoted a respected corporate director from India who has observed that we must also use our sense of “smell.” Following publication of the blog, a former colleague reached out to me and asked: “Isn’t a clear indication of ‘toxic culture’ the fact that employee turnover is high? Don’t people just leave if the culture gets too bad?”
It was a good question, but it was also a topic I wrote about in 2018. The fact is that many people do leave toxic cultures.…