12 Signs a Company is Bad to Work for in Investigations

What are the signs a company is bad to work for within investigations? There are quite a few signs and sometimes it will be a combination of things you identify within a company.

I received a comment on a video asking.” What does working for a bad company look like?” And to be honest, it’s not a clear question because there are so many inherent issues with the investigation world that everyone could find a reason to think an investigation would be considered a bad company.  

I will talk about bad elements that one could expect working for an investigation company but if I am being transparent many of the things I am going to mention aren’t even specific to investigation companies, they could apply to any company.

The Salary isn’t Great – This Could be a Sign a Company is Bad to work for.

If you want to get an idea of what the average salary of a private investigator is, I have written extensively about that topic and would encourage you to read it. However, I will do my best to serve this topic the best that I can and to share things to be concerned about.

Weird Compensation plans for Private Investigators

If the way you get paid as a private investigator for a company is not easy to understand, this may be a sign that the company tries to take advantage of its investigators.  

This can mean that they pay you differently for travel time than they do for case time (the amount of time you are on-site for investigative work).  Companies will sometimes pay minimum wage for your travel to an assignment, however, you might have investigative assignments that require travel 3 hours in one direction.  The amount of time you are paid for will barely cover the gas that it will cost you to reach that destination.

They may pay you differently for writing reports (sometimes minimum wage).  This can be especially frustrating if you are writing reports for recorded statements which can take several hours in some cases.  If you believe time should be all paid the same, this will be of concern to you.  There are some companies that will only pay you for a certain amount of time to write reports regardless of the amount of time it takes you to write them.  This is also a company to be concerned about working for.

Health Benefits are Lacking

I never came across a company that had health benefits that were affordable for me.  The pay is so unpredictable for a private investigator employee that many investigators just take their chances with medical bills or rely on their spouse’s benefits to cover the family.

Maybe things have changed in the last few years with investigation companies but I have my doubts.  

This might be more of an industry-wide issue with investigation companies.  I hope your experience is different. If this is important to you, this may be a deal-breaker when ti comes to accepting employment with an investigation company.

You Can’t Request Time Off

Work scheduling can be tricky with investigation companies because a client might call and ask for specific dates for a surveillance assignment to be worked.  Something specific may be happening and the client is hoping to have you document potential important activities.  You might be the only investigator available to work on the assignment.   So if the company you work for doesn’t have adequate field staff you might be at the whim of every rush assignment that comes in.  It is a very unpredictable life, especially for someone who has a family.

Many companies frown on investigators asking for time off and can almost make them feel guilty for it especially if you want it on a weekend.

Companies that can’t be flexible with investigators’ schedules and personal lives are companies you should be concerned about joining if personal or family time is important to you.   

I shared a private investigator job I turned down because the company wanted me to be something I just couldn’t be anymore (at their beck and call).  I don’t know that they were a bad company, but it would have been a bad fit.

Mileage Not Paid Fairly

When I joined the investigation industry, investigators were paid mileage from the moment they left their homes till the time they returned home. (Travel to the assignment, travel during the assignment, and travel back home).  

Mileage reimbursement was there to help pay for gas to investigative assignments and help regarding repairs and upkeep of our personal vehicles that we were beating the crud out of daily. It even helped pay for car payments on vehicles which were helpful.

Then about 10 years or so into my career I noticed companies trying to get around paying investigators for mileage.  Some companies would only pay mileage after a certain distance traveled away from their home.  

Some companies wouldn’t even pay a competitive mileage reimbursement for investigators.  

Again, if you see a company being tricky about how they pay their employees, I would be concerned about this as there may be other ways they are trying to take advantage of investigators.

I want to say about 20 years ago I was making a little over 30 cents a mile.  I traveled so much that every 2 weeks about $500 a month was paid in mileage.  It seems like a lot of money but there is quite a bit of gas money being paid out every day as well.

Overtime Not Paid Fairly

This is another area investigation companies have tried to get around paying investigators.  Companies will manipulate the system to where even with travel (remember minimum wage for drive time) you wouldn’t get paid time and a half if your day was over 8 hours.  They would intermingle that minimum wage time and the next thing you know, overtime isn’t even paid as much as regular time.

Investigation companies have become very creative in trying to control their overhead. 

Companies have even put investigators in salary positions which eventually backfired because they took away the incentive for investigators to work hard, and eventually had to do away with the program or investigators.

The Workload is Too Much

You would rather have too much work rather than not enough. There will be seasons in investigative work where it feels as though you can’t keep your head above water. I don’t say this financially, though it can happen in that respect too. I say this in the context of never getting a day off, hardly seeing your family, or not having any time for just living.  It can feel like “living to work” rather than “working to live”.

This isn’t a sign of a bad company but rather maybe a company that doesn’t have enough field investigators to cover workloads which can be very overwhelming for an investigator (you).  

There has to be some sort of work-life balance and I don’t know if the investigation field has mastered this (generally speaking).  Investigation companies are always wanting to please their customers (like any business) and it might always seem like everything is an emergency and there are always fires to put out, figuratively speaking.

Find out from the supervisor and other field investigators how they navigate through busy seasons. 

Lack of Work

Just like I mentioned about a season of too much work, especially in the insurance investigation field, there are plenty of seasons where there can be a lack of work. And with the opposite of the previous problem (not enough employees), there might be too many investigators in your area and too many mouths to feed with few assignments coming in. 

So while you may love all the things about an investigation company, if they don’t have enough work for you it won’t matter how much you like them. 

Find out from the supervisor and other field investigators if possible what the workload is like.

Boss or Supervisor isn’t Looking Out for You

There is a saying that goes something like this. People don’t stay because of the company they work for, they stay for the people they work with.  

In the ups and downs of investigator life, one of the reasons I stuck with a company was because I liked the people I worked alongside with. I still keep in touch with investigators I worked alongside in 2003 to this day. 

Generally speaking, if you are working for a company, whether it is big or small, you are probably going to have someone to report to daily.  They are going to want to know that you arrived at your assignment, how things are going with the assignment, and direct you as needed or if needed.

But not all supervisors are created equally and it is important that you find out the type of person you are going to be working for before you commit to working for a company.  

There are some supervisors that you just can’t trust for various reasons and they have no business being in charge of you or assisting with decisions that you make in the field.  I have found that many supervisors that work for investigation companies don’t have field experience and work through a list of protocols but don’t understand the science of conducting surveillance or the consequences of things they will ask you to do.

Some supervisors, because of their lack of knowledge and experience will ask you to do things that could put you in potential danger, are unethical, or will compromise an investigation. 

Some supervisors like to micromanage every decision in the field and don’t allow investigators to be investigators.  Now let me preface this by saying that if you are new to surveillance or investigations, be open to micromanaging as you don’t know what you are doing just yet.  And they don’t know you well just yet. Trust needs to be developed in the relationship.

So here is my tip for this section.  Interview the supervisor in charge of the area you would be working to get a sense of who you will be working for. If they don’t allow you to do this, I would be suspicious of how things are run with that company. 

No or Little Vacation

How much vacation does an investigation company offer?  Don’t expect much as I have yet to see an investigation company offer more than two weeks of vacation or paid leave.  What is their feeling about asking for use of your vacation time?  When are you allowed to take it? Some companies won’t let you take a vacation during their busy season, which is usually during the summer…when your kids are out of school and that is the time to go on vacation. 

This sort of thing may be interpreted differently by different people. Some folks might not care about this aspect of a company. But if you do care about vacation time, and the company doesn’t offer it or frowns upon asking to use vacation time, you may need to rethink whether that company is a good fit for you. 

Company Reviews Are Not Great

Years ago I use to look at websites like glassdoor.com to see complaints about working for certain investigation companies. Have discernment when reading about companies on this website.  Try to read between the lines as investigators complain about companies. 

You may however find themes of complainants that may give insight into what it is like to work for that company. 

Don’t believe everything your read make mental notes of complaints or concerns about other investigators’ experiences and ask about those possible concerns during the interview process. 

The Culture of the Company is Bad

Now, this is really one of those important signs a company is not good to work for. Some companies encourage investigators to communicate and work together. While there are other companies that isolate employees and do not encourage them to talk. If the latter is found to be the company culture, it could be an insight into a negative and controlling work environment.

Good company culture will also reveal itself as it relates to the turnover of investigators.  How often are they hiring for a certain position or area? Why are they hiring so often? Why did the last few investigators leave the company?  Try to read between the lines when they give answers if they seem generic or vague.  And if they are vague, ask yourself why.

Listen for things as you talk with the interviewer to get a sense of the overall environment within the company.

No Room for Growth

If you are looking to make a career out of the investigation field (as an employee) then the company needs to have some upward mobility.  If the most you are going to get as an investigation employee is an annual cost of living raise, this may not be a good company to work for.

A company that has the opportunity to move up from within, makes it a much more desirable place to work in.  

Final Thoughts on Signs a Company is Bad to Work For

Generally speaking, the 3 major things to learn about the company, especially as it relates to where you will be working is this.

Who will you be working for or With?

Having a good understanding of who you are going to work with and how they manage can help you make a good decision when it comes to choosing a company to work for. If your future supervisor is an advocate for you and will go to bat for you when needed, then that might be a business to consider.  If you are concerned as to who you will be reporting to, ask to speak with them during the interview process if possible.

How is the Compensation?

There is nothing more frustrating than not understanding how you get paid or seeing an investigation company manipulating a pay structure in order to not have to pay an investigator properly.  If you can, talk to other investigators in the company to get an insight as to how things really are as it relates to compensation.

What is Workload?

It’s better to have too much work than too little. Ask about their philosophies on getting days off or how they navigate slower times with the business.  If they really don’t have a philosophy and default to you just going on unemployment, this may not be an ideal company to work for.

For a list of interview questions and other considerations when looking to get into the private investigation industry, pick up my book.