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The 26-page memo written by an external risk management consultant indicates that last May, the Uber Special Investigations Unit handled hundreds of cases each week. The team, made up of 60 investigators and 15 team leaders at the time, was responsible for managing the most serious incidents reported to the company in North America, including threats verbal, physical and sexual assault, rape, theft and serious road accidents. .
Uber commissioned the memo as part of his "broader effort to build a leading, specialized investigation team," a company spokesman told CNN.
with a fierce "mark" and his younger employee base, he also stated that the conditions were so bad within the unit that the memo cautioned about the risks for the mental health of the investigators – even on the risk of suicide.
"A single suicide committed by an investigator of Uber and stating that he could no longer" accept "the requirements of the post will be a food for national and even international media, "says the memo
CNN described in detail the steps taken by the company since the memo was completed:" We have put security at the heart of everything we do " said Brooke Anderson, security communications manager at Uber, in a statement, "Uber will continue to focus on security in 2019, including publishing a clear transparency report."
Investigators faced with "deep stress"
The memo notes that in May, most of the SIU investigators were in their 20s or 30s. According to CNN's analysis of former and former employees, one of Uber's investigators has moved from being a Starbucks barista to managing victims' appeals. Another was a director at Chipotle before becoming an investigator. The memo also states that many SIU investigators had "backgrounds in law enforcement, investigative and military".
The memo mentions a "serious level of stress and anxiety for the team members" and notes that six members of the unit "were undergoing profound stress requiring care clinical. "
"The issue of untreated depression (…) due to a considerable workload and the fear that an investigator does not recognize the lack of ability to cope with his situation is not only real, but increasing, "said the memo.
The internal memo, CNN, interviewed seven former Uber employees who were familiar with the unit, including investigators and officials. All spoke under the guise of anonymity, citing fear of reprisals and professional consequences for speaking up.
In an e-mail addressed to CNN, a spokesman for Uber said that these types of problems are not unusual for "quick jobs related to the crisis involving difficult problems", such as operators of 911, adding "[w] We are (and have been) very focused on how to support our security intervention officers, including by helping them cope with the stress and challenges of this important work and by ensuring we have the right people with the skills to handle these sensitive tasks, serious problems. "
Uber also challenged the description of the SIU workload in the memo, noting that some cases could duplicate or prove to be fraudulent after further investigation. The memo stated that "the SIU team manages nearly 1,200 cases a week" and states "Although some reports released to the SIU are frivolous and found to be unfounded or fraudulent, we have learned that most of the reported cases were well-founded. "
The memo mentions the financial damage and reputational damage that serious incidents may have to the company, which should be made public in 2019 , pointing out that trust in Uber "is eroded by serious allegations of improper or illegal conduct, including by drivers and sometimes by hostile passengers."
How Uber Follows Complaints
For over a year, CNN has been pushing Uber to reveal its data on allegations of sexual abuse and aggression on its platform, but Uber said that the numbers would not be ready before 2019
The former director stated that Uber had always had numbers and was tracking complaints in real time, adding that the consultant's note was initially "set aside" at Uber.
Another former director told CNN: "This is a technology company built The numbers are known."
Society classifies complaints according to their degree of seriousness. The SIU manages the highest levels: levels 3 or L3, as internally designated, include physical aggression and collisions. Levels 4, called L4 internally, include rape, sexual assault and any deaths on the platform, according to sources.
The memo also outlines the risks to Uber's net income if the workload of the SIU were to be made public.
"Due to the underreporting of incidents by CNN and others, the cost for the Uber brand and reputation in one case may cost the company some Millions of dollars in lost revenue from runners who retain a lasting impression we are in danger and do not deserve their trust, "says the memo.
The memo states that compensation is the way employees measure their personal worth – and recommends that Uber increase its hourly rates to "attract and retain great investigative talent."
According to the memo, Uber, which has raised more than $ 22 billion in venture capital funds, pays about $ 18.50 per hour to investigators.
This is little compared to investigators working for airlines or bus companies, for example. The note quotes investigators earning respectively about $ 26 at the hour and $ 21.80 per hour. According to the memo, both, like Uber, are also non-union jobs.
At Uber, investigators receive specialized training when they are hired.
Investigators are assigned new cases by a designated staff member, said the former manager. Although this staff member tries to attribute cases of sexual violence to experienced investigators, the initial complaint to Uber sometimes contains little information, or the best-matched investigators are busy with other work or are not staffed during the shift.
Investigators assess the validity of racer or driver claims by interviewing the person who reported the incident and the alleged perpetrator. They decide the outcome of each case, which may include a ban on a driver to use the service in the future.
In Uber's office in Phoenix
The memo says that investigators "like to work for Uber", but they also point out that their members Team members were "plagued by fatigue, lack of sleep and many problems.
The note notes that "Uber investigators handle at least a dozen times per working day with unstable and argumentative people, interacting directly, sometimes several times a day, with perpetrators and victims, some of whom use an ignoble language., make direct and indirect threats, discuss sexual assaults and other deeply disturbing assaults. "
A former employee who spoke to CNN stated that he felt treated equitably within the company, while noting that there were few opportunities for salary increases or promotions. The memo also warned, "Uber does not meet the standards of best practice regarding the definition of the career roadmap for an investigator".
During conversations with CNN, several former employees discussed the harmful consequences of their work, which turned pale to the initial excitement being hired by the most valuable American start-up .
The office itself was also a source of frustration for some SIU investigators.
Two companies told CNN that the company had declined all suggestions to isolate the open-air workspaces used by the SIU team, making it difficult to conduct confidential conversations over the phone. without chattering in the offices. The two interlocutors stated that interlocutors sometimes questioned the seriousness of the investigations because of the background noise.
In one case, an investigator was on the phone with an alleged victim of sexual assault when members of another team began singing "Happy Birthday". to a colleague. The victim hung up on the investigator, said a former director.
A spokesman for Uber said that after the memo, doors were added to the area reserved for the UES team to ensure more confidentiality and tranquility at their work. number of other changes, such as career mapping for UES members, as well as trainings on how team leaders can detect and convey warnings to at-risk investigators. It also includes simpler modifications, such as the addition of soft chairs such as La-Z-Boy chairs and stationary bikes. This is a "modest budget item" that can "make a difference when a person needs a few minutes to decompress after interviewing a victim / author and considering how she will deal with it." the next steps, "says the memo.
is implementing "all key recommendations" from the May Memo, including tips, better schedules and working conditions, and additional training. The company is also recruiting more experienced investigators.
The company has repeatedly refused to say when it planned to publish its data on sexual assault and other incidents on its platform, other than the fact that it would be in 2019. [19659002] "In terms of security, we believe that it is essential to have accurate data and is the foundation for future improvements, "said Anderson in a statement. "That's why we are working with experts to audit our security incident data, so that they can be disclosed responsibly, as we have publicly committed to doing this year."
Supplementary information by Madeleine Ayer and Curt Devine of CNN. Video of Collette Richards and Harshal Vaidya, CNN.
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