Workplace Investigations for Harassment, Discrimination & Retaliation in 2024

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Certification: SHRM & HRCI Credits – 1.0

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How to Conduct Workplace Investigations in 2024

Internal investigations are fact-findings initiatives conducted to uncover the truth about alleged misconduct. And this must be done without compromising the relationship with employees or unnecessarily damaging anyone's reputation. All of which require planning, consistent execution, analytical skill, and an understanding of the legalities involved.

Employers are legally mandated to investigate harassment, discrimination, retaliation, safety, and certain other types of complaints. And good investigators first create a plan that includes:

What is the objective?
Who will be interviewed?
What will be investigated?
What evidence needs to be collected? 


Workplace investigations are crucial when it comes to establishing a safe and welcoming work environment. However, these investigations are often complex and can involve navigating sensitive topics and disputes.
A poorly conducted internal investigation can cost a company financially and damage its reputation, not to mention the reputation of the person tasked with overseeing such a probe. Some of the common mistakes made include:

Failing to plan
Delaying an investigation
Not remaining objective
Using aggressive interviewing tactics
Not conducting a thorough investigation
Failing to reach a conclusion with a written report

Conducting workplace investigations is one of the most challenging duties that HR professionals and other managers must face due to today’s workforce demographics, new employment laws, employees being more aware of their rights – a quagmire of potential landmines - and many managers not trained to do so.

Employers must demonstrate fairness when conducting workplace investigations. and investigations should be thorough and well-documented before an employer takes any action. Additionally, effective workplace investigations need to be guided by the following principles:

• Neutrality—HR and other personnel involved in an investigation must be detached from an incident, remain objective, have no personal stake in the outcome, and give all employees involved the opportunity to provide their version of the incidents.


• Thoroughness—To ensure that the proper decision is made investigators must be thorough in uncovering all the necessary information while asking detailed questions during interviews


• Timeliness—Once an investigation is triggered, investigators must act promptly to avoid further acts of wrongdoing with any disciplinary action administered in a timely manner to avoid legal issues.
 


What You Will Learn:

Recognizing the Situations Where an Internal Investigation May be Warranted
Our Role When Conducting Investigations
Information to Obtain to Determine the Best Approach to the Investigation
Determining Who Should be Interviewed
Utilizing an Introductory Interview Guide 
Following a Proven Interview Methodology
Utilizing an Investigatory Interview Questionnaire
Closing the Interviews
Preparing an Investigatory Findings Report

 

Why You Should Attend

An internal investigation is a formal inquiry to determine whether workplace policies or regulatory practices have been violated. Investigations can follow a:

a complaint
allegation
suspicion of misconduct
fraud
harassment accusations
or many other reasons covered by federal, state, and/or local employment laws.



The goal of any internal investigation is to obtain a straightforward view of the facts:

what happened
when it happened
who was responsible
who may have been harmed
what actions may be necessary to prevent the alleged wrongdoing from reoccurring

 

Internal investigations assist organizations in gathering information, fashioning defenses, and crafting remedies. Specifically, internal investigations are useful for organizations to identify where there are needs for remediation.

 

The final investigative report should include:

The incident investigated, with dates
The individuals involved
Key factual findings
Applicable employer policies 
Interviewees’ statements
Conclusions
Issues that could not be resolved
Employer’s follow-up action

 

It is critical to investigate an allegation quickly. Stretching an investigation out over a lengthy period tells employees the alleged misconduct is not important. And as time goes by, it becomes more difficult to collect evidence and get witnesses to talk, details are forgotten, and documents disappear. 


And if the organization terminates or disciplines an employee and that person files a lawsuit or complaint the investigation report will be critical in protecting the company in court. While every complaint is unique, having a well-defined, consistent process in place can ward off future lawsuits.

 

Who will Benefit

  • HR Managers
  • Any line managers
  • HR Professionals
  • Supervisors
  • Company Leadership
     

Ask your question directly from our expert during the Q&A session following the live event.

Pete Tosh

Pete Tosh is the Founder of The Focus Group, a management consulting and training firm that assists organizations in sustaining profitable growth through four core disciplines:

     ·      Implementing Strategic HR Initiatives
·     Maximizing Leadership Effectiveness
·     Strategic Planning
·     Enhancing Customer Loyalty


The Focus Group has provided these consulting and training services to manufacturing and service organizations across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. Pete has worked closely with the leadership teams of organizations such as Exxon, Brinks, EMC, State Farm, Marriott, N.C.I. YKK and Freddie Mac

Prior to founding his own firm 25 years ago, Pete had 15 years of experience — at the divisional and corporate levels — in Human Resource and Quality functions. Pete held leadership positions — to include the V.P. of Human Resources and Quality — with Allied Signal, Imperial Chemical Industries, Reynolds Metals, Charter Medical, and Access Integrated Networks.

Pete holds a B.A. degree in Psychology from Emory and Henry College and a Master’s degree in both Business Administration and Industrial Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Pete is also co-author of Leading Your Organization to the Next Level: the Core Disciplines of Sustained Profitable Growth.

PeduCompliance is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. This program is valid for 1.0 PDCs for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM. For more information about certification or recertification, please portal.shrm.org.


This Program has been approved for 1.0 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™, and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute®? (HRCI®).


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