Effective Workplace Investigations

Effective Workplace Investigations training, will help to ensure that you to get it right the first time every time. It can be said that a workplace investigation is an unbiased gathering and analysis of evidence to come to a determination and make recommendations.

Ensuring that you get always get Workplace Investigations right the first time every time is essential as people’s lives and an organisation’s duty of care and reputation are on the line.

Effective Workplace Investigations are not simple tasks, however they are often conducted by people with little of no skills, expertise and training in the field.  Here are some of the major considerations when conducting investigations into behavioural complaints.

All of these components are covered in the highly recommended AWPTI Conducting Workplace Investigations course details click here

Have a comprehensive understanding of the meaning of terms such as bullying harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment.

Terms such as bullying harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment are what we call high level terms with no precise definitions.

Of course they are defined at law and also in workplace policies and Codes of Conduct, however the most important definition comes from the complainant. Every person is different and each person will have their own definitions to what they have been subjected to.

To be subjected to the behaviours is a feeling. As an investigator you must the skill and knowledge to dig much deeper to ascertain what is behind the feelings.  There are times what a person says is bullying may not be so, the job of the investigator is to work out what exactly happened. This is a high level skill they requires sophisticated  analysis and interview skills.

Analyse the complaint

One of the first and most important steps in the investigation process is to analyse the complaint. Often complaints are made verbally or in an email or letter.  The complaint may be full of emotive language and at times lacking in substance and detail in regard to the exact nature of the incidents complained about; when incident/s occurred; what was actually said or done; how the alleged bullying etc actually manifested, the wh0, what where, when, why and how questions.

An investigation requires a comprehensive and skilful complaint analysis.  A poor or flawed complaint analysis will mean that everything that follows will be flawed, I often see this when I am called in when things have really gone off track. Teaching complaint analysis is an important part of the AWPTI investigation training courses. details click here 

Planning the investigation

Following the analysis of the complaint the next stage is to plan the investigation. It is important to have a plan in place to ensure that the investigation is conducted in a professional and timely manner.  An effective investigation plan will be based on your complaint analysis. The analysis will help you to identify the issues that need to be investigated and determine the scope of the investigation and the identify the people who will be involved in the investigation, including the complainant, witnesses, and the accused/respondent.

If the investigation is being conducted internally it is also important to determine who will be leading the investigation, as well as any legal or HR support that may be needed.

The investigation plan should be kept up to date as it is a useful tool to keep you on track and also important in case you leave or can’t complete the investigation so that someone else can see where you are up to and what still needs to be done.

Documentation

Once the plan has been completed and the investigation is commenced it is important to communicate to the complainant, witnesses and the respondent and ensure that you keep files not of action taken etc.

Plan your interviews

Effective interview planning is a direct result of an effective complaint analysis and of course flawed complaint analysis will mean a flawed interview plans and flawed interviews.

The interview plan based on your analysis will have all the question you have to answer all of the who, what, where, when, why and how questions. Teaching interview planning is an important part of the AWPTI investigation training courses. details click here 

Interviewing 1

The next step is to interview the complaint and witnesses.  The interview is part of the evidence component of the investigation. Once against the interviews will be based on your complaint analysis and interview plans. Things to remember when interviewing;

  • Plan
  • Treat each interviewee with respect
  • Approach each interview with an open mind
  • Don’t make any assumptions about the interviewees
  • Build rapport
  • Adhere to the rules of evidence
  • Adhere to the rules of procedural fairness

One of the most important things to remember during any interview is to LISTEN to understand not just to reply or ask your next question.  An interview should be organic based on the interviewees answers and much as your questions.

Drafting allegations

Based on your complaint analysis, your interviews with the complaint and witnesses and the gathering of any other evidence such as documents, emails, text messages, CCTV or anything else that is relevant the next step is to inform the person accessed, the respondent.

After all the available evidence has been gathered the focus of an investigation turns to the respondent. To ensure procedural fairness, the allegation should clearly set out what the person has been accused of in as much detail as is required for them to answer the allegation.

Interviewing 2

The respondent interview is the time for the person accused to respond to the allegations.  The same process as per the complaint and witnesses interviews should be followed.

Recording the evidence

This a matter for the investigator and/or organisation, options are;

  • Audio or video recorded (industry standard and the most effective method)
  • Statements
  • Typed record of interview
  • Interview notes.

Evidence analysis

When the interview process is finished ALL of the evidence must be analysed, questions you should ask:

  • What evidence supports the allegation and who is it from?
  • What evidence does not support the allegation or supports the respondent’s version of events and who is from?
  • Does the witness evidence corroborate the complainants or the respondent version of events?
  • Are there gaps in the evidence?
  • Are there any other avenues of investigation that you need to pursue?

Making findings

Finding should always be unbiased and based on the evidence. Findings should be presented and explained clearly within your final report.

The investigation report

The investigation report is the output of your investigation.  It is important to remember that people’s careers and health may depend on the outcome of your investigation. Consideration’s;

  • Who is the report for – who will read it?
  • What is the purpose of the report – what sort of decision is it advising?
  • Will the information be provided to the parties of the investigation?
  • Is it a full detailed report or a short/summary report?
  • Use plain language with lots of headings
  • Footnote the evidence when discussing the facts (if that is your method)

Within the body of your report you need to:

  • Provide a background/executive summary, remember a reader may have not have knowledge of the matter/s under considerations or the people involved.
  • Present the evidence
  • Analyse the evidence – determine the weight you place on it and its implications
  • Draw conclusions and make a definitive statement of a finding.

Full reports include all the material discovered in the investigation and sets it out for the decision maker to read in full. The evidence in relation to each incident or allegation is presented and analysed in full with a comprehensive explanation of how each finding has been made and in consideration of which evidence.

A full report should have sufficient information for the file to be given to a lawyer or court and for all their questions to be answered in respect of the investigation and decision making outcomes.

All of the elements of effective workplace investigations are covered in the AWPTI Conducting Workplace Investigations course details click here  that is recommended for HR professionals, managers and anyone involved in the investigation of misconduct or complaints.

This is a highly interactive course where participants work through an actual investigation from the receipt of the complaint, interviewing parties, drafting allegations and making finding and recommendations and report writing. Participants interview our people in the roles of complainants, witnesses and the respondent.

We are now offering this course conducted Live by Request in person (for organisations) or via Zoom in 2 full day or 4 half day sessions (half days remotely only). For organisations we have a flat rate with unlimited attendees.

We also run open course for individuals details here 

For more details about Effective Workplace Investigations or any of the AWPTI training courses please see the website – https://awpti.com.au/ or contact me enquiries@awpti.com.au

AWPTI – workplace investigation based in Sydney, conducting workplace investigation through-out Australia

Workplace training national wide and internationally

Misconduct investigations, bullying investigations, harassment investigations & sexual harassment investigations, complaint investigations, grievance investigations, discrimination investigations

https://www.awpti.com.au/