Conducting Workplace Investigations to Protect Your Business

Misconduct Leading to Workplace Investigations

Although we (employers and employees alike) wish that misconduct didn’t occur in the workplace, the reality is that it can and does happen. Therefore, organizations must have a plan for how to react and respond. Upon receiving a complaint of employee misconduct of any kind, it is important to promptly and thoroughly investigate and address any misconduct that is found. Employee misconduct can occur in many forms. As a result, we have conducted workplace investigations for a variety of issues including:

Ethics violations
Discrimination claims

Harassment claims
Violation of company rules

Compliance concerns
Fraud

Retaliation claims
Toxic work environment claims

How to Conduct Workplace Investigations

It is critical to address claims of employee misconduct promptly and accurately to protect your employees, your company, and the company’s reputation. Properly conducted employment investigations can minimize your liability. Our general recommendations for conducting effective investigations include:

Balance your quick response with proper preparation.

Use carefully crafted questions to uncover all of the pertinent facts.

Set the appropriate tone for your investigation interviews and be sure your interviewers are well trained.

Thoroughly document your findings so they can be used effectively if you need to explain them in the future.

Take appropriate and swift action to address your findings.

If you would like to dive deeper into these concepts, you should read our Emerging Issues in HR article: Investigations with Intent.

Benefits of Unbiased Third-party Investigations

Using an unbiased third-party to conduct workplace investigations can improve the neutrality and validity of your investigation. Independent investigations can help identify instances of wrongdoing, make recommendations on actions to be taken, minimize employer liability, and protect against potential future workplace misconduct claims.

Strategic HR has more than twenty-five years of experience working with companies and their legal teams to provide prompt and thorough investigations helping you to avoid potential partiality of employees or managers throughout the process. Having Strategic HR lead your employment investigation gives you the confidence to continue with your daily work while we carefully conduct the investigation for you.

Using our effective and confidential investigation techniques, you can count on us to:

Thoroughly review policy and data regarding the investigation

Plan an independent, legally compliant investigation

Obtain pertinent information and statements from all parties involved, including witnesses

Work with your attorney to provide a report that is protected by “attorney-client privilege”

Provide a summary report that includes information on the allegations, facts surrounding the claims, and evidence-based recommendations

Preventing A Problem Before It Begins

It is always advisable to take reasonable steps to prevent a problem before it starts, and this is certainly true for employee misconduct. Most employment misconduct can be averted with proper training and resources, combined with fostering a culture of inclusion and respect.

One of the most common complaints leading to the need for employment investigations is harassment. Without the proper tools and training, it can be easy for a manager or an employee to step over the line of acceptable behavior with their words, actions, or even social media posts.

Strategic HR can help you to take some basic steps to protect your employees and your organization against harassment. For example, we can help you to create a well-defined workplace harassment policy and complaint procedure. We also provide customized Harassment Prevention Training.

A Testimonial from a Partner with Dinsmore & Shohl LLP:

“I am so happy to be able to rely on the fantastic services of Strategic HR for our clients. Our clients have used Strategic HR’s HR team on a number of occasions. During each engagement, Strategic HR’s team is responsive, prompt, and thorough in their investigations and provides excellent service for our clients.”