If a complaint has been filed or a problem has come up in your company, you need to investigate what happened and how to deal with it. By conducting an investigation, your company can avoid any liability that may stem from an employee’s wrongdoing. But it’ll only be so if you act fast and fix the problem correctly.
Here are ten steps to a successful workplace investigation
Find out if there’s a need to investigate
Before starting the investigation, you should determine if the situation needs one. If everyone involved agrees that it’s only a minor issue, it may be unnecessary to conduct an investigation. However, it’s always best to err on caution and still investigate what happened.
If the issue is more serious than what you initially thought, you may face legal trouble if you fail to investigate, not to mention the problem will also persist. And there are instances when you don’t realize the extent of the problem until you investigate.
Do something ASAP
You have to act right away if the situation causes harm to your business or employees. For example, if someone reports that an employee is stealing company information, sexually assaulting another employee, or bringing weapons to the company premises, then you should act fast. You can suspend the employee with pay while you perform the investigation. Be careful not to make the employee in question believe that you already judged them as guilty of the said wrongdoing. You must be clear that you’re not pre-judging anyone and investigating without bias.
Find an investigator
You need to find an investigator trained or experienced in various techniques. He should be impartial and can deal with the situation professionally. Find one with such qualities within your company. If not, you can always hire a third-party investigator.
Planning is key
Organize your thoughts first. Collect all information about the problem, including all materials that caused or were part of the problem, written reports from supervisors, and employee complaints. Use all this information to guide what you need to do next. You should also plan out the questions you want to ask and who you want to ask. Find out if you need any other additional documents and other pertinent details relevant to the investigation.
Interview people
As previously mentioned, you need to gather all information about what has happened. One of the most effective ways to do this is to conduct an interview. Ask questions to those who are involved. Ask the employee who has been accused of causing the problem and the employee/s who filed the complaint. You should also ask the witness questions that would help you further understand what took place.
Gather evidence
Gather all the documents pertinent to the investigation. It may include email messages, personal files, and other evidence such as photographs, drugs, or stolen items.
Evaluate
You need to figure out what happened based on the evidence you’ve gathered and interviews you’ve performed. When you have contradicting stories to evaluate, you need to consider which one makes the most sense and who was more convincing. You also need to assess the facts to see what happened.
Do something
Once you’ve determined what happened, you must devise an action plan. How will you deal with the wrongdoing? You need to take action right away. This way, you’ll protect your company and employees and avoid legal liability for that person’s misconduct.
Document everything
Prepare an investigation report detailing everything you did and why you had to do it. Your entire investigation must be documented. It must also include details about how the problem came up, who reported it, the outcome of the investigation, and the action you took to deal with the issue after the investigation.
