Not Sure Where to Start? Legal and Effective Internal Investigations 5.11.16

When you have to investigate a workplace incident, you never know what you’re going to find: It could be a minor violation of company policies, or a serious case of harassment or discrimination.

There may be just one person involved, or several. And to get to the bottom of it, you might only need to interview a few people, or talk to a dozen people and pore over financial data, email records and other evidence.

Just because every situation is different, though, doesn’t mean you can’t follow the same procedures for every investigation. In fact, it’s essential that you develop a standard process for planning, conducting and reporting on the findings of your internal investigations.

A consistent process can make your investigations more efficient and effective, and less disruptive to your organization. What’s more, investigations conducted in the same way can reveal important insights that help you prevent problems from happening again instead of just reacting to incidents.