With so many people working remotely over the past year, I initially assumed that the number of internal employee complaints would decrease, but surprisingly that has not been the case. Now that employees are making their way back to their offices (and having to polish their slightly rusty interpersonal skills in the process), I suspect the number of internal complaints will continue to rise. Thus, I thought it would be a good idea to send out some reminders of what NOT to do when conducting an internal investigation of an employee complaint:
1. Ignore or delay responding to the complaint. When it comes to employee complaints, you can’t just ignore it and hope it goes away. And every complaint deserves attention, no matter how small. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you must interview dozens of witnesses and draft a multi-page report every time an employee raises a concern, but you should make contact with the complainant and follow up on any allegations right away. If you don’t pay attention to an employee’s concern, he may very well find someone who will, such as a lawyer or the EEOC.
2. Fail to interview both parties. I say it all the time: there are ALWAYS two sides to every story. If you aren’t talking to both parties, you don’t have the whole picture, and your investigation is, by definition, incomplete. Again, neglecting to give a party the opportunity to make her case may force that individual to find someone outside the company to make it for her.
3. Have a potential witness or (worse!) a party investigate. Investigators must be neutral and remain open-minded. That can be difficult if the investigator is also a witness and impossible if the investigator is a party to the complaint. Make sure your investigator is not personally invested in the matter to be investigated.
4. Schedule interviews that overlap. The number one concern of any witness in an investigation is retaliation. Allowing witnesses to remain anonymous, to the greatest extent possible, is key to alleviating retaliation concerns and ensuring full participation in the investigation. As such, there is nothing worse than a witness being “discovered” when exiting an interview room while another witness or (gasp!) a party is waiting. Make sure that you are scheduling plenty of time between interviews to keep this from happening.
5. Fall prey to confirmation bias. As mentioned above, there are always two sides to every story, and investigators must keep an open mind throughout the process. Once you decide that the complaint should be substantiated (or not), everything you do from that point forward is viewed through the lens of ensuring your conclusion is correct. Avoid this by determining not to draw any conclusions until your investigation is complete.
6. Become argumentative with the witness. It is crucial to remember that investigators are not prosecutors but neutral fact-finders. Their role is to ask questions and seek clarification, not cross examine the witness like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. Even if you suspect or know that the witness is lying, there is no need to accuse. Simply ask for an explanation, note what is said and, importantly, how the witness acts, and move on. You can use that information in drawing a conclusion later.
I hope you’ve found this information helpful. If you are interested in learning more, I offer live, hands-on training to both individual professionals and organizations that are responsible for conducting internal investigations.