Overview
At some time, every employer will be faced with conducting a workplace investigation. For most employers, the most challenging aspect is struggling to gather information during witness interviews. Many employees for a variety of reasons are reluctant to be involved and can be less than forthcoming. Friends of employees and those accused of an offense are often downright angry and vengeful. However, in investigations, to fulfill employer obligations, it is crucial that interviews are structured to capture and gather all available accurate information, notwithstanding employee emotions that are often running high.
This webinar will help investigators move through what often seems an investigatory maze. For a number of reasons, it can be hard to get people to be forthcoming. Others are not entirely (if at all), truthful. Some investigators, unable to gather information, turn to body language to make determinations of credibility. TV shows while entertaining, are not good training. However, this webinar will also cover ways to assess body language to use in conjunction with facts as presented by witnesses.
In theory, investigatory interviewing sounds easy but in reality, it's often not.
The assigned investigator in many workplaces is often an already overburdened employee to whom another time-consuming project is now assigned, often to their dismay. This investigator may have had little to no training in how to perform workplace investigations. Or they may have had training in the process of investigatory mechanics but never actually performed an investigation. One common challenge is struggling to gather information during witness interviews.
Areas covered
- How to prepare and what to do before an interview.
- Organizing your interview so you can ask good questions.
- Strategies for the reluctant witness.
- Starting and ending your interview
- How to conduct virtual investigations
- The angry "hothead". Dangerous or something else?
- What about tape-recording: Is it a good idea?
- Body language: Can you tell if a witness is giving false or skewed testimony? Developing behavioral baselines.
- Considering cultural diversity.
- The note taker and their role.
- Taking notes and pacing the interview.
- Starting and ending your interview.
- Educating all parties about retaliation
- What about witnesses that are not your employee? Tips for customer complaints and joint employment interviews.
- When are employees entitled to representation during an investigation?
