Workplace investigations can be time-consuming, emotionally taxing and extraordinarily stressful. Let’s say that you have received a complaint related to discrimination, harassment, violence or misconduct in the workplace.  You know that you don’t have anyone qualified in-house that can conduct the investigation, and that for so many reasons, the investigation needs to be handled by someone who will be seen as independent, unbiased and fair.  So, you’ve made the decision to hire an external workplace investigator – but how do you decide who to hire?

You can start by asking a potential external workplace investigator the following questions:

1.     How many and what types of investigations have you conducted?

This question will help you to better understand the investigator’s depth and breadth of experience.  For example, how many years of experience does the investigator have in human resources? How many investigations has the investigator conducted in the past five years? Has the investigator had experience:

• conducting internal investigations?

• conducting independent, external investigations?

• conducting investigations in unionized and non-unionized environments?

• conducting investigations involving issues of discrimination, harassment (bullying, sexual harassment), violence, and misconduct? 

• conducting investigations involving senior members of leadership?

• conducting complex investigations involving multiple complainants, multiple respondents and/or multiple allegations alleged over multi-years?

2.     Do you have any specialized training?

This question will help you to better ascertain the investigator’s training and qualifications.  For example:

• does the investigator have a strong foundation of knowledge, understanding and application of human rights legislation, harassment and violence legislation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Regulation and Code? 

• is the investigator a licensed workplace investigator?  A licensed investigator is legally and ethically required to maintain confidentiality, to be compliant with the laws and legislation and to adhere to a professional Code of Conduct.

• does the investigator have additional specialized training on topics such as unconscious bias, investigative interviewing techniques, report writing, assessing credibility, and navigating complex investigations? 

3. What’s your process?

This question will help you to understand how the investigator approaches the investigation.  This is important as there may be aspects of the investigator’s process that you aren’t comfortable with, that may potentially be in breach of your organizational policies, that may contravene best practices or violate principles of procedural fairness.  Is the investigator open and willing to adjust their process so that you are comfortable with the path forward?  You may want to ask questions related to how confidentiality is planned for and maintained, how interviews will be conducted and documented as well as how updates will be communicated to key stakeholder of the organization. As they outline their process, take note as to whether they demonstrate emotional intelligence and consideration for the parties.

4.     How do you determine findings?

Workplace investigations are rarely simple and straightforward – in fact, they are often non-linear, shrouded in shades of grey and conflicting accounts.  An experienced external investigator will have investigated many cases where they have had to make a difficult decision as to whose version of events to believe in the absence of clear and convincing evidence.  An experienced investigator will be able to walk you through how they make assessments of credibility in a clear, concise and methodical manner.  An experienced investigator will be able to explain why they accepted or rejected evidence to support their findings and conclusions. An experienced investigator will articulate their process for navigating the grey, demonstrate sound analytical skills, good judgment, and effective communication and interpersonal skills.

5.     What’s included in your report?

The investigation report is critical as it summarizes the investigation process undertaken and helps you to make decisions on how to move forward following an incident of discrimination, harassment, violence or misconduct.  An experienced investigator will have the ability and capacity to draft a written report that is evidence-based, demonstrates sound reasoning, and outlines how they came to findings and conclusions in a clear and logical way.  As a potential client, you can ask the external investigator to provide an excerpt of a sample report (with no identifying information to preserve confidentiality) so that you can evaluate the quality of the report and to ensure that the report will meet your requirements and expectations at the end of the investigation process.  

Hiring an external investigator is an important decision.  You’re entrusting them with an incredibly sensitive and serious process, so it is imperative that you feel confident about their skills, competence, and approach and emotional intelligence.  

October 13, 2020

Saira Gangji is an independent licensed Workplace Investigator at hrology in Calgary, AB.  She investigates allegations of discrimination and human rights, harassment, violence and misconduct in the workplace.  For more information about hrology and our process, see the work with me page.