Workplace Investigations - Tip # 3
The Purpose of An Investigation - When internal management learns of alleged employee misconduct, they respond with an internal investigation. However, the process of learning the facts, drawing conclusions and doling out discipline are really three distinct areas which must be thought of separately. For example, when someone is accused of discrimination or harassment in the workplace by a fellow employee, it is often the human resources professional who conducts the investigation. That same professional then draws conclusions, and handles discipline. The problem with this approach is that one individual may play the role of fact finder, judge, and jury.
The purpose of the investigation is to find the facts: what happened, the details, who did and said what, how, why, etc., etc. When facing an investigation in your organization, my suggestion is to think of these separately. If you go into an investigation thinking about how you're going to discipline the accused if found to have violated your policy, you've got it all wrong. You job is to gather the facts objectively and as fairly as possible. Someone else should be the judge and the jury. By allowing yourself to play all three roles, you risk losing objectivity.
The risk to objectivity is greater than one might think.
Here's why. As an HR professional performs an investigation he or she is forming a conclusion which will become part of the final report. Human brains tend to sort data in a way that confirms conclusions and ignores contrary data. That means that the investigating HR person is very likely to miss data that might add clarity or insight to the situation, simply because they are human.
For those reasons, and others, I believe it's preferable for an external resource to do the investigations. Then, the HR person can play a more strategic consulting role in creating a solution that lessens exposure yet addresses the needs of all parties.
I wonder why more organizations don't use an Ombudsman model in dealing with harrassment issues?
An Ombuds supports the HR staff, management and employees by providing a neutral resource to clarify situations, encourage conflict resolution and identify systemic issues that might otherwise remain hidden.