How to Conduct Workplace Investigations Training

Even if a seasoned employee relations specialist is joining your human resources department, it may be necessary to provide training on company-specific steps for investigation and resolution of workplace problems. The training must cover every step of the investigative process from the point at which an employee initiates a complaint to the resolution of it.


Discuss why workplace investigations must be handled swiftly and confidentially by a trained HR specialist assigned to address employee relations. Share with training participants technical guidance that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides for workplace investigations. The EEOC strongly recommends that employers have a policy and process for handling workplace conflicts. Review your organization's policy steps.


Review labor and employment laws enforced by the EEOC, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Go over labor laws enforced by the National Labor Relations Board, such as the National Labor Relations Act.


Explain how to interview an employee who lodges a complaint and the importance of capturing the employee's version of events or circumstances leading to her complaint. Instruct training participants to check written statements for accuracy before having employees sign them.


Describe how HR employees determine whether an investigation is needed. All workplace problems don't need to be investigated. For example, if a Latino employee complains that he is being paid less than other non-Latino people in his department, review compensation data to determine if it's true. If he's not similarly situated with the others in the department -- he doesn't have the same qualifications, job functions, tenure and responsibility -- it might be unnecessary to spend HR department resources to conduct a full investigation.


Engage in role playing to demonstrate how to inform an employee that, upon a preliminary investigation, you determined the allegations to be unfounded. Show how to document investigative steps and findings in case the employee complains again or escalates the matter to an agency charge of discrimination.


Interview witnesses if you decide the matter should be fully investigated. Identify potential witnesses and take statements from those with firsthand knowledge of the circumstances. Analyze the statements to determine relevance and establish the witnesses' credibility.


Give examples of how to evaluate witnesses' statements, applicable laws and company policies to decide how to resolve problems. Explain when to call legal counsel and the type of workplace conflicts that can be handled without the expense of the company lawyer. Stress the importance of conserving company resources for investigations, yet managing them from start to finish expediently.


Describe the process for resolving complaints, including enforcing workplace guidelines, disciplinary action or termination. Remind participants how to communicate with supervisors and managers about the investigative process and make recommendations for resolution.