Great Training For Workplace Investigations!

When you receive an allegation of workplace harassment or discrimination - or believe your organization has become a victim of fraud or theft - taking prompt action is your legal responsibility.

But let's face it: most HR professionals or business owners have never had formal training in how to conduct a workplace investigation or an internal investigation. And without having the proper skills in how to handle allegations in the workplace - and investigate them effectively - employees may feel their complaints are not taken seriously internally.

As a result, employees often take their complaints externally - to the EEOC, DOL, or to their attorney. Therefore, our Internal Investigations training course is a must-attend for those individuals that are responsible for employee relations and the handling of workplace and internal investigations.

After all, is the time to learn how to do an internal investigation when you are suddenly faced with having to do one? Of course not. That's where our training on the HR investigations process can help!

Learning Objectives:-

Our intensive, three-day program on the HR investigations process is designed to provide you with a thorough grounding in how to conduct a workplace or internal investigation - and to arm you with the knowledge of how to properly conduct the workplace or internal investigation to minimize legal liability and reduce employee complaints.

This program is packed with practical tools, tips, and techniques to improve your HR investigation process skills - and boost your confidence in handling sensitive and complex employee issues.

Using interactive exercises and drawing on years of practical experience, our trainers will outline a step-by-step internal investigation process that can be applied in all types of investigations, including harassment, theft, drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence.

Training For Understanding The HR Investigation Process

By attending our Internal Investigations training seminar, you will learn how to properly handle a workplace or internal investigation, including:

• The legal obligations that require employers to conduct internal investigations
• How to gather documentary and physical evidence prior to witness interviewing
• How to establish a chain of custody and a confidential retention process
• How to prepare questions for witness interviews and select appropriate interviewing locations
• A standard format for documenting investigative findings
• Best practices in handling disciplinary action and terminations to avoid stepping on legal land mines

Agenda:-

This comprehensive three-day seminar and workshop on Internal Investigations have been designed to provide you with training on how to best conduct an Internal Investigation.

This course starts by providing you with an understanding of the laws and requirements – as well as the employer’s obligations – governing an investigation, then teaches you the specifics for doing and concluding an investigation. The course then concludes with three practice investigations where you can apply what you have learned!

You receive:

• Information-packed training covering everything you need to perform an Internal Investigation, plus
• Interactive sessions throughout the course to test your new knowledge, plus
• Three mock investigations where you can apply all of what you’ve learned

DAY ONE (Monday, May 18, 2020, 10:00 AM EST - 06:00 PM EST)

Identifying Key Drivers Of Employee Complaints

• Why employees complain - and what they complain about
• The impact of social media on employee complaints and investigations
• How to identify what is - and isn't - a valid complaint that requires an investigation
• How to define boundaries in HR to set expectations on issues HR does and does not own
• How to push back on employee complaints that do not require a workplace investigation
• Leadership and organizational issues that must be addressed to minimize the risk of litigation
• The role HR plays in handling employee issues - and how to obtain investigative authority

Interactive Exercise:

• Concern Or Complaint? Identifying Who Owns What

Developing An Investigative Strategy

• Why "picking up the phone" to call witnesses is a lousy strategy for beginning an investigation
• How pre-planning minimizes the risk of negligence - and improves productivity
• How to determine who is an appropriate investigator
• Whether or not you must recuse yourself from an investigation
• The skills you must possess in order to be an effective investigator
• The three things you must consider when selecting investigative team members
• The potential pitfalls - and politics - to assess problems before a case begins
• How to resolve conflicts and turf issues to set the stage for an investigation
• How to plan your strategy to get the "trifecta" of evidence in every case

Federal Labor & Employment Law

• Review of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and anti-discrimination and harassment laws
• Harassment: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Work Environment
• Other laws that can come into play when conducting internal investigations
• Employer obligations regarding when and how to conduct workplace investigations
• When it is necessary to take remedial action

Interactive Exercise:

• Evaluating A Complaint: Intimidation, Bullying, or 'Just Joking Around'?

Common-Law Compliance Obligations When Conducting Investigations

• The common law that creates additional compliance obligations for employers
• Retaliation: Review of Supreme Court case that has redefined retaliation—and how to avoid claims
• Negligence: How to avoid claims of negligent hiring, supervision, retention, and investigation
• Assault & Battery: Knowing your responsibilities in handling toxic and dangerous employee situations
• Defamation: Understanding slander and libel and how to avoid claims
• Privacy: Understanding the three kinds of privacy issues and why a Search & Seizure policy is necessary
• How to handle electronic communications and employee use - and abuse - of social media
• Today's "must-have" company policies to minimize the risk of litigation

Interactive Exercise:

• "Frosty" Behavior—or Retaliation?

Skill Building Practice Investigation:

• Investigating An Allegation Of FMLA Abuse

DAY TWO (Tuesday, May 19, 2020, 10:00 AM EST - 06:00 PM EST)

Conducting Witness Interviews To Cut Through The Nonsense And Get To The Truth

• Learning that preparation is the key to effective witness interviewing
• How to choose and set up an appropriate space for conducting effective interviews
• How to set up the seating arrangement for the maximum investigative benefit
• Weingarten rights and requirements for interviewing in union shop environments
• The "Bulls Eye" interviewing technique to keep your questioning on track
• How to determine if a witness is telling the truth - or telling you a "story"
• Techniques to gain witness cooperation and overcome reluctance
• Your responsibility if an interview gets out of hand - and how to handle it
• Strategies on how to deal with aggressive witnesses who fail to cooperate

Interactive Exercises:

• Using The 'Bulls Eye' Technique To Get To The Truth
• Dealing With Reluctant Witnesses

Good Case Management & Conducting the Findings Meeting with Leadership

• How to conduct a preliminary meeting to identify potential organizational risks
• How to communicate assertively to stand behind your investigative work
• How to present findings, succinctly, to enable leaders to visualize organizational impacts
• Identifying current policies - and past practices - before making decisions
• Recognizing leadership decisions that can lead to negligent retention claims
• Determining when it becomes necessary to leverage internal/external legal team support

Interactive Exercise:

• Dealing With Politics

Organizing Evidence In Preparation For Writing The Investigative Report

• Using contemporary software to streamline the documentation collection/collation process
• How to align allegations with applicable policies and laws
• How to review and evaluate evidence to establish a fact pattern and timeline of events
• Process for evaluating evidence to determine if you can conclude the investigation

The Do's And Don'ts Of Writing An Effective Investigative Report

• The various formats for investigative reports: memos vs. formal report structures
• How to write an effective report that demonstrates good faith and minimizes the risk
• What does go into an investigative report—and what does not
• Evaluating the credibility of witnesses in "he said/she said" investigations
• Documenting corroboration and inconsistencies in "he said/she said" investigations
• Effective communication to complainants and witnesses in order to close out a case
• How to set up appropriate security protocols to safeguard investigative documents
• How to avoid legal liability for prematurely disclosing or destroying evidence

DAY THREE (Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 10:00 AM EST - 06:00 PM EST)

Skills Building Workshop: Practice Investigations

Participants will work collaboratively on three mock investigations, working on the practice cases and gaining valuable knowledge and skills, working “a day in the life” of an investigator in each case, handling all aspects from documenting the initial complaint to conducting witness interviews, gathering evidence, and learning how to write a final investigative report.

Each fictitious case deals with different, sensitive issues to increase your knowledge of how to identify behaviors, gather evidence, and determine if company policies and/or laws have been violated.