4 Benefits of an Independent Workplace Investigation

Whatever your industry, there will always been incidents that occur in the workplace. Whether large or small, it’s important not to ignore these incidents as you could find that not investigating them will cost your business more than taking the steps to investigate them properly.

Workplace incidents cover everything from misconduct, bullying, harassment, grievances, conduct or breaches which may justify disciplinary action or dismissal.

It may seem easier to let incidents “sort themselves out” or to take a wait-and-see approach, but letting incidents slide in the workplace does not set a great example and support a safe work environment, impact your culture and the teams’ performance and productivity. On top of that, you could find yourself in hot water with the Fair Work Commission, Anti-Discrimination Commission Qld (or other state and/or Federal based regulators) or worker compensation regulators, if action isn’t taken.

Why should you investigate?

There are many reasons why you should investigate an incident, but there are two essential catalysts:

• An employee will lodge a complaint regarding another employee, for example concerning sexual harassment, bullying or micro-management.
Or,
• You believe an employee’s conduct justifies disciplinary action or dismissal, whether that is because of a breach of an organisational policy or illegal conduct.

Both sources should be treated with the same amount of attention and all incidents should be taken seriously.

What does investigating properly actually mean?

This is where things get tricky. Taking the steps to investigate an incident may seem daunting, as you’ll need to take into consideration your legal obligation, collect evidence, interview witnesses, record statements, and prepare investigation reports, all while remaining impartial.

For any business, even ones with an internal HR department, this may seem like a time-consuming and costly task.

You may find the solution is getting the help of a third party to conduct the investigation.

Benefits of an independent investigation

There are many things that an independent investigation will deliver to your business. Most importantly, it is a great time and money saver, as well as insuring peace of mind.

Independent third-party investigations are guaranteed to be impartial. They won’t have to take into consideration existing relationships or office gossip; they will only collect evidence and use that evidence to make a balanced and neutral finding.

The benefit of an independent party is also that they will provide an outsider perspective. They won’t necessarily know the ins and outs of your business, but this is a blessing in disguise. You may find yourself overlooking things because of how you’ve always run your business, but a third party will not have the same distractions. They will follow all the proper protocols.

You can also rely on independent investigators to be a wealth of knowledge, as it is their job to know everything and anything about workplace investigation processes. They will also be there to answer any questions you may have, so you will not only be acting on your behalf but also will educate you on the investigation process.

One of the most important benefits is that an independent management consultant with specialist skills in the legislation, psychology and the process, will have extensive experience in investigating all types of incidents, minor or major, and you can rest easy that they will know what exactly what they’re doing. The industry knowledge and experience they have will be invaluable to your business.

At HR Business Direction, our Industrial Relations, Workplace Psychology and Workplace Health and Safety Specialists are able to assist you with independent workplace investigations. Contact us here.

Leisa Messer BBus(HRM); GradDipIR; CAHRI; IRSQ
Managing Director | HR Strategist
leisa.messer@hrbd.com.au
07 3890 2066
www.hrbd.com.au