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Why would an organization conduct an investigation? Most of us would respond, "To find out the truth." But the "truth is rarely selfig evident. What an investigation can do is fact finding. Unfortunately, there is little guidance available on how to conduct a thorough, fair, non-criminal investigation. The author suggests some guidelines that can serve as the basis for a discussion within the dispute resolution community of what we should expect from a competently conducted investigation.
With some frequency, organizations must conduct investigations of accidents and other incidents. These are really "fact-finding" missions. The organization might need to investigate the manner in if which an employee incurred a work-related injury, or an allegation of sexual harassment, or an altercation between two employees. Regardless of the issue, the organization must learn the facts in order to resolve the matter in a fair manner. This article examines the elements of a fair investigation and proposes guidelines that could assist in its implementation.
What is an Investigation?
An investigation is a systematic collection of facts for the purpose of describing what occurred and explaining why it occurred. The word "systematic" suggests more than a whimsical process. In other words, it should be thorough and fair. There is a right way to conduct a fair fact-finding investigation, just as there is a right way to take a blood pressure reading.
An investigator will collect the facts relating to the incident under investigation. But a "fact" is not synonymous with "truth." To the investigator, a fact is nothing more than a piece of information. A witness might tell the investigator that he saw Fred hit the customer. That is a piece of information, whether it is true or false.
An investigator collects facts in order to describe and explain to the organization what occurred. Some facts will describe the event itself, such as a report in the company's files stating that Fred, an employee, fell and broke his leg. There may also be physical evidence indicating that there was a fall, or a fight. Or there may be witnesses to the event.
It is also critical for the organization to learn the circumstances that caused the event to take place. What if water on the floor was the...