When an employee raises an informal or formal complaint about workplace harassment, employers must act promptly to address the issue, protect all parties involved, and initiate a thorough investigation.
A swift and thorough response not only yields the best information and evidence but also enhances the credibility of both the investigator and the employer. Despite the potential disruption investigations can cause, they must be handled efficiently to ensure the safety and fairness for everyone involved.
Here are the essential steps an employer should follow upon receiving a complaint:
Ensure Confidentiality
- Communicate to the complainant and all involved individuals that the information gathered will be kept confidential to the greatest extent possible.
- Explain that some information may need to be disclosed to the accused and potential witnesses, but only on a “need to know” basis to conduct a thorough investigation.
Select an Interviewer
- Choose an impartial manager, company officer, or HR representative who ideally has training in conducting harassment investigations. The aHRrow team has training in conducting investigations and can serve your company as an impartial interviewer.
- The interviewer should commit to a fair and thorough approach and begin the investigation as soon as possible after receiving the complaint.
Conduct Interviews and Gather Evidence
- Interview the complainant, the accused, and any witnesses.
- Ask unbiased, open-ended questions prepared in advance, and be ready to ask follow-up questions. Avoid leading or accusatory questions.
- Collect any relevant documents, emails, photographs, videos, or other evidence that pertains to the investigation.
Make a Decision and Take Action
- After completing the interviews and gathering all evidence, determine the outcome and document the conclusions and actions taken.
- If the accused is found to have violated harassment or other workplace policies, apply appropriate disciplinary measures based on the severity of the behavior.
- Place a summary of the findings in the accused employee’s file and remind them that retaliation against the complainant is unacceptable.
Inform the Complainant
- Notify the complainant about the conclusions reached in your investigation. While you do not need to share the specific disciplinary action taken, the complaining employee should be assured that you took appropriate steps to address the situation and prevent future harassment.
- Share the outcome only with those who need to know.
- Reinforce that retaliation will not be tolerated and encourage the complainant to report any signs of backlash.
By following these steps and thoroughly documenting the process, employers can demonstrate to a court, jury, or government agency that they took the complaint seriously, responded promptly and appropriately, and had a documented good-faith basis for their actions.
aHRrow is available to assist your company as impartial interviewers for workplace harassment investigations. Contact aHRrow for guidance and support in managing these sensitive matters.