What Do You Mean By Internal Investigations?
May 8, 2019For those who are wondering about the authenticity of such investigations, well, they are perfectly legal and most companies conduct these in a periodic manner to gain better insight into their company and employees or in special cases, pertaining to lawsuit claims, fraudulent actions, and more.
An internal investigation is the means through which one can determine whether workplace policies and regulated practices have been violated in some manner. A typical internal investigation follows up in the case of a complaint, an allegation made, workplace harassment accusation, suspicion of fraud, etc. Such situations call for immediate attention. One can either employ the HR department to carry out the investigation or hire professionals to gain better insight into the situation.
The process of an internal investigation consists of:
1) Somebody files a complaint about a particular incident or misdemeanor with HR. HR then devises the perfect plan to get details about the case.
2) The next step is the collection and examination of any type of written or recorded evidence. Evidences play a very crucial role in the happenings of the investigation and hence one need to gather as much as possible.
3) Then comes the interviewing of employees. This has to be done in a very systematic manner so that it does not stress out the interviewees and also doesn’t disrupt the functioning of the workplace. Such interviews play an important role and hence must be conducted with standard protocols and must be accurately documented too.
4) The next stage is for professionals to use computer and forensic examinations to understand the details of the event. One can employ a variety of ways to gather the required information.
5) The BOD of the company needs to be updated and kept in the loop about the happenings of the investigation and reports must be sent to them in a timely manner.
While the company can handle certain matters on their own, special cases require a professional investigator who will conduct the investigation in a systematic manner, all while keeping the desired result in mind. It is difficult to find investigators who not only understand the nature of your business but also the importance of the task at hand. Companies like Aequitask can help you get the perfect people to get the job done.