In yesterday’s Advisor, Attorney Jennifer Brown Shaw offered sample questions for interviewing complaining employees and accused employees during misconduct investigations. Today, her tips on interviewing witnesses, plus an introduction to a unique collection of 10-minute training modules.
Interviews with witnesses must be handled with care and discretion, says Shaw. As you interview witnesses, disclose only sufficient information necessary to ascertain relevant facts, she adds.
Shaw is a partner in the law firm of Shaw Valenza LLP in Sacramento. Her comments came during the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference and Exposition held in San Diego.
What to Tell Witnesses
- Our company is investigating a complaint of inappropriate conduct about which you may have some relevant information.
- It is against the law and internal policy to retaliate against anyone who has filed a complaint or participates in the investigation of the complaint. Notify HR or management immediately if you believe retaliation has occurred or is occurring.
- Do not discuss the investigation with others and keep the matter confidential.
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Questions for Witnesses
- Why do you believe you have been asked to participate in the investigation?
- What knowledge do you have? Source?
- Were you present? If so, what did you see? Hear?
- Did you hear the information from someone else? If so, who? When? What was said?
- Did you see the information in writing? If so, describe or produce the writing.
- Do you have any notes or documents or anything else that may be relevant to the investigation? If so, request a copy.
- What is your own experience, interactions, and/or relationship to the extent relevant, with the complainant(s) and the respondent?
- What is your knowledge of the interaction/relationship between the complaining employee and the accused employee.
- Is there anything else you want the company to know?
All things considered, it’s better to avoid investigations, and actually there’s one sure-fire way to do it—train your supervisors and managers so they can nip misconduct in the bud, before it blossoms into something that has to be investigated.
Training supervisors and managers is critical, but it’s also demanding. To train effectively, you need a program that’s easy for you to deliver and that requires little time from busy schedules. Also, if you’re like most companies in these tight budget days, you need a program that’s reasonable in cost.
We asked our editors what they recommend for training supervisors in a minimum amount of time with maximum effect. They came back with BLR’s unique 10-Minute HR Trainer.
Train your line managers with BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer. There won’t be time for classroom boredom. Try it for free.
As its name implies, this product trains managers and supervisors in critical HR skills in as little as 10 minutes for each topic. 10-Minute HR Trainer. offers these features:
Trains in 50 key HR topics under all major employment laws, including manager and supervisor responsibilities, and how to legally carry out managerial actions from hiring to termination. (See a complete list of topics below.)
Uses the same teaching sequence master teachers use. Every training unit includes an overview, bullet points on key lessons, a quiz, and a handout to reinforce the lesson later.
Completely prewritten and self-contained. Each unit comes as a set of reproducible documents. Just make copies or turn them into overheads, and you’re done. (Take a look at a sample lesson below.)
Updated continually. As laws change, your training needs do as well. 10-Minute HR Trainer provides new lessons and updated information every 90 days, along with a monthly Training Forum newsletter, for as long as you are in the program.
Works fast. Each session is so focused that there’s not a second’s waste of time. Your managers are in and out almost before they can look at the clock, yet they remember small details even months later.
Evaluate It at No Cost for 30 Days
We’ve arranged to make 10-Minute HR Trainer available to our readers for a 30-day, in-office, no-cost trial. Review it at your own pace and try some lessons with your colleagues. If it’s not for you, return it at our expense. Click here and we’ll set you up with 10-Minute HR Trainer.
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