We help organisations across the UK handle grievances and investigate complaints with a fair, transparent, and unbiased process.
A Guide to Workplace Investigations (with Reporting Template)
Download our free 40-page guide to conducting professional workplace investigations from start to finish. Includes everything you need to conduct sound investigations, from legislation and challenges to interviewing techniques, reporting and humanising the process.
Without completing balanced workplace investigations your organisation could be open to legal action.
At Tell Jane, we help organisations across the world by handling investigations for a range of grievances and complaints.
We specialise in incidents of harassment, discrimination and bullying and have built a reputation for investigating issues that are sensitive or complex in nature, and for approaching every investigation with a fair, transparent and unbiased process.
With our investigations, you get the facts and information so your organisation can then confidently make a reasonable decision on what action to take.
By working with an impartial third party like Tell Jane, your workplace investigations are guaranteed to be objective, transparent and effective.
What are workplace investigations?
Properly done a workplace investigation is a fair and balanced objective fact-gathering and review exercise. Workplace investigations shouldn’t be based on opinions and they aren’t designed to catch people out. It’s about understanding and establishing what happened.
Once you have gathered all the facts and information, your investigation report will give the organisation’s leadership the information they need to make a decision on what to do next.
Without completing a balanced investigation an employer could be open to challenges on an outcome
And this is where many workplace investigations can fail. Not completing an investigation to the correct standards can leave decisions made on the back of it open to question.
As workplace investigation specialists, Tell Jane will support your organisation throughout the entire process. This includes impartial fact-gathering and robust interviewing, mediation where it’s appropriate or a full investigation, if that’s what’s required.
Our professional workplace investigation planning is vital to this process, combined with our expertise and experience.
The Challenges with Workplace Investigations
When a grievance is raised, you are dealing with the aftermath. Because of that workplace investigations can be emotionally damaging to all parties, not just the one who raised the grievance.
There may be problems getting people to come forward as witnesses for fear of retribution.
The Tell Jane specialists are CIPD-qualified HR practitioners. Each is highly skilled in all aspects of the investigation process, including planning, interviewing and controlling bias. We act with sensitivity and confidentiality at all times.
We consider what we will be investigating and how we will get to the facts before we begin the investigation process. We fully understand the nature of the problem and formulated an in-depth plan before starting.
Who should conduct the workplace investigation?
Workplace investigations are time consuming and so your organisation may not always have the capacity to conduct a workplace investigation.
When there are layers of complexity to the grievance, our specialist expertise can really help.
What’s more, to maintain your employees’ trust and ensure fair outcomes, workplace investigations should be conducted by an unbiased HR professional with no personal or professional stakes in the outcome.
If the grievance involves senior employees, or if there are not enough levels of seniority to escalate the case, we also recommend working with an external HR investigator. In some cases HR leaders can be compromised perhaps as witnesses, victims or respondents.
In this way a third-party investigator can really help.
Using a third-party investigator offers impartiality to the process, leaving the outcome less likely to be criticised.
When do you need a workplace investigation?
While prevention is better than cure, incidents of harassment, bullying and discrimination do occur. It is your responsibility as an employer to investigate complaints and grievances.
Many matters can be addressed, and hopefully resolved, with a conversation, rather than a formal process. It’s in everyone’s best interests.
However, your organisation’s policies may make it explicit as to when workplace investigations should take place.
Tell Jane can advise you on when an investigation is appropriate and right, and when alternative measures, such as mediation, or even a simple conversation, are more appropriate.
Mediation can both resolve the current grievance and allow the parties to continue with a good working relationship.
We can help you in deciding how to move forward with a particular incident.
Our process for conducting workplace investigations
Our CIPD-qualified HR practitioners are highly skilled in all aspects of the investigation process. There are three main steps:
First, we plan and prepare for the workplace investigation.
Planning is the most important step for a successful investigation. We look at what is being investigated and how we will get to the facts before anything else. One of the most frequent mistakes in workplace investigations is not having a clear plan of what needs to be achieved.
We plan how, when and where interviews will be conducted, what documentation, or other evidence is available to be reviewed.
We’ll build a Terms of Reference document, clarifying the scope of the investigation. This will include, for example, the nature of the allegations or complaint, how and when interviews will be conducted and how information will be gathered.
Next, we collect evidence to establish the facts.
Our investigators have the interview techniques to help establish the facts. We talk to complainants, respondents, and witnesses. We review any relevant evidence (such as emails or CCTV).
We are sensitive to the nature of the grievance and the effects on those involved throughout, ensuring communication is regular but always confidential.
We believe workplace investigations should feel human, prioritising communication and transparency. We don’t interrogate people or solicit opinions – we ask clear, objective questions and listen carefully to make sure we understand all facets of the situation. We assess the available evidence to draw conclusions about what happened.
Finally, we produce your workplace investigation report
. This covers all the evidence we’ve gathered in depth, including facts that were established and those that weren’t established. We look at whether there were any mitigating circumstances that also require consideration.
With Tell Jane your investigation has a greater chance of being considered fair and balanced, with allegations of bias less likely.
Tell Jane workplace investigations are designed to give your organisation the right information to decide on next steps.
But, with the help of a Tell Jane independent workplace investigator, you can be confident that you have all the facts you need to take appropriate action.
Request our workplace investigations brochure
If you’re looking to discover more about our independent workplace investigations, request a copy of our brochure. Here you’ll find a detailed overview of our approach as well as mediation services and training programmes to upskill your in-house leadership and HR teams in conducting fair and inclusive workplace investigations.
A Blueprint to Reduce Workplace Grievances and Disciplinaries
Download our free practical guide to preventing and reducing formal cases in the workplace. Packed with strategies and tools, the blueprint covers everything from spotting early warning signs and handling concerns informally, to strengthening culture and leadership practices that stop issues escalating.