In “he-said, she-said” situations, who are you to believe when there are no witnesses available or any other sources of evidence? This is where credibility assessments come in. A systematic approach to assessing credibility is based on a detailed analysis of several factors in harassment investigations. In continuation of Part 1 of this blog, here …
Assessing Credibility: More than Just a Coin Toss (Part 2) Read More »
Harassment investigations are highly nuanced and a challenge to investigate as it often involves the classic “he-said, she-said” scenarios. In the face of conflicting stories, who are you to believe in the absence of eye witnesses? How do you conclude what actually happened behind closed doors? In these cases, it all boils down to an …
Assessing credibility: More Than Just A Coin Toss (Part 1) Read More »
In continuation of this blog series, here are some more notable cases over the last decade where employers and HR leaders can learn from to truly understand the cost of getting workplace investigations wrong. In case you missed the first part of this blog series, you can read it here. Doyle v Zochem Inc …
The Cost of Getting it Wrong in Workplace Investigations (Part 2) Read More »
The cost and time required to conduct a legally defensible workplace investigation can sometimes be a barrier for employers – but what is the cost of getting it wrong? This is the very question we will explore in this two part blog series by reviewing some real-life cases employers and HR leaders can learn from …
The Cost of Getting It Wrong In Workplace Investigations (Part 1) Read More »
So, the results are in, the investigation is now complete – but as an employer or HR leader, your work is not yet done. In fact, the real work to restore the workplace is just beginning. This is the final installment of our 3 part blog series on the steps and what to consider in …
In continuation from Part 1 of our blog series on how best to approach harassment complaints, we will now focus on stage 2 of the process as we examine how best to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, following a workplace complaint. Procedural fairness In every investigation, there are usually 2 or more sides …
Ensuring Fairness and Thoroughness in Harassment Investigations Read More »
One, don’t panic. Two, don’t pre-judge or make assumptions. Three, take it seriously. These days, allegations of “harassment” or “bullying” can make people tense up very quickly. Understandably so as reputations are at stake and missteps can be costly – like, in the landmark case of Boucher v. Walmart Canada Corp where the retailer was …
In this final part of the internal workplace investigation series, let’s now examine the last set of risks highlighted in red below. If you are new to this series and would like to catch up on the previous blog posts, here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2. Risk #1: Internal politics skewing outcome …
Inside HR (Part 3) – Challenges with Internal Workplace Investigations Read More »
In continuation from my last post, let’s examine the next set of challenges in conducting internal investigations through a HR lens. Risk #1: Internal politics skewing outcome of investigation Risk #2: Bias Risk #3: Lack of time to effectively plan and conduct a thorough investigation Risk #4: Company policies that may be lacking or …
Inside HR (Part 2) – Challenges with Internal Workplace Investigations Read More »
When employers are faced with allegations of employee misconduct, workplace investigations offer a balanced approach for companies to make informed people decisions. This is especially critical in cases where there is a potential for termination for which litigation risk is high. Is your company diligent in conducting proper workplace investigations?Do you have relevant policies/processes in …
Inside HR (Part 1) – Challenges with Internal Workplace Investigations Read More »
It’s out! The investigation findings regarding Jian Ghomeshi’s case has been released.To no surprise, the report revealed a very toxic workplace inside CBC whereby flagrant disrespect and abuse of power by Mr. Ghomeshi toward other employees ran rampant. It was noted that such behavior was condoned by management for years despite having policies in place …
Workplace Harassment: Lessons from CBC on What Not To Do Read More »