Investigating Employee Misconduct - Research Paper Example

Investigating Employee Misconduct Introduction Employee misconduct is a usual occurrence in many organizations. Employers always hope that cases of employee misconduct will not arise, but they are always proactive in setting a compliance committee. The compliance department takes the critical responsibility of ensuring that all the employees uphold the ethical values defined by the organization. The compliance committee usually receives reports of employee misconduct. After reception of the reports, the committee focuses on investigating the validity of the reported claims. The committee also involves legal investigators, who bring their professionalism, ensuring that the misconduct claims receive the attention they deserve. Usually, failure to investigate employee misconduct may reflect negatively on the public image of the organization. Therefore, organizations have to conform to the existing legal frameworks while conducting investigations of employee misconduct. This paper will discuss all the critical steps followed by organizations in carrying out investigations of employee misconduct. Definition of employee misconduct Employee misconduct denotes several acts that contravene the ethical and legal laws that define an organization (Baker &McKenzie 2012). Some of the misconducts include: Disclosure of information to the wrong party Misappropriation of assets and resources Unauthorized use of personnel and resources Forging of documents Alteration, mutilation, and concealment of documents Authorization or reception of payment for goods not received Disclosure of information to the wrong party Intentional misstatements Accepting or seeking additional benefits from contractors, vendors, and partners Failure to report misconduct Fraud Different forms of corruption Steps in investigating employee misconduct The first step in the investigation of employee misconduct is the identification of the needs, goal, and the implications of carrying out the investigation. This means that the employers should validate and develop a justification of the investigation. one of the reasons that compel investigators to carry out investigations after reception of misconduct reports is to obtain a sufficient factual basis in order to determine how the misconduct will affect the employment agreement (BC Human Rights Coalition, 2005). Moreover, the employer will require to have specific details that can be used in cases of filing lawsuits. If the misconduct reports involve theft, then the employer may need to investigate in order to analyze the theft in details, identifying the stolen items. If the compliance committee receives reports of criminal cases, the organization must ensure it sets up a team that can investigate the facts surrounding the crime. Other organizations have highlighted that they carry out investigations to prevent the occurrence of detrimental consequences that may result from the publicity of the issue. Moreover, an organization may commit to carrying out an organization in a bid to avoid any costs of probable litigation (United States, 2002). In many cases, prompt investigation prevents the organization from incurring a liability because of the misconduct. At this point, the organization may also decide to avoid carrying out any investigation because of the costs and time required. Moreover, the organization may be uncertain about the revelations of the investigation. In other cases, the investigation may have detrimental effects on both the internal and external reputation of the organization.Some organizations prefer not to carry out investigations because they lack the capacity to manage the proceedings of the investigation (Canwell, 2005). Moreover, it is unwise to carry out an investigation when other employees may file complaints on the issue. Identification of a reliable investigator is the send critical step. Many organizations prefer to deploy the company’s counsel, who recognizes the implications of the investigation. However, the company should consider the whether the company counsel will be considered as a potential witness in the case. Other factors of consideration in the choice of the investigator are whether the same investigator has investigated the reported employee previously, as the record would compromise the integrity of the investigation (Gennard& Judge, 2005). In other cases, if the company trusts the human resource, then it may use the officer to carry out the investigation. The investigator employed to carry out the investigation must have the capacity and integrity required to analyze all the facts surrounding the case, taking note of all the details that surround the claims. The third step involves preparing the most effective strategy of carrying out the investigation. The investigator should strive to identify all the potential witnesses whose witness are crucial in developing the case. Moreover, it is important to gather the necessary documents and credentials that help in establishing the facts surrounding the case. The witness list should remain open in case other reliable witnesses do surface (Thompson, 2013). The investigator should produce an order of the interviews. The defined order of the interviews should ensure that critical information does not leak facilitated by the sequence of the interviews. Evidently, this places emphasis on the need for a critical strategy in designing the chronology of events that will define the investigation. The fourth step involves the preparation of a file for the case. The file should reflect all the information collected and should be kept securely. The file may be created in electronic media so that it remains inaccessible to unauthorized personnel who may tamper with its contents. In cases where the file is available in hard copy, then its storage should be in a cabinet with a stringent safety system known only to the investigator (Schiff and Kramer, 2004). Professionalism in the field of investigation stipulates that it would be inappropriate for the investigator to compile additional information and add into the contents of the file prior to the completion of the investigation process. After preparation of the strategy to be used in the investigation process, it is of critical importance for the investigator to undertake the investigation process promptly. Prompt investigation makes sure that the witnesses and the involved parties do not forget the accuracy of the information concerning the misconduct claims (Relief International, 2012). Moreover, the longer time taken to investigate gives room for compromise and the influence of the witnesses’ evidence. Promptness serves to protect the reputation of the organization, presenting it with a clean record, and ensuring that no litigations are not filed. The next phase of the investigation process is conducting the interviews. In the interview process, the investigator should not coerce the witnesses or the suspected employee to speak. It is appropriate for the investigator to carry out the investigation in privacy, allowing all the individuals to understand the purpose of the interview. Instead of coercion, it is necessary for the investigator to request all the individuals and employees that their cooperation is critical in ensuring that the investigation process is successful. It is of importance for the employee facing charges of misconduct as well as the witnesses to realize that lack of cooperation may have serious implications (United States, 2002). In any case, the investigator’s findings may be affected by the failure of the employee to cooperate. Moreover, it may affect their standing in terms of the employment agreement. The employee facing the accusation of misconduct should utilize the interview period as an opportunity to relate his defense and present all the relevant evidence. The potential of open-ended questions in prompting the accused and the witnesses to talk is a critical strategy in the interviews (McNeil & Brian, 2007). The investigator should have critical mastery of the time frame when the misconduct occurred so that the questions used in the interview session exhibit a chronological sequence that matches the sequence of events. It is critical to establish the source of the evidence presented by the witnesses, whether they observed the events unfolding or they are offering data from someone else. After the interviews, proper documentation is critical. Such documentation should highlight all the parties involved in the interview session, their capacity, and responsibility in the interview process, and all the information they presented. It is important for the investigator to maintain accuracy in this phase to avoid compromising the integrity of the data obtained from the interview (Ferraro, 2012). Documentation should focus on the definitive information provided, avoiding non-definitive phrases that do not point to specifics. After the interviews, all the members of the investigating committee should compile reports and findings they gathered from the interview. They should remain specific in the reports as these are used in drawing conclusions at the closure of the investigations. Throughout the investigation process, it is important for the investigator to protect the rights of all the people investigated to avoid contravening a person’s right in any way. Conclusion Evidently, each organization must exhibit a level of patience,invest both money and time before it establishes the facts surrounding the accusations of misconduct facing the employee. This is the case because shoddy investigations compromise the ethical principles as well as human rights. It is critical for an organization to hire a credible investigator with the right attitude and exhibiting expertise and professionalism. The investigator must be aware of the legal frameworks that govern investigations of misconduct. Prompt investigation will prevent the organization from a compromised reputation because of the charges against the employee. Each organization has different stipulations in its ethical code defined by the compliance department, and investigators should adhere to such stipulations. References Baker &McKenzie. (2012). Responding to Misconduct. Retrieved on 19th November from http://www.bakermckenzie.com/files/Uploads/Documents/Global%20Corporate%20Compliance/br_compliance_respondingmisconduct_12.pdf BC Human Rights Coalition. (2005). Conducting Internal Investigations. Retrieved on 19th Nov 2013 from http://www.bchrcoalition.org/files/documents/InternalInvestigation.pdf Canwell, D. (2005). BTEC First Diploma in Business.Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Ferraro, F. (2012).Investigations in the Workplace.Florida: CRC Press. Gennard, J., & Judge, G. (2005).Employee relations.London: Chartered institute of personnel and development. McNeil, B. F., & Brian, B. D. (2007).Internal corporate investigations.Chicago, Ill: Section of Litigation, American Bar Association. Relief International.(2012). Policy on Reporting and Investigating Misconduct. Retrieved on 19th November 2013 from http://www.ri.org/files/uploads/events/RIPolicyonReportingMisconduct_Rev1-5-2012.pdf Schiff, B., and Kramer, C. (2004).Conducting Internal Investigations of Employee Theft and other Misconduct. The Brief, 33(3), 62-64. Thompson, J. D. (2013). The compliance response to misconduct allegations: Playbook.Amsterdam: Elsevier. UnitedStates.,& United States. (2002). Employee misconduct: Justice should clearly document investigative actions : report to the Chairman, Government Information, Justice, and Agriculture Subcommittee, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives. Washington, D.C: The Office. Read More