Archives for April 2016

5 Insights into Conducting Effective Fact-Finding Investigations

5 Insights into Conducting Effective Fact-Finding Investigations Fact-finding is an essential skill set for anybody who is in an HR, labour relations or employee relations role. If you stay in this role, at some point you will end up doing investigations, and having this skill set is going to make you much more efficient as a practitioner.

Jerry Christensen, who recently retired from the City of Calgary, managed and coordinated the City’s respectful workplace program and dealt with all of their human rights issues. With previous experience working in the criminal justice system and with the Alberta Human Rights Commission, Jerry has worked in several regulatory environments where someone had to be held accountable. In this interview, Jerry shares his thoughts about the value of fact-finding and investigation training for HR and LR practitioners, as well as the five most important things he’s learned about conducting effective fact-finding investigations.

“If you’ve not done any workplace investigations, never had any training to do so, and then find yourself being thrust into that role, it can be very intimidating. The word ‘investigation’ is going to be flashing in front of your face in letters that are 10 feet high and blazing red. You may find yourself feeling anxious and nervous about your role in this process.” Jerry points out that this is why it’s important to have training in fact-finding. “Usually, when people are intimidated about the process, they’re going to stumble through it and they may not do it very well.”

As an investigator at the City of Calgary, Jerry took on a neutral role, where he didn’t advocate for one party or the other. This was very important to his role, because if HR or LR are perceived to be favouring one side, the parties involved may feel that it’s not a fair investigation.

Improving your skills in fact-finding is another essential tool in your toolkit, Jerry says. “These skills are your bread and butter as an HR or LR practitioner. I think taking the Queen’s IRC Mastering Fact-Finding and Investigation course increases your competency as a professional.”

“Fact-finding is really all about talking to people. I really believe this kind of training is going to help improve their communications skills and their ability to engage with all types of people more effectively. It doesn’t matter what job you do or what kind of business you’re in. I believe that this training will be of benefit to you.”

Whether you’re just starting out, or whether you’ve been through some fact-finding investigations before, Jerry shares the five most important things he’s learned about conducting effective fact-finding investigations.

1. Good Investigations Are Thorough And Fair

The two main criteria for a good investigation are thoroughness and fairness.

It’s important to respond effectively to complaints in the early stages because issues can escalate quickly, to a point where the workplace can get polarized and toxic very quickly. You have camps of ‘he said’ and ‘she said’, no one trusts anybody, and employees are upset with what they perceive as an unfair situation because they feel nothing is being done to investigate the complaint. Productivity goes out the window and work doesn’t get done. An employer’s reputation can be negatively impacted very quickly because these perceptions become topics on social media or other outlets – nobody can keep it internalized anymore.

There are many cases where an employer has been accused of not doing a thorough and fair investigation. Those employers then have to deal with negative press, and possibly be involved in costly litigation.

Recently there have been media reports of an employee who launched a civil action, alleging that she brought forward what sounds like sexual assault allegations against another employee, and that the company didn’t deal with it properly. The employer will now have to demonstrate what they did and how they did it in order to defend themselves against those allegations in civil court. If they can’t prove that they investigated this in a fair and thorough way, and if they can’t demonstrate it with tangible facts or documentation, then their liability and reputation could be at risk.

2. Not All Investigations Are The Same

The word ‘investigation’ has a very negative value attached to it. For a lot of people, when they hear that word, they have their own perceptions of what investigations are – mainly from all the crime shows that we see on television. But crime shows don’t show the real way that workplace investigations should be done.

In some situations when a complaint is on the lower end of severity, there may be an opportunity to try to informally resolve the issue. HR and front line managers or supervisors should be able to (and prepared to) give coaching and/or advice to both parties so that they can resolve their conflict themselves. If they can do this, then nine times out of 10, the resolution will stick, and people will be able to work together much more effectively.

When the situation is dealing with more severe allegations, this is where the process tends to get more formalized. Complaints are written out and the allegations are very specific in terms of who, what, when, and where. People will have to be interviewed about their knowledge of the specific allegations. All of that information will have to be evaluated to determine if there has or has not been, a violation of some workplace rule or policy. If necessary, discipline may have to be imposed. In most people’s perception of what a workplace investigation entails, this type of process is what it would look like.

This is where the training that one can obtain through a fact-finding course, such as the one offered by Queen’s IRC, is going to help. It helps you learn to maintain that position of objectivity and fairness, and teaches you how to complete a thorough investigation and write proper reports. If you can demonstrate to the parties involved that your process is as thorough and fair as it can be, then they may be prepared to accept the outcome.

3. Patience Is The Key to Good Interviews

Everybody that I interview – everybody, it doesn’t matter who you are – they’re all nervous. On a scale of nervousness, with one being the least, and 10 being the most, usually most people are five and up when I come to interview them because, “Oh no …, now I’m involved in an investigation. Somebody might lose their job. I don’t want to get anybody in trouble.” Getting someone you are interviewing to a point where they feel comfortable to simply begin talking and having a conversation, that’s usually the biggest hurdle to overcome.

In the criminal justice system, people are interrogated, but in the workplace that approach tends not to get anything of value from the person you are trying to interview. You have to have a discussion with them in a way that’s not going to intimidate or make them feel threatened. Usually that’s the biggest hurdle right off the bat and sometimes this takes a while to achieve. Being patient and asking questions in a conversational tone will tend to get you the information you need.

4. People Present The Truth As They Know It

Most people want to tell you the truth as they know it. And by that I mean that people might tell you their version of what happened, and while they’re not lying, it’s very different from what somebody else saw. It’s how they perceive it and how they interpret the situation. They want to tell you that. You’ve got to be patient with them to give them the opportunity to get that out. Sometimes in an investigation, we want it done yesterday. But I’ve always taken the approach that I’m going to do it as quickly as possible, but it’s going to be thorough, and if thorough means taking an extra few days to get the information complete, then that’s what’s going to happen.

The most challenging types of investigations are where the allegations involve a situation that happened in the distant past. When allegations are several months or a year or older, people’s memories get very sketchy. Even though some of us like to think that we have really good memories, when it comes to specific details, we don’t. We tend to have recollections that are influenced with lots of other things that happened in our lives during the time period that is being investigated. Dealing with allegations that are old makes it very difficult to determine the validity of those allegations, and it may seem like the person being interviewed is not being forthcoming. In my experience most people want to be forthcoming but their memories don’t always cooperate.

5. Stay Neutral And Investigate Every Complaint

As an HR or LR practitioner, it’s important to investigate all complaints in the workplace, either formally or informally. The Jian Ghomeshi case really highlights this point. The workplace allegations that involved Ghomeshi were years and years in the making. Some people in the workplace may have minimized it as “Oh well, that’s just him,” or “We don’t believe that.” Then the proverbial volcano erupted. Obviously people who should have looked into those allegations didn’t, and if you have any training in fact-finding, you will know that your first obligation in situations like that is not to say, “Oh well, that’s just him.”

If your organization has HR or LR practitioners who are trained in fact-finding and investigations, they are going to be able to handle most workplace complaints. But there may be instances when you need to bring in an external investigator. If people have the perception that HR is too close to the situation, or isn’t able to handle the complaints, you should consider bringing in an external person that is going to have the perception of objectivity and the necessary skills to do a thorough and fair investigation. That’s crucial here.

As a good employer, you have a duty to investigate any complaints that are made. It doesn’t mean you have to do a great big huge investigation and interview hundreds of people, but you need to check into those allegations to determine what next steps need to be taken. Maybe you will find that this is a matter that can be resolved between two employees, or maybe a more thorough investigation needs to be launched, but you can’t just ignore the allegations.

Breaking Bad News About Organizational Change

Breaking Bad News about Organizational ChangeGetting the news out about an upcoming restructuring, merger or acquisition, layoff, or other major organizational change can be a challenge. No one wants to experience having their name ‘pop up’ in a new organization chart that is widely distributed online before receiving any direct personal communication from their boss. Imagine if you showed up at the office and discovered that the reason why you cannot access your email is not because of a glitch with the IT department but because you have been dismissed, and no one had the courage to tell you. Organizations and managers have a responsibility to share such news in direct and supportive ways that enable employees to understand what is changing and how they will be affected.

Why is it so hard to deliver bad news to others? Perhaps you like to be the ‘nice guy’ and find it difficult to say no, or disappoint others. You may fear that you will become the target of anger and retaliation. Being the bearer of bad news can be emotionally upsetting, challenge our self-image, and disrupt relationships. Sometimes we face situations where our own beliefs and feelings, values and principles are in conflict. Caught in the middle, we might feel a bit ambivalent, or defensive, about the decisions made by the executive team, and yet we are the ones asked to deliver the message to employees.

Bad news is defined as information that has an adverse effect on how a person views the future, and impacts how people think, feel, and behave (Bies, 2012; Buckman, 2005). How we deliver bad news affects how people interpret information, and how they cope. It not only impacts the relationship between managers and employees, but may negatively impact the company’s reputation.

Some of us have not had much experience delivering bad news. Many of us have received little or no training on how to deliver bad news to our employees. If managers are typically inexperienced and unprepared to deliver bad news, what might we learn from other professionals like doctors, nurses, and law enforcement officials that might help us with this difficult task? Using a structured approach can help you deliver bad news to individual employees in a way that will result in less anger and blame, provide a greater sense of fairness, engender greater respect for you as a manager, and help people deal with change (Bies, 2012). Consider a process with three stages: prepare, deliver, and follow-up that can help you be successful in handling these situations.

Prepare

  1. Practice. Rehearsing before delivering such news can help you appear more credible to your audience. Rehearsal can take the form of mental rehearsal, or actual practice. Try practicing at home in front of the mirror to gauge your own verbal and nonverbal behavior. According to social psychologist Amy Cuddy, our body language affects how others see us, and when we are being inauthentic, our nonverbal and verbal cues are misaligned.
  2. Manage the setting. Arrange to have the discussion in a quiet and private location. Minimize interruptions. Turn off the cellphone, computer, telephone. Consider meeting with the employee in his or her office, rather than calling them into your office. Take your time.
  3. Manage your own reactions. Delivering bad news can be emotionally upsetting for managers who may feel guilty, conflicted, and focused on avoiding the situation. You need to be aware of, and manage, your own emotional reactions before sitting down with an employee. How can you keep calm, professional, and genuine?

Deliver the Message, Build the Relationship

Communication takes place on two levels: the message content and the relationship. Breaking bad news is an opportunity for you to communicate the facts of the situation and provide the rationale for decisions that have been made. It is also an important opportunity for you to pay attention to the relationship. How you maintain the respect and dignity of the employee in the conversation and convey trust may have a significant impact on your credibility, employee morale and motivation, and your relationship with employees that may continue into the future.

  1. Provide some advance warning. Just like good drivers who signal their intentions to other drivers as they prepare to make a left turn, managers need to prepare people to hear bad news. Providing advance warning of bad news provides some predictability that can help offset the shock of bad news. You can start the conversation by saying, “I have some difficult news I need to share with you.” Easing into the topic gives people a chance to prepare themselves psychologically for what comes next.
  2. Be sincere. Face-to-face delivery of bad news matters. When bad news is delivered verbally, in person, or over the phone, people will perceive you as more sincere. Face-to-face communication encourages more immediate feedback that can help you clarify the message, reduce misunderstanding, and convey trust.
  3. Deliver with clarity. Give information in small chunks. Be clear. Repeat the message. You don’t want the information you are attempting to convey to be misinterpreted. Beware of corporate ‘doublespeak’ that may confuse the message in an attempt to make the situation seem less terrible. Saying one thing, while meaning another is a sure way to undermine your credibility. Test for understanding. Summarize the information you have presented.
  4. Tell the truth. Employees expect managers to tell the truth, and truth is essential to building trust (Bies, 2012). Lying creates intense feelings of distrust and outrage. Be direct. Give people the facts. Don’t sugarcoat the message. Help people understand the situation. Identify the mitigating circumstances. Explain the rationale for decisions that have been made.
  5. Provide an adequate account. People expect a clear, valid and reasonable explanation or justification for managerial decisions and actions. Doing this well can make it less likely that employees will blame you as the manager. Inadequate accounts, on the other hand, can be demotivating, resulting in less cooperation on the part of employees, lowered productivity, and potentially increasing the risk of retaliation.
  6. Explore, empathize, validate. Encourage employees to vent. Remember, emotional reactions are normal. Validate the person’s experience in a genuine manner. You could say, “This is not what you wanted to hear” and “I can understand how you feel that way”. Acknowledging feelings helps people feel validated. Avoid getting into a debate about the merits of a decision that has already been made. Listen. Invite feedback.

Follow Up

Communicating bad news may be the first in a series of events that need to happen to ensure a smooth transition to a new reality. Your role as a manager is to continue to provide the support and direction needed to help people manage this transition. In the shock of the moment, people may not process or remember all of the details. Follow up with employees by inviting feedback and questions, being available, and focusing on next steps.

  1.  Invite questions. Invite feedback. Ask, what questions do you have? Gently probe to explore feelings if people have not expressed them.
  2. Focus on the next steps. What can you do to help employees to focus on the future? How do you provide a sense of hope for the future? What is going to happen, when, and how? Adapting to stressful events is somewhat easier if they are predictable or controllable.
  3. Be available. Invite employees to come back to you another time with more questions and concerns.

Managers play an important role in setting the stage around the need for change in organizational life. Not all change is life-altering. Taking adequate time to plan and prepare before delivering bad news can increase your confidence and your skill in having these conversations. Paying attention to the content and delivery of the message helps employees understand the rationale for change, maintains trust, and reduces anger and blame. If you act with integrity, people may not like the message, but they might respect the messenger. And that might mean they are more willing to work with you to make the changes that are necessary to create new possibilities for the future.

 

About the Author

Kate SikerbolKate Sikerbol, PhD (Candidate) is a facilitator with Queens IRC and an organizational consultant and coach with extensive experience in business, healthcare, government and higher education. Kate has designed and delivered change management programs, leadership development programs, facilitated team building using strengths-based and appreciative approaches, and provided leadership assessment and coaching to managers and executives. She is passionate about creating capability for change in teams, organizations, and communities.

Kate is the lead facilitator for Queen’s IRC Change Management program.

 

Selected References

Bies, R. J. (2012). The delivery of bad news in organizations: A framework for analysis. Journal of Management, Vol 26, 1-18.

Buckman, R. (2005). Breaking bad news: The S-P-I-K-E-S strategy. Community Oncology, 2, 138-142.

Cuddy, A. (2012). Amy Cuddy’s TED talk. Retrieved April 8, 2016, from https://www.ted.com/speakers/amy_cuddy.

Gallo, A. (2015). How to deliver bad news to your employees. Harvard Business Review, March 30, 2015.

The Path to Success for Organized Labour

The Path to Success for Organized LabourLabour unions are at a critical time in history. Unions are working to engage the current membership and exploring new innovative communication strategies that are needed to reach the younger generation in a meaningful way. Gone are the days of the bulletin board as the primary sources of union news and updates. People are busy and it’s a challenge to draw the membership out to a meeting. It was not too long ago when local arenas were filled to capacity to hear the local union president address the membership. Email, text message, Twitter and Facebook are popular forms of communication in the fast-paced world of work, and the membership is demanding multiple communication platforms to access. Contrary to popular belief, union members are interested in their union; they simply don’t have the time to participate in the traditional model that is in place, the membership meeting.

Like many organizations, unions are in a time of change and transformation.  As stated by Littlemore (2013), union membership is “pretty close to what it was 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years ago.” (p. 1). Many factors affect the decline of union membership and according to Tattersall (2008), these factors include “international economic competition, anti-union legislation and a shift in local industries from unionized manufacturing to non-union services” (p. 416). Although union membership as a whole has remained constant, the numbers require further investigation. Littlemore (2013) confirms private sector union density has been on a constant decline. With a lens on the private sector unions, a more focused examination is required to understand the decline, what factors may be contributing to the drop in membership, as well as what unions can do to reverse this trend.

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