Reach findings your organization can act on
An employee reports that a manager made a troubling comment and then removed her from an important assignment. The manager disputes the account. A witness remembers only part of the conversation. Leadership needs an answer, but before anyone can decide what happened, someone must determine which questions the investigation actually needs to answer.
That person may be you.
A well-run investigation gives the organization a basis for decisions it may later need to explain or defend. It reduces the risk of repeated interviews, overlooked evidence, unresolved allegations, and findings that are sent back because the reasoning is unclear.
Workplace Investigation Skills helps you develop the judgment behind that process. You will make decisions as a realistic case unfolds, assess what the evidence supports, and see how each investigative choice affects the credibility and usefulness of the final findings.
Know what to investigate before the work expands
A complaint rarely arrives as a set of neatly framed questions. It may combine something a person heard, an employment decision they experienced, and a concern about what happened after they spoke up. If those issues remain tangled together, interviews wander and the final report may leave a central question unanswered.
You will practise separating a report into specific concerns, deciding which records to preserve, and identifying who can conduct the inquiry fairly. You will also consider what information matters now and what can wait. A more focused plan helps you use investigation time where it will improve the decision.
Ask questions that move the inquiry forward
Interviewing is more demanding than collecting each person’s version of events. An answer may be incomplete because someone remembers the sequence differently, does not know what another person intended, or has not yet seen a relevant record.
Through guided practice, you will work on questions that draw out detail without suggesting an answer. You will decide when to seek clarification, how to test a conflicting account, and when new information should be put to someone for a response. Those skills help you avoid returning to the same people simply because an important question was missed.
Explain what the evidence does—and does not—establish
A message may confirm that a conversation occurred without proving what was said in the room. A timestamp may establish when an assignment changed without explaining why. An investigator needs to understand the value and limits of each piece of information.
You will assess documents and accounts allegation by allegation, consider plausible alternative explanations, and decide whether further inquiry could change the result. You will then draft findings that show the reasoning behind each conclusion. The goal is a report that helps the authorized decision maker act with a clear understanding of what the investigation established and what remains unresolved.
Practise with one case across two live sessions
Session one: Plan and investigate. You will receive the initial report, define the concerns, identify relevant people and records, and plan the interviews. You will practise interview questions and revise your approach when additional information changes the case.
Session two: Assess and explain. You will compare the accounts and records, decide where follow-up is needed, and draft findings for the separate concerns. You will practise explaining your conclusions and their limits to a decision maker.
Each session combines focused instruction, individual decisions, interview practice, and facilitated discussion. Participants newer to investigations can build a practical approach, while experienced practitioners can test their judgment against the case’s more difficult questions.
Take useful tools back to work
Your registration includes the fictional case file, an investigation planning worksheet, an interview guide, and an evidence and findings worksheet. You will use the tools during the workshop and keep them for reference when planning and documenting future inquiries.
You will also receive 90-day access to recordings of the teaching segments. Participant breakout discussions and case disclosures will not be recorded. After attending both live sessions, you will receive a certificate documenting 5.5 instructional hours.
Who should attend
This workshop is designed for HR generalists, HR business partners, employee relations professionals, managers with investigation responsibilities, and others who may be asked to examine a workplace complaint and provide findings leadership can act on.
It is especially useful if you conduct investigations only occasionally, are preparing to lead your first investigation, or already have experience but want a more disciplined approach to scoping allegations, interviewing witnesses, assessing conflicting evidence, and writing findings that can withstand scrutiny.
Workshop details
Format: Two live, three-hour online sessions, with a 15-minute break in each session
Tuition: CA$395 per person
Class size: Up to 25 participants
Included: Case materials, practical worksheets, 90-day teaching-segment recording access, and a certificate of completion
Select an available cohort using the registration options above. The certificate documents attendance and instructional time. The workshop does not claim preapproved SHRM, HRCI, or CPHR recertification credits; participants can check their credentialing body’s requirements.
Your facilitator
Jim Woods is CEO and President of Seattle Consulting Group. He holds a master’s degree in Organizational Development and Human Resources and previously served as a university professor. His work has helped more than 500,000 professionals and frontline employees across 51 countries navigate consequential workplace and management decisions.
His work focuses on the decisions behind organizational trust, accountability, performance, and workplace risk. In Workplace Investigation Skills, that experience is applied directly to the investigator’s task: defining the concern clearly, asking questions that produce useful evidence, assessing conflicting accounts, documenting reasoning, and communicating findings decision-makers can use.
Cancellation and Transfer Policy
If you need to cancel your registration, notify Seattle Consulting Group before the first session begins. Your tuition will be credited toward a future Workplace Investigation Skills workshop, subject to availability.
If Seattle Consulting Group cancels the workshop, you may transfer to another available session or receive a full refund.
A participant who cannot attend may request one transfer to a future scheduled Workplace Investigation Skills workshop instead of cancelling, subject to availability. If tuition for the future workshop differs from the amount originally paid, the applicable difference will apply.
Seattle Consulting Group reserves the right to reschedule or cancel a Workplace Investigation Skills workshop. If Seattle Consulting Group cancels the workshop and the participant elects not to transfer to another available date, tuition paid will be refunded.
Program Disclaimer
Workplace Investigation Skills provides workplace investigation education and practical guidance. It does not constitute legal, employment, Human Resources, or other professional advice, and participation does not create a consulting or advisory relationship with Seattle Consulting Group.
Organizations and participants remain responsible for determining how workshop concepts should be applied within their own circumstances, policies, and applicable laws.
Be ready before the next complaint arrives
The difficult part of an investigation is rarely taking notes or scheduling interviews. It is deciding what must be investigated, what the evidence actually establishes, when further inquiry is necessary, and how to explain the conclusion clearly enough for someone else to act.
Practise those decisions before they become yours in a live workplace matter.
Choose Your Workshop