Case
Studies
In
the corporate sector where human resource is becoming like oxygen
to companies it is important to take care of them in every way
you can. This section will treat you with articles about time
tested companies and what they do to keep their employees happy.
May be you can benchmark with them...?
Ethics
investigations
After Sherron Watkins spilt the beans on Enron’s Accounting
malpractices, many an organisation has come under scrutiny for
various ethical reasons. Whistleblowers might not be right all
the time. It could just be a disgruntled employee trying to
get back at the organisation.
Ethics
investigations aim to verify facts when there are allegations
of unethical practices against an organisation or a department
or even an employee. However, these are often laden with risks
legal and human.
Prepare
the questions to be asked well in advance. Also plan out the
approach to be adopted when questioning potential witnesses
and suspected parties. Ensure that the plan is open to summoning
other potential witnesses and change of approach based on the
answers.
Guidelines
for conducting ethics investigation:
1.
Seek Help: Take the help of subject matter experts especially
when the case calls for a certain degree of expertise. Subject
matter experts can help in understanding the principles, procedures
and capabilities. So if the investigating manager is an HR expert,
and the case is accounts related, then seek the assistance of
an accounting expert. It is nevertheless important to get an
agreement from the expert asking him to keep matters confidential.
2.
Ask open-ended questions: Avoid yes/ no questions Open-ended
questions initiate conversation. Questions such as, “How’s
your relationship with your team” or “tell me what
you saw” or “what else can you tell me about yourself”
help elicit the desired information.
3.
Refrain from prompting: Instead of asking a witness, “Did
you see Alec harassing Susan?” ask, “What did you
see?” The former question assumes that something actually
happened and puts the witness on guard. As the interviewer is
not a witness to the case, he should feign ignorance about the
case.
4.
Don’t stop early: The investigating employee/manager
must continue his interrogation till he is certain that he has
extracted the maximum possible information from the witness
or the suspect. Stopping too soon in the investigative process
can defeat the purpose of the enquiry. If the investigator is
convinced that a witness or a suspect some important information,
he should try to obtain it. One way to end interrogation is
by asking, “Is there anything else that you think can help
me in this investigation?” The witness might produce documents
or some other evidence to prove the case.
5.
Pretend to believe: Fact or fiction, witnesses want their
stories to be believed. The investigator must not give any indication
that he doesn’t believe the story as the witness might
cease to disclose any information. A witness must be tackled
carefully and cautiously.
6.
Avoid being judgemental: Refrain from giving your opinions
and inferences. In your report state only facts not the witness’s
opinions or what he heard from someone.
7.
Verify statements discreetly: Verify everything a witness
tells discreetly. Check the witnesses’ in and out timings,
computer reports etc. This can authenticate the information.
8.
Do a thorough job: Do not fight shy of investigating any
legitimate sources of information such as email, computer files,
voicemails, phone records etc. However, the company must clearly
state that it has the right to check everything within its premises.
The investigator must be prepared with his defence on the matter
lest it should lead to legal glitches. It is advisable to seek
the advice of a legal counsel on the matter.
9.
Do not be manipulative: The investigator’s best chances
are dependent on the relationship and the rapport he builds
and shares with the witness. When an investigator tries to be
manipulative and plays games, he ruins his chances of obtaining
the right information.
10.
Be frank: Lying to the witness about what you know and don’t
is similar to manipulating the witness and can destroy the rapport
with the witness. If you cannot divulge some information to
the witness, say so instead of pretending you do not know.
Unearthing
the truth can be very difficult. When the evidence against an
alleged unethical practice is not enough, it is better to let
it go. At least half of all investigations conducted are abandoned
for lack of sufficient evidence.
Many
considerations need to be borne in mind when investigating ethics-related
incidents. Once sufficient evidence is gathered about the incident,
the next logical step is to tackle the people involved. All
those involved must however be treated with dignity to ensure
a healthy ethical environment.
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