Speaker at the Minnesota Chief's of Police Executive Training Institute
I just finished speaking at the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Executive Training Institute in St. Cloud Minnesota. The Conference theme was “Troubled Waters-Bridging the Gap” and I was asked to present on the top ten problems with internal workplace investigations. I previously blogged about the same topic outlining 10 workplace investigation snafus and fubars.
Even Chiefs of Police struggle with workplace investigations of employee misconduct, despite being instrumental in conducting so many investigations into criminal conduct as part of their policing duties. Investigating criminals is seen as just part of the job, while investigating a fellow employee is a completely different animal. Employees in a workplace are part of a group, sometimes viewed much like a family. Investigating a “family member” is difficult for any employer, including Chiefs of Police.
Conducting a full, fair, neutral investigation is crucial not only to the suspect employee, but also to other employees in the department, the morale in the workplace, and the integrity of the department. Workplace investigations require time and planning to be done right. There are no short-cuts to a well-planned and executed workplace investigation.
Internal workplace investigations can cause troubled water for a law enforcement agency, but the quality of the investigation will serve to bridge the gap.
