July and August are normally quiet times in my business as many of you are on holidays, and therefore I'm keeping these next two newsletters brief.
Jeff

I recently taught an investigation course to a group that worked in a high risk emergency response environment. While they appreciated the value in conducting workplace incident investigations they were also concerned with maintaining personal relationships. In other words, "how can I ask those tough questions of my co-workers and potentially have to identify their shortcomings and still maintain friendships?"

Like any good instructor I simply turned the question back to them and the group brainstormed the issue. A frequent response was "do a professional investigation." So the next question was "what does a professional investigation look like?" Here are their responses.

• Ensure any previously identified prevention measures or recommendations have actually been implemented.
• Follow company investigation policy and procedures; be consistent in your investigation approach.
• Ensure all investigators have been trained and given the opportunity to gain experience.
• Assign no blame. Keep the prevention focus. Find the root cause.
• Keep information confidential. Do not release any information until the investigation is fully complete.
• Be honest with people. Don't prejudge or jump to conclusions.
• Ensure privacy when dealing with witnesses. Be consistent in your questioning.
• Deal only with facts, no opinions or hearsay.
• Explain the investigation process to witnesses.
• Engage an external investigator in sensitive cases, perhaps another company investigator from an outside location

What else could be added to this list? Please let me know.