When a complaint is made, or you think one is likely to be made, about alleged inappropriate workplace behaviour, failure to meet required organisational standards, harassment, bullying, discriminatory behaviour or a matter that has potential reputational harm for your organisation, it has to be dealt with quickly and properly – it cannot be ignored, or handled informally.

 

Organisations are at risk of being held vicariously liable for unacceptable workplace behaviour, or failing to provide a safe work environment, and are likely to suffer reputational harm if they cannot demonstrate that they have systems in place to respond quickly and effectively to such matters.  It is essential that these situations are handled professionally from the outset. 

 

Organisations need to have systems, frameworks and procedures in place to address workplace behavioural issues before they occur and we are able to provide you with appropriate policy frameworks to deal with these issues, or review the ones you already have to ensure they are appropriate, effective and robust.  

 

We can provide specialist advice, strategies and services if:

 

• you suspect that inappropriate behaviours may be occurring in the workplace;

• a situation may escalate and you want to address it before it does;

• you need a situation handled quickly, discreetly and objectively;

• you need an independent, arms-length investigation conducted;

• your organisation does not have the internal skill sets or resources to conduct an investigation;

• a matter of concern involves senior employees or board members;

• the outcome of a matter may lead to possible external review;

• it is likely that the matter of concern will result in review/investigation by a regulatory body such as a professional accreditation body, the Crime and Corruption Commission or WorkCover; and/or

• it is possible some form of legal proceeding may result from the alleged behaviours and/or your response to them.

 

We conduct workplace investigations in a planned, integrated, holistic and defendable manner that examines specific allegations as well as other factors that may be relevant such as leadership style, workplace culture, organisational skills or operational issues.  Our staff are highly skilled in managing internal and external stakeholders in what can be emotional, sensitive and highly-charged situations.

 

We provide strategies that allow you to manage any potential reputational harm to your organisation flowing from incidents that occur and ensure that you are positioned to effectively demonstrate that any issue has been appropriately managed.

 

You may have already conducted your own internal investigation of an incident and are ready to address the issues identified.  In such circumstances, we can review the processes used, and the findings and recommendations, to ensure they are robust, appropriate and will stand up to external scrutiny.

 

We provide a holistic response that ensures you not only know what has happened and why, but have a solution to prevent similar situations arising in the future.  If you need help in changing cultures or implementing recommendations from any investigation then we are able to assist you in this areas as well.