As promised, here are the slides from the session on Planning the Investigation.

Years ago, I began my company by doing something fairly BASIC. I talked to people — pretty much anyone I could — about work. What did they like? What did they dislike? What would they change? How had they been treated? I had no particular agenda, except to try to truly understand the intersection between people and their workplace.

On May 24th, I will be presenting a break out session on Workplace Bullying at the Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute (I will also be presenting the second-day alternative plenary on workplace investigations.) I have been studying this issue and dealing with alleged and actual workplace bullies for the past several years.

“His face was inches from mine,” said the complainant. “I felt as though he was going to hit me. He didn’t yell but spoke so slowly that it was as though I was a child. I could feel myself shaking. He told me I was worthless, and then threw the report on my desk and stomped out.”

“I am sorry. What I did is wrong. I take full responsibility.”

It is always best to use the year-end to take stock of things that have gone well, and things that need to be improved in the new year.  In this spirit, I offer my clients and their leaders some resolutions to consider.

The recent, tragic death of a Yale graduate student working in her laboratory serves as a stark reminder that violence can strike at any time, anywhere.  Workplace violence is hardly a new concern, but it is a concern that tends to be pushed to the background out of fear, resource limitations or the sense that it “wouldn’t happen here.”  Like any other problem of consequence, paying attention to it before it strikes is far more effective and far less painful than attempting to deal with the aftermath of its consequences.

This story on NPR about spotting lies reinforces the basic premise of Sepler & Associate’s training on interviewing and assessing credibility.

1.  What suggestions do you have for employees that use the “buzzwords,” such as “hostile environment,” or “harassment, when (the complaint is ) really about a manager that is dealing with performance issues.  When I have told the employee that what I heard wasn’t a hostile work environment or harassment, they ask for the definition and then change their story.

Below are the slides from the interviewing session Sepler Anatomy.