An employee has delivered you a complaint containing serious allegations…..now what? The first step should be to dust off your organization’s policy that should outline how complaints are dealt with. Don’t have one? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. It is important to respond to workplace complaints in a manner that will not compound the problem or jeopardize the ability to resolve the issue satisfactorily. The initial stages of responding to a complaint involve firstly acknowledging receipt of the complaint, providing the complainant with information regarding the complaint management process and a preliminary triage of the severity and urgency of the allegations. Following this, an assessment of whether the allegations, were they to be true, would present a breach of organizational policy or be otherwise legally problematic must occur. At this point many formal complaints can be resolved informally, without the need for a formal investigation. If, for example, the allegations do not rise to the level of harassment or the misconduct alleged could not reasonably be construed as a breach of policy, other resolution paths such as alternative dispute resolution, third party mediation or simply providing both parties an opportunity to “be heard” may be enough to arrive at resolution.

Unfortunately, not all complaints can or should be resolved in such a manner. Perhaps the complaint involves a senior member of the organization who, were they to investigate the complaint, would find themselves in a conflict of interest. Or perhaps the allegations are serious enough that, were they to be true, would be quite problematic for the organization or involve the need for serious disciplinary measures. Complaints involving those types of risks often require an external third-party who is independent of the organization to conduct the formal investigation. Third party investigators not only carry with them the potential for impartiality but will have the time and expertise necessary to conduct an investigation that is thorough, fair, timely and as confidential as possible.

resolveHR routinely helps organizations deal with complaints, no matter how minor or serious the allegations. We can help you put policy in place to help guide your organization, assist in the response to complaints, help bring down “the temperature” and hopefully arrive at a resolution that doesn’t require a comprehensive formal investigation. If however, that is warranted, we’ve got you covered there too.