Some employee situations are too serious, or too close to home, to handle internally. A harassment complaint, a misconduct allegation, or a conflict that’s pulling a whole team down all call for someone impartial. We step in as that neutral third party, so the process is fair, defensible, and off your plate.
We handle two related needs: investigating a complaint after it’s raised, and resolving a conflict before it gets worse.
Workplace Investigations
When someone reports misconduct, discrimination, harassment, or violence, you’re responsible for a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation. Doing that in-house is hard. HR is stretched thin, and it’s tough to look objective when you’re investigating your own colleagues or leaders.
We run the investigation for you, led by experienced HR professionals who know how to do it right and make it hold up:
- We scope it with you. We agree on the allegations, who’s involved, and what a thorough review looks like.
- We gather the facts. Document review and confidential interviews with the people involved.
- We reach findings. A clear, unbiased determination of what happened.
- We report back. A written summary and practical recommendations for what to do next.
Because we’re a neutral outside party, the findings carry weight. And if the situation needs legal advice, we can connect you with an attorney experienced in your state.
What we investigate: harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, policy violations, bullying, and threats or violence.
Conflict Resolution
Not every problem is a complaint to investigate. Sometimes two people, or a whole team, are stuck in a conflict that’s dragging down the work. Left alone, it costs you morale, productivity, and sometimes good people.
We provide an impartial facilitator, trained in dispute resolution, to help the people involved work through it. Conflict resolution is often the right move when:
- Work has suffered and other employees are caught in it
- A manager has talked with the parties more than once and it hasn’t improved
- The problem has spread to the morale of the whole team or department
- People are leaving, or threatening to, over it
- You’re facing having to terminate one or both people if nothing changes
We work with you to understand the situation, define the scope, and take an approach that’s thorough and fair to everyone involved.
Why Work with EANE?
- Impartial and defensible. An outside investigator removes the bias questions that sink internal investigations, and the documentation holds up if the matter escalates.
- Experienced HR professionals who’ve handled sensitive workplace matters before.
- Less cost and less drama than a law firm. For many situations, a neutral HR investigator is faster, less adversarial, and less expensive than retaining outside counsel. And we’ll tell you when a matter genuinely does need a lawyer.
When should we bring in a third-party investigator?
When the complaint is serious (harassment, discrimination, misconduct, or safety), when leadership is involved, or when an internal investigation would look biased. An outside investigator protects both the employee and the organization.
What do we get at the end of an investigation?
A written summary of the findings and practical recommendations for next steps.
How is this different from hiring a lawyer?
A law firm investigation is thorough but expensive, and it can feel adversarial. For many situations, an experienced HR investigator gets you the same defensible result faster and for less. We’ll tell you when a matter really does need an attorney.
Is the process confidential?
Yes. We handle interviews and findings discreetly and share them only with the people who need to know.
What’s the difference between an investigation and conflict resolution?
An investigation looks backward to find out what happened after a complaint. Conflict resolution looks forward to repair a working relationship before it gets worse. Some situations need one, some need both.