From time to time, an organisation may be required to investigate potential internal lapses or wrongdoing.
Depending on the nature of the suspected wrongdoing, an investigation could, in order to cover the necessary ground, include different processes such as financial audits, document and correspondence review, surveillance and interviews of relevant individuals.
Ideally, the organisation should engage legal counsel or other professional investigators to conduct the investigation. This will ensure that the investigation process will be thorough and fair. This is important for many reasons, including so that the decisions made and the reasons therefor following the investigation will stand up to scrutiny by regulators, the Court and/or the complainant (if applicable).
Sometimes, external help is unavailable. In such scenarios, it is often the case that the interview process is where the absence of external support is felt most. This is because of two reasons. First, this is usually a necessary step in every investigation. Second, it involves skills that most people do not have the opportunity to hone with practice in the course of their daily work.
The objective of this article is to provide a basic framework for anyone who finds himself having to conduct witness interviews in the course of internal investigations without the assistance of external professionals.
This article is not intended to be a definitive playbook. Rather, it hopefully serves as a good primer and introduction, scratching the surface of the multi-faceted task of the investigative interview.
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