Investigation Skills Training Course - One Day

About this Investigation Skills Training Course

There are occasions when managers have to investigate allegations of bad-practice. These allegations may represent a breach of the law, or it may be a breach of company policy. Either way, the manager has to interview the “witnesses” and they have to interview “the accused”.

This places the manager in a difficult position because the manager has neither experience nor knowledge of exactly how to conduct an investigative interview where the person being interviewed may be evasive, angry, lying, or the victim of an injustice.

This course is intended to help.

Your training aims are:
To develop the leader-managers’ ability to investigate possible instances of:

1. Misconduct
2. Disciplinary issues
3. Grievance issues
4. Poor performance issues

Why the course is needed

You want to give some practical training to members of staff who need to investigate possible instances of poor performance or poor conduct.

In situations where your investigation needs to get at the truth, you want a level of consistency so that all your managers are operating according to proper principles.

You want the training so your people can work to a definite standard; as opposed to everyone doing their “own thing”.

In addition, some of your managers have never had any formal training in the art of asking probing questions, so you need something that will help them in their role as an investigator.

Investigation Skills Training - One Day Course Overview

Available Dates and Locations

In-House Course Available Call us on +44 (0)20 3856 3037 to discuss your requirements or Read More >

Please note all our training courses include optional three months FREE telephone coaching to answer any on-going questions.

Course Timings: Start 09:00 - Finish 16:30. Lunch at 13:00, Tea Breaks at 11:00 and 15:00.
6 trainer-led hours, additional 2-3 via post-course portal independent learning

Our Open Training Courses run in: London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Maidstone, Scotland, Reading, Dublin, Ireland, Leeds, Luton, Bedfordshire, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Gloucestershire.
In-house courses can be run in the UK or worldwide to suit you.

Investigation Skills Training Course Content

Investigation Skills Training - Day One - AM

Investigation techniques are important skills for investigations officers.

1. Formal complaints
2. Possible bullying
3. Harassment
4. Disciplinary issues
5. Grievance issues
6. Misconduct

There are five major steps your investigators must master

1. Taking the initial statement of complaint
2. Taking the independent witness statements
3. Interviewing the person who is accused of doing something wrong
4. Recording everything in writing, in a chronological order, ensuring that you omit any inadmissible statements and retain every relevant item of admissible evidence
5. Preparing a file sufficient that the decision-maker(s) can make a proper, informed decision

Investigative questioning is a specialised form of communication

Investigative questioning is a form of conversation that does not follow the normal social conventions, but must still be done with a high degree of professionalism and respect whilst being effective as a tool to get to the truth.

To conduct a professional, respectful and effective interview, this investigation skills training is designed to help your people make the switch in conversational technique.

“The switch” includes learning how to:

1. Get to the truth of the matter
2. Uncover any outright lies - by identifying contradictions and errors in the others account
3. Uncover evasion. Evasion is the art of NOT telling the whole truth, (i.e. missing important bits out); in order to distort the truth without actually lying
4. Distinguish error from malice or laziness
5. Take proper “contemporaneous written notes” so that you can use the information gleaned during the interview

The differences between normal conversation and an investigation interview.

Investigation interview is a special context that requires that you make a conscious shift in your normal conversational method.

Distinguish between answers and responses to your questions

1. Some people RESPOND to questions but don't answer them
2. The questioner must notice when his-her question has not been answered

Distinguish between

1. First hand evidence- admissible
2. Second hand evidence- hearsay evidence - non admissible

Best Evidence Rule

The best evidence rule is a legal principle that holds an original document is superior evidence than any copy. The rule specifies that a copy cannot be used if the original exists.

The implication is to: Keep safe all your original documents and evidence safe.

Investigation Skills Training - Day One - PM

Major Communication Skill 1: Facts v Opinions

You need to distinguish between two kinds of statement:
Objective facts and Subjective opinions:

• Objective facts - the evidence provided by the five senses
• Subjective opinions - personal interpretation of facts
• Practice exercises and feedback from trainer

Major Communication Skill 2: Specific and Vague

You need to distinguish between two kinds of statement:
Specific and vague.

• Specific statements denote only one possible interpretation
• Vague statements denote multiple possible interpretations
• Practice exercises and feedback from trainer

Your skill as an investigator is to take their vague statements and by questioning, reduce it down to a specific statement

Major communication skill 3: Truth, Error, Lies and Evasion

Identifying four types of response to a question:

1. Truth – The statement corresponds to the facts and is self-consistent
2. Error – The statement is NOT TRUE but is believed to be true by the speaker. The speaker is in error
3. Lie – The statement is NOT TRUE, and the speaker knows that it is not true. It is a lie
4. Evasion – The statement does not answer the original question. The speaker is not actually lying but is evading the truth by not giving full answers. He-she keeps “ducking the question”

Warning: Evasions are more common than lies. Because lies contradict reality, they are more dangerous to a dishonest speaker. If a person has done something wrong, he-she will be more likely to EVADE the question rather than LIE, because NOT answering a question is safer than lying.

Ways people use to EVADE questions:

• Forcibly challenge the questioner. (The Donald Trump Technique)
• Change the subject. (The Tony Blair technique)
• Give the answer to a different question. (Another Tony Blair technique)
• Have an emotional outburst, (usually an outburst of anger or tears)

Practice exercises and feedback from trainer.

Probing questions techniques

1. Key questioning skills
   How to ask probing questions
2. Getting to the facts, not opinions or guesses
   Separate facts from opinions, interpretations and guesswork
3. Notice when a person says one thing, then later contradicts the statement
   Contradictions should be noted and investigated
4. Gaps in the narrative
   Find out what bits they have failed to mention
5. Take things in chronological order (time order)
   Structure their statements into a time-line

• Practice exercises and feedback from trainer

Methods of recording interviews

Taking contemporaneous notes.
Taking hand written notes: Accurate, complete and legible.
The art of asking questions and taking notes at the same time.
The rules on recording.

Summary, personal action planning and close

The Course Training Method

The training method follows this general pattern - the training is very interactive and interesting:

1. The trainer gives a clear explanation of the point in question with specific examples.
2. Then, the delegates practice by doing an exercise with each other.
3. The delegates practice by doing an exercise with the trainer.
4. All points are supported with full written notes to take away.
5. Delegates are asked to write down an associated action, for each point made.
   (At the end of the day, we have about twenty such actions, from which the delegates choose six which are the most personally meaningful).

Note: we do not believe in placing people in any situation of embarrassment by demanding that they 'perform' in front of the whole group. So you can relax: come on this course and be at ease; ready to learn new skills!

Express an Interest

If you feel you would like to attend but cannot yet commit to a secured booking, you can express your interest here.

In-House Training Course Pricing and Proposal

This course is available from just £1,950 +VAT per day as a bespoke in-house group training course in the UK and worldwide.

It has been designed to provide a similar experience to our open courses, however we can tailor the content to fit your specific needs. In-House Group training costs from just £1,950 +VAT per day for up to 20 delegates (international training price varies). Plus, hotel accommodation for trainer if necessary. (Premier Inn type: not the Hilton!)

This price includes:

• Quality training delivered by an experienced trainer
• Full days training
• Full colour course handbook
• Preparation work
• Travel costs and time
• Written action plan to take away
• Access to our post course portal
• Access to our on-line leadership and management decision matrix templates and tools
• Plus three months FREE telephone coaching to answer any on-going questions

In-House Proposal Document

Download the in-house training proposal document

Contact Us Today

Please call us on +44 (0)20 3856 3037 to discuss your requirements for the in-house training course.

If you want to know more about any other Management Training Courses, or their suitability for you or a colleague, call us on +44 (0)20 3856 3037.

Email your Manager

If you are reading this page with the intention of attending the course, then you may need to 'put forward a case' to a manager who makes the final decision.

So, you may find it beneficial to give your manager this document, which will give all the information needed to make the right decision.

To do this, please enter the manager's email address below and.. take me to your leader!

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