Investigation Skills Training Course

Investigation Skills Training Availability, Pricing and Course Dates

If you have any questions, please phone us (+44 (0)20 3856 3037) or send us a message.

Bespoke Training (In-House or Live Online)

£1,950+VAT per training day
(International Price Varies)

In-House training has been designed to provide a similar experience to our open courses, however we can tailor the content to fit your specific needs.

We are able to train in your timezone.

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All our training includes:

A full day of quality training, delivered by an experienced trainer
Total of 6 CPD training hours (9am - 4.30pm), plus an additional 2-3 via post-course online independent learning
Full-colour course handbook, with written action plan (electronic or paper copy available)
Training certificate
Access to additional free training material after the course via our post-course portal
3 months free telephone coaching: Whilst you are implementing what you have learned, if you need to, you can contact us for support and guidance

What is Investigation Skills Training?

Occasionally at work, people are accused of misconduct. They may be accused of a violation of company policy or the law, or both. Consequently, managers must investigate such allegations to uncover the truth.

Most managers have not received specific training on how to properly conduct investigative interviews with witnesses, complainants, or the accused person. As a result, many managers make a poor job of this important task. This inability to conduct effective investigative interviews, represents a potential problem.

This one-day in-house course will correct this problem by teaching your managers the investigative interview skills they need.

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

Customer Reviews

4.9/5 Our Investigation Skills Course is rated based on 469 reviews. More Customer Reviews >

Very good pace – learnt a lot about the subject that I do not like doing, but is a part of my job. Trainer presentation, good pace and catered for all levels. Julie Hutchins
Quantum Care

This investigation course was very informative. It has given me more tools to conduct an investigation. The presentation was well planned and completed at the right pace and timing. Jacqueline Makwangwala
Quantum Care

Investigation Skills Training Course Overview

Normal interview vs investigative interview. Investigative interviews are not like normal conversations. We will explain the difference. Answers vs responses. Many people don’t distinguish between an answer and a response to a question. Investigators always make this distinction.

Lying is risky. Many people do not lie, but they do not tell the truth either. We will discuss the alternatives to lying and why evasion is more common. We will discuss how to spot an evasive individual and how to deal with them.

Factual language: Investigators need to know the difference between an objective factual statement, and every other type. We only want factual objective statements. Hearsay evidence is inadmissible; we will give its definition and examples. The best evidence rule is an important doctrine of law, and all investigators must know it. We don’t want opinionated language, we want factual language only.

General vs specific statements. We divide language into two kinds, specific and general. We do not want general statements, we want specific statements.

Steps for gathering information: Here we provide a model for gaining information from witnesses and those making accusations.

Sentence analysis: It is useful to review your knowledge of English grammar, because that knowledge will give you a list of the questions you can ask about any sentence. Asking the right questions; we talk about the importance of chronological ordering.

How to interview the suspected person.

Understanding body language.

Taking good written notes and how to record the essentials of the investigation interviews.

Practice interviewing an accused person.

Final notes and final action plans.

Learning Outcomes:

Hold an investigative interview that gets to the truth
Distinguish facts from opinions
Distinguish answers to questions, from responses to questions
Distinguish between admissible and inadmissible statements
Ask the right questions in the right way
Handle the evasive and difficult person
Take accurate written notes, as you go

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In-House Training

Investigation Skills Training Course Details

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Morning Session

Investigation techniques are important skills for investigations officers

Formal complaints
Possible bullying
Harassment
Disciplinary issues
Grievance issues
Misconduct

There are five major steps your investigators must master

Taking the initial statement of complaint.
Taking independent witness statements.
Interviewing the person who is accused of doing something wrong.
Recording everything in writing, in a chronological order, ensuring that you omit any inadmissible statements and retain every relevant item of admissible evidence.
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.

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

Afternoon Session

Conversational techniques include learning how to:

Get to the truth of the matter.
Uncover any outright lies, by identifying contradictions and errors.
Uncover evasion. Evasion is the art of not telling the whole truth, ie missing important bits out, in order to distort the truth without actually lying.
Distinguish error from malice or laziness.
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

Some people respond to questions, but do not answer them.
The questioner must notice when their question has not been answered

Distinguish between first and second-hand evidence

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

Best Evidence Rule

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

This means keep safe all your original documents and evidence.

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In-House Training

Investigation Skills Training FAQs

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How do I join a Corporate Coach Group course?

In order to attend this course, the very first thing is simply to decide to!

Second step is to choose which date, and venue are best for you.

Third step is simply to register your name, or call us on 01452 856091, and we will help put you on the course.

Is this course offered in-house?

Yes. We will come to you if you want us to present to your team in-house.

We will run the training with a version of the course that has been specifically tailored to meet the needs of your team. Click here for details.

What are the characteristics of a good investigator?

The characteristics of a good investigator are:

Perceptive. Logical. Sceptical. Communicator. Just.

Perceptive: they open their eyes and ears: They don’t just see, they observe. They don’t just hear, they listen.

Logical: every fact perceived must be rigorously evaluated and the evaluation must be logical. Which means that any apparent contradiction must be ironed out, so that the resulting narrative is coherent with itself and with the facts.

Sceptical: Investigators do not believe whatever they are told. They reserve their judgement until they can see that statements are consistent with each other, and with the facts.

Communicator: Investigators are good with people, since people are their primary source of information.

Just: Investigators are moral people; they believe in truth and justice. Without justice, an investigator would be malicious.

What are the steps of an investigation?

The steps of an investigation:

There is an identification of a crime or a breach of standards.
An official complaint statement is obtained by the investigators.
Any corroborative evidence and witnesses’ statements are obtained by the investigators.
Suspected or alleged offenders are identified and interviewed by the investigators.
The investigator correlates all the evidence gleaned from the previous steps and passes it to the appropriate body for a decision to be made to prosecute or not.
The alleged offenders are then prosecuted or not.
They are found guilty or not.

What is the course training method? Is it interactive?

Yes. We have designed the training style to be highly interactive. To keep everyone feeling involved, we vary the training style.

Sometimes you are working independently, (for example, when are thinking about your own performance), then later, you will work in pairs.

Then later we will work as a whole class.

There is always a lot of interaction.

There is never any “Death by PowerPoint”. So, you won’t feel bored, you will feel motivated. From beginning to end, you will be fully engaged and involved.

We are often told by delegates that the course seemed to fly by, which is always a great sign!

You will find the course is well designed, easy to understand and apply in practice.

The training is applied to real-life situations; it is beneficial and packed with useful knowledge. You can be assured that you will find this course, interesting, well structured, practical and fun.

How can I improve my investigation skills?

In order to improve your investigation skills, you need to know:

The nature of an investigative conversation and how it differs from normal conversations.
How to ask the right questions and to notice when a person is evading answering.
How to take witness statements.
How to take complainant statements.
To notice any apparent contradictions. Contradictions cannot exist. If you identify a contradiction, then you know you have not got the truth. Someone is not telling you the whole truth.

All these skills are covered on our one-day Investigation Skills training course.

What kinds of people attend this Investigation Skills course?

People who attend this course come from organisations that are experiencing a lot of change.

The delegates who attend this course, are all coming because they want to know, How to get the best performance from themselves and others.

The delegates are all different types of personalities, but you will soon discover that although we are all different, we all share a desire to learn and apply new skills.

Companies We've Trained

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Investigation Skills Training Course - 1 Day

Investigation Skills Training Availability, Pricing and Course Dates