How to Handle Your First Workplace Investigation Without a Panic Attack
If you’re the only HR person in the building and a complaint just landed on your desk, your first job isn’t to solve it — it’s to slow down. Most workplace investigations go wrong in the first ten minutes, before anyone’s even sat down to talk. Here’s a practical walkthrough for handling one on your own.
Start With the Complaint, Not a Conclusion
Write down exactly what was reported, in the reporting person’s own words if possible, before you form any opinion about what happened. It’s tempting to mentally sort people into “probably telling the truth” and “probably exaggerating” within the first conversation. Resist it. Your job at this stage is to capture the allegation clearly enough that someone else could read it and understand what needs investigating — nothing more.
Keep It Confidential, Including From Yourself Out Loud
When you’re the only HR person in the building, there’s often no one else to talk it through with — which means the temptation to vent to a trusted colleague, a partner, or a friend at another company is real. Don’t. Even well-intentioned venting can undermine confidentiality, and in a small workplace it’s easier than you’d think for details to travel back to the people involved. If you need to think out loud, that’s what a peer network or mentor outside the organisation is for.
Write Down What Happened, in Order
Before you interview anyone, build a simple timeline: what’s alleged to have happened, when, where, and who else might have seen it. This becomes your map for the interviews and stops you from missing an obvious follow-up question in the moment. It also protects you later — if the process is ever reviewed, a dated, factual record of your steps matters far more than your memory of how thorough you were.
Interview Separately, Ask Open Questions
Speak to everyone involved one-on-one, never in a group, and let each person give their account before you share what anyone else has said. Ask open questions — “walk me through what happened” rather than “did X do this?” — and resist the urge to fill silences. People often add the most useful detail in the pause after they think they’ve finished answering. Take notes during the conversation and read them back for accuracy before the person leaves.
Decide, Document, Follow Up
Once you’ve gathered the accounts, weigh them against your timeline and any other evidence, then write up your findings and the reasoning behind them — not just the outcome. Communicate the result to the people directly involved before anyone else, and agree on what, if anything, gets communicated more broadly. Finally, check back in with the person who raised the original complaint a few weeks later. It’s a small step that’s easy to skip when you’re relieved the process is over, and it’s often what determines whether someone trusts you enough to raise the next issue early.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. For complex or high-risk investigations, consult a qualified workplace relations professional or the Fair Work Ombudsman. AHRIK Keyholders get direct access to the HR-of-One Helpline for a second opinion on situations like this.