The Challenge

A company (in the private sector) received an anonymous complaint through their whistleblowing mechanisms accusing three, very senior members of staff, of bullying, sexual harassment and sexist behaviour.

Given the seriousness of the complaint, the seniority level of the staff involved and the potential risk of reputational damage, they decided to commission an independent company to carry out an investigation.

Their lawyer recommended McKinney HR– we submitted an investigation proposal to the company, which they accepted.

The Background

Before working with McKinney HR, the company had been trying to deal with issues relating to ‘acceptable’ behaviour for quite some time. Therefore, given the nature of the anonymous complaint, they were concerned that their attempts to deal with these issues had been in vain.

The company had no prior experience of conducting an extensive investigation so, in addition to commissioning an independent company to carry out an investigation for them; they also needed guidance on investigation best practice.

We worked with Senior Managers and the staff team to undertake the following:

• Facilitated the senior team to identify their key areas of business as well as their key priorities
• Developed a draft project plan for approval
• Developed a communications strategy and supported delivery
• Undertook consultation meetings with managers and left them with the tools to do the same with staff
• Participated in the development of potential structures and provided tools to assess these
• Drafted job descriptions and evaluations of posts
• Undertook consultation meetings to support managers
• Drafted all correspondence and supported managers with identification of and resolution of risk
• Provided the revised management team with leadership development and coaching to support them to deliver the vision with the revised structure

We interviewed eight members of the organisation’s staff and reviewed a significant amount of paperwork. The resulting report addressed each of the issues in a robust manner, which, in turn helped the individual to understand the impact of their behaviour and the manager to make an informed decision on outcome.

The outcome of this was that the behaviour changed and staff involved were able to re-establish working relationships.

The situation escalated to the level where they were unable to talk to each other without high levels of stress and anxiety.

In this case we undertook a mediation process with them over the period of a day.

This supported them to understand each other’s workplace needs and how they were impacting on each other. We went back after three months to support them to reflect on how successful the mediation had been and whether there was any further mediation required.

We were very pleased to hear that both managers were working well together and needed no further input from us.

We undertook a detailed investigation and produced reports relating to each of the employees.

We identified, as per the Terms of Reference, that there was a case to answer relating to two of the employees.

The two employees were later dismissed by the organisation for gross misconduct. The investigation report stood up to the test of an internal appeal process and an Employment Tribunal.

This investigation was complex due to:

• There were approximately 35 allegations in total
• Each grievant providing us with
  • evidence including emails, notes, text
    messages and reports which they said were
    critical to the investigation. This meant we
    reviewed hundreds of documents.
  • additional witnesses were identified to corroborate each complaint which meant interviewing multiple people.
• The need to measure the evidence gathered against company policy, ACAS Codes,
• Statutory requirements, Board Codes of Conduct and Data Protection legislation.
• The emotional impact of the situation being experienced by all involved.
• Delays encountered due to one of the managers being absent and unable to attend their grievance meeting. Everything had to go on hold mid investigation until their health improved.
• The need to have follow up meetings with all as we analysed the information gathered and cross-checked perception and understating of incidents.
• The reputational risk to the business.

We completed the investigation and provided the company with a robust analysis of the evidence gathered in the form of a detailed report.

Feedback was that the report was in sufficient detail for the company to decide on next steps and feel secure that any potential risk could be managed effectively.

After discussion on the specific needs of the charity we tailored our leadership development programme to fit the needs of the business and individuals, as well as financial restraints.

This programme was delivered on an online and where appropriate on a face-to-face basis

The programme consisted of the following:

• Introductory one to one meeting with all participants to share the proposed programme, explore expectations and build trust
• Workshop 1 for all looking at what a great leadership team would look and feel like, confirm expectations and introduce Myers Briggs (MBTI) etc.
• MBTIs undertaken and one to one feedback given.
• Workshop 2 for all reflecting on MBTI outcomes and working effectively as a leader
• Coaching sessions for all members of the group supporting them to address gaps in leadership skills
• Workshop 3 for all which concentrated on working in the leadership team
• Coaching sessions for all members of the group concentrating on team style and development needs
• Evaluation

This programme was undertaken over a period of six months and evaluation was that the senior team were developing into an effective leadership team

It became apparent upon meeting with the complainant that this was a serious and particularly sensitive and distressing issue for them.

Meetings with relevant witnesses established that the alleged behaviour was known to many of the complainant’s colleagues with some viewing it as entirely inappropriate and others viewing it as ‘office banter’.

An investigation meeting with the respondent necessitated questioning them on allegations of a sexually explicit nature

McKinney HR produced a comprehensive report which detailed the findings of the investigation which confirmed that there was evidence to support the allegations.

The organisation dismissed the individual and they and did not appeal.

In our de-brief with the client, we identified actions that could be taken to ensure that the attitudes and behaviours of staff reflected dignity and respect, policies and procedures as well as a positive workplace culture and the law.

 

On commencing the investigation, we were advised that the police had also been involved but had not identified any criminal activity

We agreed terms of reference which included measuring alleged behaviours against the relevant requirements of a registered manager of a care service as well as registered care staff in relation to both SSSC and Care Inspectorate requirements

We also identified the company’s own relevant policies and procedures

• We reviewed the following:
• Incident Books
• Handover procedures
• Staff rotas
• Care Plans
• Meeting notes
• Previous investigations
• Inspection Reports

We met with staff, managers, 3 service users, 2 families and the relevant person from social work

We identified numerous practice issues which could be easily addressed with training and more robust management

We identified a lack of effective communication which resulted in challenges covering shifts and resulted in standard of care issues

Our report was submitted to the client along with recommendations and they produced a plan for addressing the issues and send this and the report to the relevant body

 

We identified with the client the relevant statutory requirements and local policies and procedures which we needed to measure the evidence gathered against. This included employment policies, Board codes of conduct and regulatory requirements

It became clear that a number of the issues had been raised previously and resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant

On clarifying what we were required to investigate we agreed a detailed terms of reference and proceeded with the investigation

There were 3 grievants, 2 respondents and over 30 allegations which involved 10 individuals.

We reviewed the following:

• Codes, statutory requirements
• Policies and procedures
• Reports
• Minutes of board meetings
• Emails, text messages etc.

We met with

• The complainants
• Respondents
• Witnesses to events
• Board members
• Managers
• Staff

We completed our report which was welcomed by the HA for its thoroughness and the knowledge that it would stand up to challenge

The team consisted of 6 people of various positions within the hierarchy.

We provided a communication for the team selling the concept and benefits of Neutral Assessment for them. We assured them that as we were independent, we could support them and find new solutions. We urged them to see it as the positive process it was intended to be, it was both about them and for them, to hear their voice and their ideas.

We then designed a bespoke questionnaire based around various Themes that the client wanted to explore. The client was able to review and agree the questionnaire prior to the next stage.

Dedicated 1-to-1 interviews took place with a trained McKinney HR Facilitator. This focused on the Themes and each person was asked the same questions.

Everyone was advised that these 1-to-1s were totally confidential, there were no formal minutes, and anonymity would be protected. This created the safe space needed to find out the real issues and how to help.

A detailed report was then created for the client. This included % responses supported by real time feedback. Each theme had robust information that easily led to realistic recommendations.

After the client digested the report, there was a follow up call with McKinney HR to check understanding and agree any further steps.

Many clients find recommendations suffice; this client requested further McKinney HR support with some of the follow up. Specifically, they benefited from a workshop in “handling difficult conversations” and executive coaching for one of the more senior Managers.

The whole process only took 4.5 days over the space of a few weeks (to match client availability.)