Independent Investigation and Fact-Finding

The stories I heard …were not about ‘what happened’ (itself a questionable concept). What I heard was how people saw what happened, or, rather, how people remembered what they saw, or, rather, how they talked about what they remembered, or, rather, how they talked to me about what they remembered – or, rather, what I heard people say to me about what they remembered.  (Roy, B.; (1994)

Independent investigation or fact finding involves the use of an experienced third party neutral to conduct a timely, thorough and accurate independent assessment of difficult or complex situations, conflicts or disputes. 

Such situations might typically involve employees or other key stakeholders and the investigation would aim to achieve a rapid and resource effective closure of the matter.  Our neutrals will agree the scope of the work directly with you and, having familiarised themselves with the organisation, will conduct a detailed investigation. 

At the end of the investigation a full report of findings will be provided together with a recommended route map for ongoing management and likely resolution.  This is typically offered with detailed verbal feedback.

All our investigators are experienced practitioners in conflict management and as such have the credentials and understanding to get to the core of the issue, and if requested work with clients on different ways of concluding and resolving their problems.

Key benefits:

• An independent and fresh perspective from an individual (or team) that have seen many similar situations before
• Rapid clarification of the issues, enabling you to manage your risk appropriately
• Clear demonstration to your stakeholders of your organisation’s commitment to equity and fairness in managing the resolution of conflicts and disputes
• Separation of managers from the details of the investigation so that they can manage the ongoing stakeholder relationships and chosen dispute resolution process and deal effectively with later development
• A detailed and robust report presented in a constructive manner
• Like all our dispute resolution processes, a flexible process designed to meet your needs

 Supporting these services we can offer:

• Conflict coaching for managers involved in achieving conflict resolution
• Policy and procedure or systems reviews in order to prevent recurrence and improve management processes
• Mediation services, provided by a different neutral
• Conflict management training and awareness raising

For further information on our services, please contact CEDR Solve on +44 (0)20 7536 6060, e-mail info@cedr-solve.com.

Case studies

• Investigation of grievance
• Investors falling out
• Complaints at Board Level
• Performance and Grievance Matter

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