The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is holding its annual conference in San Diego this year June 27 – 30, 2010.  I thought I would alert you to two pre-conference workshops concerning conducting internal workplace investigations.  Both workshops are on Saturday, June 26, before the conference begins.

The first is titled Minefields for HR Professionals in EEO Investigations.   The summary for this workshop is:

Let’s face it, when you do an investigation, almost always, one of the parties believes you got it wrong.  In litigation, brought by either the complainant or the accused, the focus is not only the alleged underlying wrong, but also how it was investigated.

In other words, the litigation spotlight shifts to HR.  It also will provide guidance on frequent minefields for you such as:  how do you handle the employee who shares concerns with you but then begs you not to investigate; how do you ask about sensitive matters without your questions potentially making the parties to the investigation more uncomfortable; how do you handle complaints involving third parties without risking joint employer status; how do you document each step of the process, knowing that your documentation is discoverable; and how do you handle the very specific problems of investigating a complaint against an executive to whom you report (such as the CEO) or by employees in your group (one HR professional against another).

This session is conducted by Jonathan A. Segal, partner, Duane Morris, Philadelphia, Pa.

The second workshop is titled Conducting Effective Internal Investigations.  The summary for this workshop is:

This session will provide the practical skills necessary to conduct an internal investigation into claims of employee misconduct for HR professionals as well as your security, risk management and loss prevention personnel.  We will take you and your staff step-by-step through the investigation process.  We utilize interactive case studies during the day so that you can actually practice these skills.  We will also teach you to prepare effective documentation at each stage in the investigation process.

This session is conducted by Glen E. Kraemer, managing partner – LA, Curiale, Dellaverson, Hirschfeld & Kraemer, LLP, Santa Monica, Calif.

If interested, you can register for these pre-conference workshops with SHRM.