Workplace Investigation Training is the Start
People often come to me looking for a “how to” workplace investigation training workshop.
That makes sense. Investigations are visible, high-stakes moments when trust is fragile, risk is real, and every decision matters. But investigations are rarely the real problem.
They’re the moment when deeper issues surface: Whether concerns were handled early; how judgment is exercised under pressure; and how organizations balance compliance with credibility.
That’s why my work has never fit neatly into a single category.
How I Think About Workplace Conflict
Over decades of working as an attorney, in-house HR leader, and independent workplace investigator, I’ve seen this pattern repeat: Organizations invest heavily in outlining steps, but far less in designing fair, human-centered structures – and almost no time in honing judgment.
They train people on what to do, but not how to think when facts are incomplete, the people involved are senior or influential, credibility assessments are messy, or multiple values are in tension at once.
how to choose workplace investigation training
My work – whether delivered through online workplace investigation training, live workshops, or leadership programs – is grounded in a consistent way of thinking about conflict:
Conflict doesn’t derail organizations…poor handling of conflict does.
Receiving, Reviewing, and Resolving: A Connected System
My core framework – Receiving, Reviewing, and Resolving workplace concerns – reflects how I see conflict as a system, not a single event.
Receiving: More Than Intake
The way concerns are first received shapes everything that follows. Psychological safety, tone, and responsiveness determine whether people speak up again, or stay silent.
Training at this stage focuses on:
- Early intervention
- Decision hygiene
- Reducing inconsistency and noise
- Creating a culture of truth-telling, not fear
what every leader should know about receiving misconduct reports
Reviewing: Judgment Under Uncertainty
This is where most investigation training stops and relies on mere legal compliance.
My approach emphasizes:
- Structured curiosity
- Bias and noise reduction
- Disciplined credibility assessments
- Resisting shortcuts…even when the pressure is high
This applies equally to formal investigations and to less formal reviews of workplace conflict.
Resolving: Accountability That Builds Trust
Resolution isn’t just about findings, it’s about impact.
I teach resolution methods that are:
- Fair and consistent
- Backward-looking and forward-looking
- Grounded in accountability without being purely punitive
When resolution is handled well, it strengthens culture; when it isn’t, even “legally defensible” outcomes can erode trust.
Why Training, Advisory Work, and Leadership Development Overlap
People sometimes ask whether I focus on:
- Workplace investigation training
- Conflict resolution
- Leadership development
- Organizational culture
The answer is yes.
These aren’t separate offerings, they’re interconnected responses to the same underlying challenge: how organizations exercise judgment when it matters most.
- Online training creates shared language and scalable skill-building.
- Live training allows teams to practice, calibrate, and align in real time.
- Advisory work supports high-stakes decisions where nuance matters.
- Leadership programs ensure that responsibility for conflict doesn’t sit solely with HR or Legal.
Each reinforces the others.
A Human-Centered Approach to Investigations and Conflict
My work is often described as human-centered, but that doesn’t mean soft or unstructured.
It means:
- fairness over fear
- consistency over convenience
- credibility over checkbox compliance
It means recognizing that how people experience the process often matters as much as the outcome.
Use Our Resources
This page, and the resources connected to it, exist to support organizations that want to handle workplace conflict better:
- With more clarity
- More consistency
- More trust
Whether you’re exploring live or online workplace investigation training, rethinking how your organization handles conflict, or simply looking for better frameworks, my goal is the same:
To help you move from reacting to conflict to handling it with skill, judgment, and integrity.
About PersuasionPoint
Patti Perez is founder and CEO of PersuasionPoint, a modern-day consulting firm dedicated to teaching leaders and teams how to create and sustain healthy, equitable and inclusive workplace cultures. Patti is the best-selling, award-winning author of The Drama-Free Workplace (Wiley 2019), and draws from the book’s themes to provide practical, authentic, and action-oriented solutions to help companies achieve true diversity and equity, and to create environments of belonging and inclusion.
Patti and the team provide services specifically tailored to address workplace struggles with recruiting, retaining, promoting and fully valuing diverse employees – including consulting, leadership training, and boot camps for diverse attorneys who are emerging leaders.
Contact Patti here or email her directly at Patti@PersuasionPoint.com.