Hello PPMA members and friends

Workplace investigations are rarely straightforward and for those involved they can be challenging, emotional and highly sensitive. As PPMA members continue to navigate increasingly complex disciplinary and grievance processes, understanding how to conduct interviews in a way that minimises distress has never been more important. In this post, Karen Wise,  Managing Director from Senatus Consulting shares key insights from her recent PPMA webinar on trauma-informed interviews, exploring why distress protocols can play a vital role in supporting both employees and investigators during difficult conversations.

In October, I had the pleasure of delivering a webinar to PPMA members on Trauma Informed Interviews for Disciplinary and Grievance Processes.  From our experience at Senatus, investigations are becoming both more complex and more sensitive. Best practice suggests that interviewers need to be mindful that the employee they are interviewing may be suffering from some form of trauma which may or may not be related to the topic under discussion. This trauma may surface in the interview, causing the employee to become distressed. It’s important that investigators learn how to undertake investigations in a way that minimises any potential distress – either in interview, or afterwards. Knowing how to deliver a trauma-informed interview yields benefits both for the investigator and the interviewee.

I mentioned during the webinar about how organisations would benefit from having a distress protocol. Distress protocols are increasingly being used in academia when researchers are interviewing participants about sensitive and distressing topics, and are seen as an essential element of the process when planning and executing interviews.  A distress protocol ensures that investigators know what to do when someone they are interviewing becomes distressed. The protocol also describes how an organisation can support the wellbeing of the investigator.

A distress protocol should contain 4 stages:

  1. Giving space

When an employee shows distress, the interviewer needs to respond appropriately.  This could including asking the employee if they want to switch off their camera, have a moment to drink some water or take a break. It’s important to ask the employee how they are feeling, checking whether they would like to continue, only doing so if the employee indicates that they feel comfortable to do so. It’s important to remind the employee that they can take a break at any time, so that they feel that they have control in the interview – a central principle of trauma-informed interviews.

  1. Returning from a break

If the employee has left the interview and returned, enquire as to how they are feeling, ascertain whether they would like to continue and offer support.  As the interview continues, check-in with the employee to see how they are feeling. If the employee would like to stop, or continues to appear distressed, the interviewer should move to Stage 3.

  1. Stop the interview

As an investigator, we can decide to stop the interview at any point. However, it is important to ask the employee whether they feel safe if the interview is terminated, and what support is available to them once they leave the interview. If they are already engaged with mental health services, encourage them to make contact; alternatively, remind the employee of the organisation’s EAP services. If the employee appears to be in high distress and does not have any immediate support, the employee’s manager needs to be informed.

  1. Aftercare

Follow up with the employee with a phone call or email the following day, reminding them of the organisation’s EAP services. Also, remind them that you are available if they have any queries about the investigation. This is an additional step that most investigators do not take; however the research shows that this additional step is helpful for employees in managing their wellbeing.

A distress protocol would not be complete without recognising the potential distress of the investigator. Research shows that investigators can be affected by distressing interviews through secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue. A distress protocol will outline how the organisation can support investigators, such as engaging in debriefs, discussing their cases in appropriate supervision spaces, and participation in reflective practice.

Trauma-informed interviews when well planned and executed can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of both the investigator and the interviewee. A distress protocol is just one of the tools that an organisation can implement to ensure this.

For those of you who are interested in knowing more about trauma-informed interviews, the webinar is available to view here, or contact me if you want to talk about how to best implement a trauma-informed approach in your workplace investigations.

Karen Wise, Managing Director, Senatus Consulting