Remote but Not Invisible: Investigating Misconduct in Hybrid and Remote Work Environments

Episode Highlights: As remote and hybrid work have become the norm, employee misconduct hasn’t disappeared—it’s just gone digital. In this episode, host Natalie Ivey unpacks the complexities of conducting internal investigations when your workforce is no longer down the hall but scattered across Zoom, Slack, and email threads.

Tune in to learn how to handle complaints in a virtual environment without compromising the integrity of your investigations. From digital evidence to virtual interviews, this episode is packed with actionable strategies for HR and employee relations professionals navigating misconduct in today’s dispersed workplace.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• The key differences between remote and in-person investigations
• Common complaints arising in hybrid and remote settings (harassment, time theft, digital communication conflicts, and more)
• How to gather and preserve digital evidence with help from IT
• Interviewing best practices for virtual environments
• How to maintain confidentiality when employees are working from home
• Mistakes to avoid when investigating remotely

Upcoming 2-day Virtual Investigations Workshop: Ready to sharpen your investigation skills? Join Natalie Ivey for a live, 2-day virtual workshop: How to Conduct Internal Investigations – A Practical Workshop for HR Professionals July 23–24 | 🕚 11 AM – 4 PM ET | 📍 Via Zoom Walk through a mock investigation, learn credibility assessment techniques, and gain practical tools to handle even the toughest cases. Register by July 16 – Spots are limited! Visit www.rpchr.com or click the link in today’s show notes.

Resources Mentioned:

• Register for the Workshop https://www.rpchr.com/webinar/internal-investigations-virtual-event
• Connect with Natalie Ivey on LinkedIn
• Explore more episodes of The HR Investigations Podcast

Natalie’s upcoming 2-day Virtual Investigations Workshop:

July 23-24, 2025 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Details and registration link:

https://www.rpchr.com/webinar/internal-investigations-virtual-event

In this episode, podcast host Natalie Ivey discusses Key topics:

• Announcement of the release of the 2nd edition of Natalie Ivey’s book, How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals
• Announcement of the upcoming 2-day virtual workshop: How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Workshop for HR Professionals on July 23-24 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. The workshop will provide education on how to navigate tricky employee relations’ issues, how to assess when to open an investigation and when not to, how to prepare for and conduct effective witness interviews, how to gather and preserve evidence, and how to prepare a final investigation report.
• Examine the issue of managers just not documenting employee behavior and performance issues.
• Discuss the danger in firing an employee “At-will” without any sort of documentation and how an EEOC investigator sees it
• Examine why it is critical to have documentation that supports an employee engaged in misconduct that violated organizational policy or that the employee wasn’t meeting performance expectations
• Discuss the issue of managers failing to document employee issues, run to HR announcing they wish to fire an employee and then view HR as “the enemy” when HR pushes back on a termination of employment due to lack of documentation.
• Identify root causes to managers failing to document
• Explain the benefits of phone apps and tech shortcuts to help managers stay organized and minimize the burdensome task of memorializing notes of employee conversations.

Review several key solutions to improving managers’ documentation capabilities

Check out Natalie’s new book here:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Conduct-Internal-Investigations-Professionals-ebook/dp/B0F6W3CM8M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=85BSXHJNIJZD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fMSMv7BRFHw6ljJoBjP4uGljsUr8ocRRqCxTa6rWlSliyLb1ONDXw2uFskHFDMgJrFZYU6wBbZtWWt1f40QjEPHBqcKQLxThHAdG8qr7WYRjihInvDtQv5WKLxiNchk0ISvRSh3mVRHdpRjh0Xk1xOwGBrJJFKFS3nu6ZBJ2tPaRD5WxK2_S9j2qMo1FO37E_pjkwBF46P-zFuwxgvY-dQJmex4m-cgpkXKAbsvXSu4.Ycb0vQbtuKH2IaUhA4lKpd3uAreWsrft58a2JMMsVSw&dib_tag=se&keywords=natalie+ivey&qid=1748551923&sprefix=natalie+iv%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

Visit RPC HR for more information.

Check out Natalie's REVISED book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77

Check out Natalie's REVISED book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77

Visit RPC HR for more information.

Visit RPC HR for more information.

Check out Natalie's book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77

In this episode, podcast host Natalie Ivey and special Gen Z’er guest, Madison Ebben, discuss generational differences and priorities, what Gen Z looks for at work, and how organizations can make some adjustments to improve employee engagement and retention of this dynamic generation.

Special guest:

Madison Ebben, SHRM-CP Executive Assistant | Event Manager

Key topics:

• Review of Gen Z and this generation’s characteristics
• Discuss what HR and business leaders need to know about Gen Z
• Examine what Gen Z’ers really want from their employers
• Discussing employee relations and things that Gen Z won’t tolerate that previous generations may have tolerated
• Review the Top 3 things that leaders need to do to fully engage their Gen Z talent to improve employee relations and minimize turnover

Visit RPC HR for show notes and more information.

Check out Natalie's book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77

In this episode, podcast host Natalie Ivey and special guest, Deb Muller, Founder & CEO of employee relations case management software solution, HR Acuity, discuss the evolution of employee relations and investigations in the digital age. Deb Muller shares proactive approaches, emphasizing the importance of using technology to prevent incidents and improve employee relations. Deb shared her experience of working in a time when employee relations was not a strategic function, and how the landscape has changed with the increasing importance of centralized employee relations teams.

Key topics:

• Examining the digital age of employee relations
• KPIs for workplace improvement
  • Discussing the need for predictive indicators and the use of data to demonstrate the impact of employee relations on cost savings.
  • Discussing the importance of trust in the workplace, noting that employees who had experienced an investigation and resolution were more likely to recommend their company as a place to work.
• Investing in HR Technology and Strategies
  • Discussing the importance of investing in technology for HR functions, emphasizing that HR professionals should not be expected to operate without the same level of technology as other departments.
  • Highlighting the need for HR to move beyond reactive measures and focus on proactive strategies, such as job design and employee relations.
  • Link to HR Acuity resources: https://www.hracuity.com/resources/

Visit RPC HR for show notes and more information.

Check out Natalie's book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77

Ep: 44: HR Insights: The Data Speaks

In this episode, podcast host Natalie Ivey discusses some of the data from the 8thannual employee relations benchmark study provided by software company, HR Acuity.

Natalie shares important information regarding the trends noted in the benchmark study such as organizations seeing sharp increases in allegations of policy violations, behavioral issues, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation allegations.

Key topics:

• Examining 3 Key Trends from the 8th Annual Employee Relations Benchmark Study:
  • Policy violations, behavioral issues, discrimination, harassment or retaliation allegations and EEOC charges reached their highest levels since 2018
  • Mental health issues continued to be the primary factor behind case volumes, with 70% of organizations attributing increases to mental health-related challenges
  • Organizations are starting to respond to continually growing case volumes by examining data to identify patterns and predict and prevent future issues
• Reviewing strategies on how to address the increase in allegations and increasing employee relations’ case volumes
• Examining the importance of using data and analytics to drive meaningful organizational change
• Examining the increase in mental health issues to more clearly define root causes and develop action plans to reduce employee complaints

Visit RPC HR for show notes and more information.

Check out Natalie's book How to Conduct Internal Investigations: A Practical Guide for Human Resource Professionals here: https://tinyurl.com/y39s7n77