Confessions from First-Time Investigators – Updated!

October 2017

Since many of you joined our LinkedIn Certified EEO Investigator Group after successfully completing the EEO Investigator Certification Course  from Art of Resolution, we decided to update some of our past blogs that may be useful to newly certified EEO investigator.  While Art’s training is comprehensive and you’ve given us a great deal of positive feedback, it’s impossible to learn everything about investigations in a 32-hour certification training course. We value the feedback from investigators that have taken our training, as they are in the best position to provide feedback on the real world and how it compares to training. We’ve compiled this list highlighting some things they learned after completing their first cases. We’ve removed names to protect the innocent…

• In training, there was a lot of focus on investigative plans. I learned the hard way not to underestimate the importance of early planning.
• I wish I had organized myself better in the beginning. I wasted a lot of time looking for things. I set up a system that will help me on my next case.
• I didn’t have a good understanding of my timeline or realize the things that would take the longest. For example, tracking down witnesses can take awhile and that cut into my timeframe. I wish I had contacted complainant and witnesses more promptly.
• I should have reviewed the samples and templates from the agency earlier to make sure I understood everything. It would have saved me a lot of time on the backend.
• When complainant suggests witnesses, ask the complainant what specific testimony the witness will offer. I wasted a lot of time tracking down witnesses who did not have relevant information.
• Don’t underestimate the time it takes to obtain documentation. Ask the agency for documentation early in the process and make sure you are asking for everything you need. Then follow up.
• It’s key to read completed affidavits as soon as they are returned to search for incomplete answers or if additional witnesses have been identified. To stay on schedule, you have to follow up sooner rather than later.
• I wish I drafted the summary as soon as I received the first completed affidavit. It would have made the writing process easier.
• Little things count. If the agency wants you to capitalize “Complainant” in the summary, make sure you do it throughout. This will cut down on the review process.
• Writing my first summary was overwhelming. I asked for a sample report and used that to follow the format and it helped me focus my effort.
• Make sure you are proficient in Microsoft Word. Without a thorough understanding of it, I wasted a lot of time doing things the hard way. I am going to take a tutorial to get up to speed on its features.

This is just a sampling of the feedback we. It is great advice, and we’d love to hear your ideas on timesavers and other unanticipated hiccups experienced early in your investigative career.

For those of you who are ready to embark on the road to being a certified EEO investigator, Art of Resolution offers a popular 32-hour EEO investigator online certification course: https://www.artofresolution.com/wp/?p=92047