Should investigative interviews of potentially dishonest employees be recorded? Loss prevention executives offered a variety of opinions in the most recent Interviewing column in the July-August 2016 issue of LP Magazine.
In the column, David E. Zulawski, CFI, CFE, and Shane G. Sturman, CFI, CPP, enumerate concerns voiced by LP executives who have had experience with selling their companies on the idea of recording an investigative interview.
Some LP execs encountered hesitation from their organization’s legal departments: what if the plaintiff (or defense) obtained a copy of the recording? What if the recording undermines the interviewee’s personal dignity?
Others said that their organizations liked the idea of creating a recording, especially when the suggestion was presented to senior executives and the legal team in a thoughtful manner. From the article:
“One senior executive of loss prevention decided that the best way to begin the sales pitch was to derail objections by seeking an independent legal opinion, which handled the issue in a well-written legal brief. This almost immediately swayed the legal department since the research had already been done and was presented in a familiar format. The recording would be the best evidence of what went on during the conversation since it included the context of the conversation, word choices, and tone of the participants. The listener could essentially be a fly on the wall listening to the investigative interview from its onset to conclusion, even being privy to the context in which an admission was made.”
Check out “To Record or Not to Record, Part 2” to read the full column and learn about the legal considerations that may spring from the process of recording employee interviews, and how the practice might be implemented in an effective and non-confrontational way.
You can also visit the Table of Contents for the July-August 2016 issue or register for a free subscription to the magazine.
