The Evolving Techniques of Interviewing, According to Wicklander-Zulawski

During LP Magazine’s fifteen-year history, loss prevention investigations have changed and transformed. Police investigators in law enforcement have come under increasing public scrutiny, especially for aggressive tactics and false convictions. As a result, interview tactics in both the public and private sectors seem to be shifting towards a less confrontational style.

David E. Zulawski, CFE, and Shane G. Sturman, CFI, CPP, of Wicklander-Zulawski, touch on some of the ways that employee dishonesty interview training and procedures have changed in their column for the November-December issue. From the column:

“Most companies are using the WZ non-confrontational interrogation style, and more and more law enforcement agencies are beginning to shy away from the aggressive confrontational approach, preferring instead a more ethical standard of interviewing. During the next ten years, there will be a dramatic shift away from a confrontational style of interrogation. This has begun in several countries around the globe and is beginning to creep into the North American marketplace.

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Many companies in an effort to stay ahead of the potential for civil litigation have elected to establish strong ethical interviewing practices in their corporate culture. They begin this practice by training their investigators in the WZ non-confrontational approach to interviewing and then monitor and measure each investigator’s performance against this benchmark to make sure a standardized interview method is used across the company. Some companies also use recordings of the investigators’ interviews to continually monitor the treatment of associates being interviewed and to maintain a stream of feedback to the interviewer on his or her efforts.”

In the column, Zulawski and Sturman also cover the advancements in telephone interviewing over the years and reveal plans for an interview simulator designed to help industry pros hone their skills. Check out “What Has Changed in Fifteen Years of Interviewing” to read the full column. You can also visit the Table of Contents for the November-December 2016 issue or register for a free subscription to the magazine.