Interviews are the key part of evidence gathering process of internal investigations. While some internal investigations may center around already obtained material proof such as information and document records, mostly others are initiated upon some complaints or whistleblower reports which require in-depth research and proactive information gathering from other witnesses and potential suspects. Based on our experiences, we see that -even in well-planned investigations- many organizations may struggle while handling interviews. Generally, most of organizations have high expectations to obtain all the information they need all in once during the interviews they make. Due to their will to end the investigation with a concrete result as soon as possible, they conduct all interviews by asking the same questions one by one. Additionally, when the interviewers are internal personnel, they may get easily manipulated by the interviewee's objections and requests since they are already both too much involved in the organization, or they may fail to build up an objective ground where they convince the interviewee’s rights and privacy will be protected, therefore the interviews may end up with no result.
Therefore, as Cetinkaya’s ethics and compliance team, we wanted to dedicate this article solely to the interviews to highlight the do’s and don’ts of the interview process.
1. How to get prepared for an interview?
i. Know what you already have.
To review and understand what is...
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