Collaborative Options
Conflict Management Services
 

Client Benefits
3rd Party Neutral Intervention

Clients prefer to spend time in the pursuit of positive and proactive work to accomplish their business missions and appreciate the option of outsourcing workplace investigations and other conflict management services.

Collaborative Options provides 3rd party neutrals to conduct investigations upon notice of claims of harassment, discrimination, misconduct; or, in the event of a regulatory inquiry or charge, labor unrest or contract disputes. Our investigators are skilled, experienced and discrete HR professionals and/or licensed attorneys.

Involving Collaborative Options at the investigatory stage reduces risk and improves the opportunity for a non-litigated resolution:

  • Intelligence gathering is more successful, as 3rd party neutrals are less likely to be influenced by organizational myths, assumptions or biases that interfere with both content and process listening
  • Unlike legal counsel, a 3rd party neutral is not conflicted out in the event s/he is called as a witness at a later hearing or deposition
  • Unlike HR staff, a 3rd party neutral offers arms-length review without authority to approve disciplinary action; thus, reducing the implication of bias in employment investigations and/or assessed disciplinary actions – significantly reducing the opportunity for retaliation claims
  • Lacking a vested interest in the outcome of an investigation, a 3rd party neutral’s findings are more likely to be viewed as objective and, ultimately, carry more evidentiary weight if litigated
  • Achieving a non-litigated resolution is substantially increased by the “Hawthorne Effect” of providing disputants and complainants an objective and unbiased opportunity “to be heard” by a 3rd party neutral
  • Unlike HR Staff, a 3rd party neutral does not have the conflict of providing HR services to the internal client department under investigation
  • Some insurers of EPL, CGL, E&O and D&O offer discounts when 3rd party neutral investigators are utilized