A global powerhouse headquartered in Europe, boasts a massive workforce of approximately 350,000 employees spread across numerous locations worldwide. Among the pillars of the company is the Corporate Security department, consisting of around 200 professionals who specialize in areas like travel security, asset assessment, and site protection. This department plays a critical role in The Company’s operations and has a significant history, with over three decades of experience conducting interviews with employees, service partners, and customers.
The Company enforces strict business conduct guidelines internally, which apply to all employees, business partners, and customers. If anyone breaches these guidelines and commits a crime, the Corporate Security department steps in to conduct interviews and address potential wrongdoing.
Leveraging Davidhorn’s Solution
Investigative interviews are at the heart of The Company’s efforts to maintain integrity and uphold its business standards. Over the years, they faced situations where after conducting interviews, additional questions arose from other parties, such as HR or legal departments. Thanks to the solution we had the interview transcript and recording to refer to. Additionally, in court, judges sometimes have questions about our interviews. Thanks to the tech solution, we were able to present the comprehensive interview transcripts and recordings.
These recordings serve to clarify doubts, prevent misunderstandings, and ensure accurate information, particularly in complex cases. The Company often deals with sensitive issues like stalking, sexual harassment, and threatening behavior. In such cases, recorded interviews provide valuable evidence and ensure fairness and legality in the interview process.
Currently, The Company holds three licenses for recording software, allowing the Corporate Security department to conduct interviews at their convenience. Given their global reach, interviews have taken place in various countries, demonstrating the flexibility and effectiveness of this approach.
A Spectrum of Investigative Cases
The Company operates as a vast organization, equipped with extensive legal, compliance, and HR departments. Each of these departments conducts investigations within its area of responsibility. While the Corporate Security department primarily handles criminal offenses like theft, sabotage, espionage, threatening behavior, and stalking, they also collaborate with other departments. When HR, compliance, or legal departments require professional investigative interviews, they reach out to the Corporate Security team, recognizing their expertise in this domain.
Adherence to Local Laws
Navigating the intricacies of legal matters across diverse regions can be challenging. The Company addresses this by maintaining legal and compliance departments in specific countries, backed by internal legal contacts who provide guidance on local laws. This ensures that their approach to investigations aligns with regional legal frameworks. While local laws form the foundation of their approach, The Company also adheres to its internal ethical standards when conducting investigations.
Future Plans for Investigative Interviewing
Currently, Corporate Security stands as one of the pioneering departments within the organization to employ recording software for interviews. This technology has not only improved the efficiency of their investigations but also served as a model for other departments. Initially met with skepticism, the benefits of this technology have become increasingly evident to other divisions, and the Corporate Security department anticipates broader adoption in the near future. To support their colleagues, they plan to offer training and assistance to ensure that interviews are conducted professionally and effectively.
A Streamlined Workflow
The Company employs an incident reporting software used company-wide, allowing even minor cases, such as lost belongings, to be reported. The Corporate Security department, in its role as the governance owner, reviews all cases. Typically, local investigations are managed by the country security officer. However, for complex or politically sensitive cases, the Corporate Security team is called upon to provide expertise and support.
Key Features of the Recording Software
The recording software offers several valuable features that enhance the investigation process. One particularly useful feature is the ability to set bookmarks during interviews. This allows interviewers to quickly return to specific points of interest without the need for extensive searching. Importantly, the recordings are secure and tamper-proof.
Furthermore, The Company’s internal communication channels facilitate easy file transfers, ensuring that all relevant stakeholders have access to the recordings. The software’s support system has also been highly responsive, with prompt assistance provided when encountering any issues.
Seamless Integration and Flexibility
The Company operates across different locations and the Corporate Security team functions both from the office and remotely, allowing for flexibility in their work. They are always prepared to conduct interviews, as their laptops are equipped with the necessary software and webcams. This preparedness ensures efficiency and enables them to capture interviews that adhere to legal standards.
Looking Ahead: Speech-to-Text Functionality
As The Company continues to embrace technology to enhance its investigative processes, the Corporate Security department is particularly eager to leverage speech-to-text functionality in the future. This advancement promises to significantly boost productivity by automating the transcription of interviews, sparing investigators the time-consuming task of manual transcription. In addition to speech-to-text, the team is keen to explore other productivity-enhancing features, such as automatic summaries.
The Company’s commitment to ensuring fair, ethical, and legally sound investigations aligns with its broader mission to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. With ongoing advancements in technology and a focus on collaboration across departments, they are determined to continue its focus on delivering the best practice in corporate investigative interviewing.
In light of the sensitive nature of the topics discussed in this story, we have mutually agreed with our customer to keep their identity confidential. However, the insights and experiences they shared are incredibly valuable and applicable across various industries and use cases.
