Author: Phil O'Toole
Managing Partner
A serious allegation of workplace misconduct lands on your desk at 9am on a Monday. A staff member claims their supervisor has been falsifying client records. Another team member heard about it and the story is spreading. The accused is demanding to know who made the complaint. Your Board wants answers, and you're realising you've never dealt with a situation like this before.
How you respond in the next few hours will determine whether this situation escalates with potentially dire impacts on your organisation and its mission. Yet most are completely unprepared when misconduct allegations emerge, and the instinctual reactions of well-intentioned leaders are not enough. Fit for purpose and compliant investigation procedures are a vital component of an NFP's ability to react, resolve and recover from misconduct investigations.
Why internal investigations often fail
When misconduct allegations surface, the temptation is to handle everything in-house. You know your people, you understand the context, and bringing in outside help feels like an admission of failure. But handling these situations in-house without the correct process frequently backfires (in completely predictable ways).
One key gap that leads to internal investigations failing is that most NFP staff lack the skills at the core of proper investigation practice: evidence gathering, interviewing, and understanding the legal and natural justice requirements. A manager who is brilliant at program delivery often has no experience conducting a forensic review of financial records or interviewing witnesses without contaminating their testimony. These same well-intentioned leaders can easily compromise investigations by discussing details with the wrong people, their unconscious biases muddying the facts and evidence, or failing to maintain the confidentiality that protects all parties.
The consequences extend far beyond the immediate situation. Poor investigations often escalate conflicts rather than resolve them. They may also unintentionally expose the organisation to legal liability when proper procedures aren't followed. They damage relationships with staff, volunteers, and stakeholders who lose confidence in the organisation's ability to handle serious matters professionally. And they often fail to uncover the actual truth, leaving everyone in limbo.
While you want your staff to recognise the early signs of misconduct, delayed or inadequate responses send a clear message to your staff and volunteers and the community you serve: this organisation doesn't take misconduct seriously. Funding bodies pay attention. Regulators start asking questions. And the reputational damage can take years to repair, if at all.
The difference between fact-finding and formal investigation
Not every concern requires a full investigation, but knowing the difference is critical. Preliminary fact-finding is about determining whether there's enough substance to warrant further action. It involves documenting the initial concern correctly, gathering immediately available information, and assessing the seriousness and credibility of the allegation/s.
A formal investigation is a structured process with specific legal andprocedural fairness requirements. It involves interviewing multiple parties, gathering and preserving evidence, maintaining detailed documentation, providing employees or volunteers accused of wrongdoing an opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them and producing findings that can withstand external scrutiny. This is where most NFPs get into trouble - treating serious matters as informal fact-finding exercises when formal investigation protocols should apply.
The risks of getting this wrong are significant. Investigate poorly, or fail to do so, and you can end up with serious legal exposure and a damaged brand.
When to seek external support
Here's the unfortunate (but unsurprising) reality: your organisation probably can't handle serious misconduct investigations internally. That's not a failure - it's the truth for most NFPs. In many serious cases, external support is a must.
You especially need external investigation support when allegations involve senior leadership or Board members, when there are potential legal implications or regulatory reporting requirements, when the situation is particularly sensitive, or when maintaining objectivity is impossible because of existing relationships.
You also need external support when your organisation lacks the specific expertise required - whether that's understanding complex financial transactions, navigating employment law, or the incident involves or requires vulnerable people. And sometimes, you need external investigators simply to demonstrate to stakeholders that the process was independent and thorough.
The NFPs that handle misconduct well don't try to be experts in everything. They know when to bring in people who do this work professionally, and they have those relationships established before crisis hits.
Building investigation readiness
Effective misconduct response starts long before allegations emerge. It requires clear protocols that outline immediate response steps, evidence preservation requirements, and decision points for engaging external support. The avenues in which misconduct can be reported must also be robust and understood by all, something we've spoken about in earlier articles on creating safe reporting channels and creating a proactive risk and conduct culture. The following are just some of the protocols NFPs should consider implementing:
Protecting what matters most
Effective misconduct investigations aren't about having all the answers in-house. They're about knowing when (and when not) to seek expert help and having systems in place to respond quickly and appropriately when allegations arise.
The organisations that maintain stakeholder trust through difficult situations are those that prioritise getting to the facts through fair, professional processes. They understand that investigation capability is a critical organisational infrastructure, not something to figure out during a crisis.
When misconduct occurs your response will define how your internal and external communities view your organisation's integrity. The question isn't whether you have all the internal expertise; it's whether you're prepared to respond in ways that protect all parties, uncover the facts, and preserve your hard work and mission.
How Centium can help
At Centium, we provide independent, professional workplace investigation services specifically designed for not-for-profit organisations. Our experienced team understands the unique challenges NFPs face - balancing thorough investigation with limited resources, maintaining community relationships while ensuring accountability, and navigating sensitive matters with the discretion and objectivity your organisation requires.
We work with NFPs to develop clear investigation protocols before misconduct occurs, and provide immediate access to qualified investigators when allegations arise. Beyond investigation services, we support organisations in building the systems and capabilities that enable effective misconduct response.
To learn more about our Workplace Investigation services, or to discuss your specific needs, please contact our Managing Partner, Phil O'Toole, directly at the contact details above.
If you're interested in reading more on how to ready your NFP organisation for the unfortunate inevitability of misconduct, follow our series of articles we've written on this topic:
