Competent EEO Investigator
You may have read my post in regards to the Incompetent EEO Investigator, this summary will detail some of the qualities and skills that separate the average investigator from the professional EEO Practitioner. I decided to write this article on a positive note to address what is necessary to be a competent EEO Investigator, hereafter referred as CEI. The EEO community is small and word of good or bad services can circulate fast. The CEI works “under the radar” and seldom is recognized for their professionalism. When I supervised a team of service providers, receiving no correspondence from the client was good news. Service providers are paid to produce a sufficient work product so praise for good work is not to be expected. Look at it this way: When you pay bills every month for a service you use, the company never calls to say thanks for paying on time. However, see what type of attention you receive when you do not make a payment. The CEI is rarely mentioned or spoken about, so my purpose of writing this short review is to highlight and uncover what a CEI does well and how to spot this type of professional. I have separated this review into two parts. The first part of the review will address the basic professional skills an Investigator should possess, and the second part will address the technical skills necessary to be successful. Professional Skills: Many of these characteristics listed below would be essential to a model employee in multiple industries, but are still a prerequisite to becoming one of the best EEO service providers. Proofreading: Do you proof read your emails before they are sent? Typos receive the type of attention you do not want; however, oversights do happen from time to time but repetition of those errors can be considered unprofessional. Investigators should make a template of the emails that they send to the different parties when introducing themselves, this way they will only have to worry about inserting the correct name and contact information for the intended recipient. It pays to take the time and make as many email templates as necessary for the different types of correspondence and request that you will be making. This way, you only need to proof read your messages once and you already know the content is effective. However, there are certain situations when you will need to make a personal or customized correspondence. Timely: Have you heard the term “Being on Military time”, that is something to strive towards for organizational purposes and the respect of others schedules. A CEI should make every effort to be prompt for telephonic interviews, in-person interviews, and when performing any of their other duties such as status reports, answering emails, submitting ROIs, and returning affidavits. There are many moving parts during an investigation, mark off the task and move forward but understand the difference between rushing and being prompt. Responding to emails in a prompt manner shows respect for the sender’s inquiry and will enable you to expedite matters and have ample time to perform efficiently. Flexibility: Investigators should be able to execute and accommodate for all different time zones and undesirable situations (early or after hour interviews) to keep the case moving forward. It is vital to your effectiveness to be able to reschedule and meet other’s preferences or last-minute changes in schedule. Service providers have free time available, CEIs use that time as a backup alternative to scheduling conflicts. Taking on too many cases can prevent any type of flexibility. If I schedule eight (8) interviews in one day, that leaves me no time for bathroom breaks, lunch, or to handle other matters with cases; after the 3rd or 4th interview, I will not be a professional interviewer as my attention span and patience will be short and there will not be ample time to meet other deadlines or turn affidavits around. Listening: You will run across many types of personalities while interviewing hundreds of people who are in unique positions and at different levels in their career. Based on a Complainant’s accepted issue(s), protected class(es) or their job duties, the information you will need to extract will always be unique to the circumstances and listening will help you decipher what is key to your purview. Listening is the key to asking the appropriate follow up questions and taking accurate notes which will be utilized for your final work product. At times you will encounter an individual that is emotional or is “long winded” on the phone. This is when you have to be patient and let the person talk but be alert and listen for key words. The key words fall into the category of: who, what, when, where, why, and how? Forthright: There are times when a fine line must be walked when conducting an interview. Depending on a participant’s education, position title, and personality some egos can be threatened without intent. You want to be professional and polite, but you have a job that needs to be accomplished under statutory guidelines. Letting those that you interact with know that your intent and purpose is business, is vital, as you are in control of the Investigation. Patience is a good virtue to have but you have no time to play “the check is in the mail” game with signed affidavits. If someone you are interviewing is “talking in circles” and is not getting to the point then you need step in and take control of situation but politely and at all times in a professional manner. Interpersonal skills: You are the Investigator, but you do not need to be a robot and conduct an Investigation is such a manner. You will need to speak with people other than participants in the process such as the EEO Specialist, Human Resources, and Representatives. Establishing professional working relationships is important for all parties to work towards in order to complete tasks. The more cases an Investigator conducts for a specific Agency there is a good chance they will interview the
Professional EEO Investigator Career
If anyone mentioned to you that you could work from your home, create your own hours, mentioned the harder you work the more money you can make, and could travel and still handle your duties remotely: would you be interested? In the past, I used to see job postings that promised these favorable working conditions and freedom, however, I either thought the proposition was a scam, a one out of a million chance someone would be chosen, or required unique special skills. These types of position perks could be an ideal situation or dream job for someone who has commuted for many years, receives no promotion/raises, is subjected to bad management, and/or has to deal with office politics. For those that are self-motivated, have common sense, and acquire certain skill sets, being an EEO Investigator can be that rewarding experience you have been missing while endlessly watching the clock in your cubicle career. How to become an EEO investigator: EEO Investigators are required to have 32 hours of initial training, thereafter, they are required to have 8 hours of refresher training each year. There are different companies that provide such training including the EEOC. Classes can be taken online at your own pace and some private companies provide onsite options for the 32-hour course. The EEOC outlines the scope of an EEO Investigator under MD-110, Section 6: https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/directives/md-110_chapter_6.cfm Sourcing for work: There are multiple Vendors that are awarded EEO service contracts and then subcontract those EEO services to qualified EEO professionals. Investigators looking for opportunities by contacting Vendors to provide their information (certificate/resume), play a numbers game in reference to receiving a response. A better alternative to locating Vendors with work to subcontract is to find a net-work of other certified EEO investigators who could recommend Vendors that they have subcontracted with, and most importantly, those Vendors are currently accepting additional Investigators. There are some Vendors that require a minimum of 5 years of experience investigating EEO cases. If you are just getting started and have no experience in handling EEO investigations, you will need to find one of the few Vendors that is willing to mentor new Investigators, which may result in lower fees until you are able to investigate without much assistance. Finding a competent mentor or going through a Vendor’s probationary period may be the only option to get your “foot in the door”, so you can start gaining experience which could possibly lead to a career. Case load: Do you desire to work full-time, part-time, or just temporarily based on other commitments in your schedule? An EEO Investigator has the flexibility to take on a determined amount of cases to either supplement current income from another job, pension, or to be a sole source of income. Full-time: There is the opportunity of investigating cases on a full-time basis as a primary source of income; however, this is only recommended after an Investigator becomes seasoned and proven his/her ability to investigate without much assistance from the Vendor’s Case Managers. There is a limited amount of full-time EEO Investigators because this career path can be demanding at times and is not suited for everyone long-term. Part-time: Majority of the EEO Investigators work part-time for many reasons. It may prove difficult to earn a desired income for factors such as hands on experience, case load management, region of the country they live, or the case allocation of Vendors they subcontract with. Many investigators start off part-time until they grasp the industry and determine if the work is a good fit for them. Retired: I am starting to see an increase in retirees handling EEO Investigations for multiple reasons: Supplement Income, passion, keeping the mind sharp, mobility restraints, and the subject material. Being an EEO Investigator can be a fulfilling venture, hobby, career, or source of income after one has retired and a way to be professionally involved in a serious matter such as civil rights. What you must do: EEO Investigators are self-employed and should be organized similar to a small business. It is necessary to wear multiple hats or take on various roles such as: Skilled Investigator; Marketing/Sales; Help Desk; Admin/Secretary; and Proof reader. It is imperative to have time management skills to meet deadlines, be self-motivated to obtain/complete a desired case load and have strong investigative and writing skills to provide a quality work product. If there is any industry secret, it should be: Your most recent work product determines your ability to receive future case assignments. EEO investigators receive 1099s unless they are a Government or Vendor employee. There are no benefits, paid lunches, free coffee, PTO (Paid Time Off), or guarantees to receive paid work. When being self-employed, you need to be properly set up with a reliable computer, fast internet, scanner, software, phone, and budget your operating expenses. If your computer crashes during the day, you cannot simply dial the help desk as you can in the corporate setting to get you back up and running. Marketing and networking your skilled services is necessary to diversify, as in any industry. EEO Investigators need to learn how to investigate for multiple Vendors which equates to different templates, protocols, procedures, and organizational structures. The truth that no one tells you: Payment: There are times when work is slow, and a self-employed individual does not receive payment for simply showing up to work. Inconsistency in compensation is the primary reason there are more part-time Investigators than full-timers, because Investigators must budget their money to not only pay personal bills, but to have adequate funds to keep their small business funded. Ask yourself these questions: If you were not paid for one month, would you be able to make ends meet without any type of disruption until the next month? If you received a payment large enough to purchase a car in cash, could you effectively budget that money to account for taxes, reinvestment, personal expenses, operating expenses, and savings? Investigators can make good money, but they have to at minimum execute what
Incompetent EEO Investigators
While acting as Case Manager and supervising a rotating number of Investigators, Counselors, and FAD writers I realized the obvious but brutal reality. An investigator’s resume, writing samples, and references did not determine the quality of their work product or their actual experience. The sad truth is: To be a bad EEO Investigator is simple and requires little effort for the same pay as being an effective and competent EEO Investigator. Someone might think, why not do less/substandard work for the same pay??? This is the logic of an incompetent EEO Investigator, with little integrity, that does not see the full picture in this important and unique career opportunity. When employed by a prime contractor as a service provider (EEO Investigator) you are only as good as your last case, good references are based on your work product. So, Why are Incompetent EEO Investigators being hired and actually retained for additional cases? It could be that the market is saturated with mediocre EEO investigators and the bar is set low. I will address some concerns and answer questions regarding the Incompetent EEO Investigators which have “slipped” through the cracks and infested the formal complaint process. This look into Incompetent EEO Investigators is not written to be negative, but rather a wakeup call to those individuals that need to understand the seriousness of being a professional EEO Investigator and their role and responsibility for the integrity of the process. Basic EEO training: Most EEO Investigators are independent contractors/consultants that do not work for the Federal Government. These contractors are required to have 32 hours of initial training and 8 hours of additional yearly training to be considered certified. Management Directive-110, chapter 6, which can be located at https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/directives/md-110_chapter_6.cfm list all of the attributes and responsibilities that an effective EEO Investigator should have; professional guideline. I will take a different approach and illustrate repetitive traits that Incompetent EEO Investigators practice. But first, Let me ask you some questions? How often does minimum effort towards anything produce something of great value? Have you ever met an unorganized, lazy, incompetent, not too bright person with some type of certification? Of course, you have, all you need to become certified in most scenarios is money and the minimum requirements to get a piece of paper that states… [insert certification]. I know many people with a Real Estate license; however, many were not ready to run their own business, market, buy the necessary equipment, and sell homes. The same is true with EEO Investigators, many take the class and gain certification but never appear to be ready… I will address how the “certified EEO Investigator” can be guided into becoming an effective EEO Investigator and how to identify and eliminate the bad EEO Investigator from the formal complaint process. There are ways to tell that you are dealing with a Bad EEO Investigator in reference to their work product. The eleven examples that follow are some of the most common attributes of an incompetent EEO Investigator’s work product: (1) They interview the Complainant, the responding management official (RMO), and follow only what their training manual outlines but no other relevant parties are identified during the investigation. (2) They believe everything people tell them rather than being objective, they rarely corroborate conflicting statements by interviewing a similarly situated third party witness. (3) All investigators have their own writing style, but it appears they never proof read what they summarize in their reports. (4) Their written summaries are redundant, have irrelevant testimony, with no logical and/or chronological flow when appropriate. (5) Irrelevant documents are requested for the file because they do not understand their purview as an Investigator, which is to cover the components of the adverse action and gather supporting documentation. (6) They cut and paste testimony from an affidavit or interrogatory and do not change the pronouns when they summarize testimony. (7) They utilize generic questions hoping they cover all aspects of any issue they investigate without asking appropriate follow up questions to determine the actual decision maker. (8) They allow affiants to take them off on a tangent that is not related to the accepted issue of the complaint; in reality, I do not think the bad Investigator even knows this is happening or they have lost control of the interview. [i.e. single-issue case with a 99-page affidavit] (9) When they are questioned about vital information missing in the investigation, they have no valid reason (Memo to the File) but remedy the situation only because someone addressed it with them. (10) They use the wrong Complainant name, agency, case number, protective class(es), stated issues, and phone numbers on formal documents. (11) They interview everyone the Complainant list as a witness without verifying what information that person can attest to; even though many of these parties are only privy to third party information or are character witnesses for the Complainant. All Investigators may have been guilty of one of these examples; however, there is a problem when this occurs on a consistent basis. An Incompetent EEO Investigator is not prepared to provide the service they are contracted to conduct. Having the necessary equipment and a professional work area allows the Investigator to be organized and efficient. Here are some possible circumstances of an unprepared EEO Investigator. (1) While they are on telephonic interviews there is noise (crying babies, television/radio, their barking dogs) in the background. (2) Using a cell phone with bad reception to conduct an interview. (3) They have no scanner, or a computer that “crashes” once a month, and/or an inappropriate email address. (4) They accept assignments that have deadlines but tell you later they forgot they had a vacation planned around the time the assignment is due. (5) When they are not on vacation, it can be impossible to reach them because their voice mailbox is full or their email is temporarily down, once again. (6) Emailing the wrong government employee from another agency indicates they have more cases than they can handle or lack organization and a proper filing system. (7) They have other engagements and are not available during working hours to manage their cases nor have the flexibility to conduct timely interviews. Note: The corporate world can eliminate or implement most of the issues
EEO Course Limitations
Reality: Not everyone is suited to be an EEO Investigator, but anyone with $800-$1000 can become certified as an EEO Investigator. The purpose of this article is to highlight an unregulated component in the Federal EEO Investigative process that needs improvement. After years of training both new and seasoned EEO Investigators, it was apparent that lack of training hours recommended, and limited practical experience were prevalent when it came to industry protocol for being a certified Investigator. For the most part, Investigators grasp the applicable theories and laws which is the primary focus of the 32-hour online EEO training courses. However, a vast number of Investigators lack hands on experience which enables them to turn the theory they grasp into an effective work product. There is not enough time to teach the practical hands on instruction which is necessary to be an effective EEO Investigator. 32 hours is the recommended number of hours to be an EEO Investigator, but it is not nearly enough to cover hands on training such as mock interviews, interview techniques, creating questions, requesting documents, role playing, writing ROIs/MTFs, protocols, etiquette, introductions, and other investigative techniques. Many training courses are online and self-paced, trainees are provided with extensive theoretical information and then expected to answer multiple choice questions which are akin to taking an open book test. Courses are not being designed to gauge, teach, or adjust to the comprehension of the student; it is an “information dump” of relevant theories, laws, and scenarios. MD-110 requires Investigators to have a training certificate. Unfortunately, the 32 hours of training has become a “money grab” for many companies offering these types of training services. As a potential investigator, do not fall into this trap, it will only make the learning curve more difficult and limit future employment opportunities. When choosing a training company do your research and ask companies for a syllabus of the entire course. It is important to determine if you will acquire practical skills during the course, not just acquire a piece of paper (certificate). It is important to know if the training company provides mock interviews, written assignments which will be reviewed, and step by step instruction on how to produce a Report of Investigation. It is imperative to find out who will be answering your questions and reviewing your work, their past experience, and their current involvement in EEO related matters. Simply being an Employment Law Attorney does not necessarily qualify an individual to teach another how to be an effective EEO Investigator. Do not assume that taking a course from a law firm will prepare or give you an advantage in the industry. What matters is determining if a trainer will take the time to review your work, explain your errors, provide customized scenarios for practice, show you how to apply theoretical knowledge, answer questions, and specifically demonstrate how to provide an effective work product. Do not rush through course material, it will be a disservice to yourself and the industry. There are probably only a few companies that realistically attempt to prepare an individual for being a successful EEO Investigator, let alone explain to them how to effectively find work after the course is completed [another article source: Becoming an EEO Investigator] Very few Investigators are ready to effectively facilitate an EEO investigation after taking the 32 hours of required training, much of their learning will be hands on; however, the Agency expects an adequate work quality from both new and seasoned Investigators. Investigators simply do not have adequate practice for creating effective questions and interviewing respondents. Many Investigators have trouble understanding what is expected of them in terms of drafting a Report of Investigation (ROI) and how to accurately summarize material facts obtained during the investigation. Investigators that have time management and strong written and oral communication skills experience less of a learning curve. Training recommendations for new Investigators may never be changed to reflect reasonable requirements; however, companies offering EEO training should take some responsibility in comprehensively preparing individuals, rather than only offering an introduction into EEO theory and laws. Spoiler Alert: Being able to regurgitate case law, theories, and terms will not do much for an Investigator during a real investigation. Hint: you need multiple skill sets to be an effective EEO Investigator. To effectively train students to be Investigators, the mentor/trainer should be active or recently facilitated cases themselves; many problems faced during an investigation are not EEO related and may require current/updated experience to assist in handling those obstacles. Trainers need to be able to teach practical investigative techniques. There is a difference between knowing how to perform a task well and being able to teach another Investigator how to perform a task. While conducting mock interviews for students, I made sure to test them in every possible way. If investigators made errors, I allowed them to dig a bigger hole for themselves, so they could experience a realistic scenario for their action(s). If they did well, I tested them a bit harder, so they could perfect that skill set. When the students displayed knowledge and skill, I then moved to the next obstacle, so they could practice a different skill set. Some students did not understand the material and I purposely allowed them to fail, which sounds harsh; however, it was necessary for them to learn what would occur if they continued in that manner. The mock interviews were the last chance to practice and learn valuable lessons before a real investigation, if the trainee was still interested in pursing this line of work. During the mock interviews, I took down notes and let the students know the good, bad, and how they could adjust/improve. At this point in the course, training was beyond the recommended 32 hours, but many of the investigators were just beginning to piece together the theories and learning how to effectively apply them. Prime Contractors (Vendors) receive resumes, cover pages, and new Investigator 32-hour certificates constantly from individuals looking to start their EEO Investigative career. Having had the experience in