This is the second of a two-part series relating to advanced preparation tips for that special deposition, key employee job applicant interview, claimant exam under oath or potential adversarial interview.

Last month’s article emphasized the importance of conducting a thorough background inquiry on the subject understanding that this will add to the cost of the project. The expense, however, is insignificant compared to the potential exposure resulting from missing key information about an important character issue that could be associated with lying, violence, fraud and / or some other pertinent dysfuncionality.

For those interviews / depositions which are particularly important, add a second (or multiple), trained interviewer(s) to provide support to the primary interviewer.  They must be schooled in interviewing techniques and lie detection, and he / she should work with the primary interviewer to  discreetly raise awareness of factual errors and / or potential deceptive behaviors.

Police investigators routinely conduct two-on-one interviews during suspect or key witness interviews to increase the chance of success in developing an admission against interest.  Studies over the last 50 years have confirmed the value of this approach. Yes, it is a luxury, and, yes, it increases the cost of the event, but it also can increase the success rate. Additional personnel can support the lead interviewer by insuring all topics are thoroughly covered and by observing out of the ordinary witness / applicant behavior.

Too much of our worklife is influenced by the pressure of cost first, results second. In this regard, you may have to sell the multiple interviewer approach since it adds to the time commitment and thus can negatively impact how management views the approach. Sell the concept by emphasizing long-term cost savings. For instance, the national average of a loss to a business from hiring a bad employee is $60,000+. What would be the lost relating to your claim or litigation?

The majority of depositions, witness debriefings, claims interviews and applicant screenings can be conducted by a single, trained interviewer. That person, however, must be schooled in lie detection, physical, verbal and non-verbal deception behaviors and  must take the time to thoroughly prepare and check out the background of the interviewee. Encourage the use of additional support during those extraordinary depositions and interviews where the exposure is more substantial and the loss can potentionally be more impactful.

Research North, Inc. (RNI), is a professional private detective service providing support to the business community, the insurance industry and individuals in Michigan and Wisconsin since 1981. The company also offers pre-employment background checks to small and medium sized businesses through a subsidiary called Backgroundcheckswork.com that is fully staffed by professional investigators who are retired from law enforcement.

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