Internal Investigations

Q: What triggers warrant initiating an internal investigation?

Common triggers warranting an internal investigation include suspected legal or policy violations reported by employees or customers, ethics complaints, and pre-merger due diligence findings. Acting promptly helps companies better understand issues, limit damage, and avoid cover-up allegations.

Q: What are some benefits of an independent internal investigation?

Key benefits of an independent internal investigation include an unbiased perspective, promoting impartiality, specialized legal and compliance expertise, the ability to inspire participant candor through a confidential process, mitigation of criminal/civil legal liability, prevention of future misconduct, and protection of corporate reputation.

Q: How long does a typical internal investigation take?

The duration of an internal investigation varies substantially based on the issues' breadth and complexity. In all cases, our expert project management maximizes speed while upholding diligence standards.

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Table of Contents

Ongoing or unaddressed violations of law or policy impair operational health. By directly and definitively responding through a formal, confidential investigation, companies can diagnose organizational weaknesses with accuracy and move forward effectively.

Prioritize an experienced, effective, and ethically-minded investigation with The Norfus Firm.

Scenarios Warranting Investigations

Reacting to external regulatory demands represents only one reason organizations launch internal investigations.

Well-run organizations order inquiries in response to:

Whistleblower Complaints: Whether submitted formally through legal channels or informally voiced around the office water cooler, insider ethical and legal violations require review. Turning a blind eye erodes trust in leadership.
Signs of Misconduct: Evidence of internal fraud, theft, harassment, discrimination, or other violations of policy necessitates a definitive reaction to determine what occurred.
Mergers & Acquisitions: As part of due diligence conducted around business transactions, buyers scrutinize sellers through compliance audits assessing risks assumed through acquiring entities.
Government Inquires: Agency reviews mandate extensively investigating organizational actions to prepare detailed responses and determine necessary corrective measures.

Taking a proactive stance outweighs speculation that can damage internal trust and brand reputation. Thus, early interventions focused on gathering elusive facts can prevent claims from mutating into lawsuits or compliance breaches.

By engaging outside investigators rather than internal staff subject to existing biases, you’re prioritizing the neutrality and fairness of the investigative process.

Outside Investigators Demonstrate Impartiality and Discretion

Even minor issues can erode trust between employees and leadership over time. Ongoing speculation around investigations can exacerbate the issue.

Bringing in objective outside specialists with no agenda demonstrates a genuine commitment to ethical management.

Our experience with complex litigation has taught us discretion. We build trust as neutral third parties who provide executive assessments with circumstances based purely on facts, not existing biases. Employees feel they can be more honest with external investigators. We do our part by emphasizing that we have no hidden interests and will guide the process toward fair resolutions.

Why The Norfus Firm Stands Apart

When selecting a team to conduct sensitive internal investigations, few considerations supersede ensuring a disciplined, ethical, and efficient process.

Our firm stands apart by prioritizing these key areas:

Disciplined Approach: We adhere to strict protocols aligned with legal and industry best practices at every phase, from building appropriate information barriers early on to controlled evidence gathering through final reporting. Consistent methodology demonstrates our commitment to reliability.
Efficiency: Our experienced team moves rapidly to uncover and interpret relevant facts through targeted data analysis, interviews, and documentation review, with a shrewd eye toward what’s relevant and what isn’t. We emphasize timely resolutions, saving clients money and time.
High Ethical Standards: Beyond our legal obligations, we hold ourselves to the highest moral standards around confidentiality, transparency, conflict checks, and promoting justice.

When your company requires skilled guidance through a complex internal investigation, rely on proven professionals who bring disciplined and ethical approaches focused on safeguarding your interests.

Investigations as Risk Mitigation Opportunities

Mistakes happen, even in well-run companies. When compliance issues do occur, view them as opportunities to improve policies and processes.

Focus first on limiting immediate legal risks – but we also recommend exploring longer-term changes that could prevent similar issues down the road, informed by the insights from the investigation.

While internal probes require effort and may garner unwanted attention, framing them as reinforcing the company’s ethical DNA can strengthen trust with employees, customers, and regulators. In our experience, organizations that approach investigations as a chance to improve tend to benefit from increased support and confidence.

With our guidance, your company can move forward stronger than ever. Reach out today to schedule a consultation.

Who we work with

We consider ourselves industry agnostic – that means that we have the great pleasure of working with clients that represent a myriad of services, products, and perspectives. More than what our client organizations do, we love working with clients who are:

Ready to be accountable for DEI and other people-centered initiatives, from the C-suite throughout all other levels of the organization

Open to engaging in uncomfortable conversations and facing hard truths that might be uncovered during our engagement.

Willing to properly resource DEI and other people-centered functions so the work does not fall on one or two people to execute.

Our Guiding Principles

We have had the honor of working with employees in over 20 countries and our work has led us to the following guiding principles:

We Facilitate
Human Connection

The desire for genuine human connections is something that binds us all – regardless of background.

We Foster
Trusted Spaces

Employees need trusted spaces to raise workplace concerns and reimagined ideas about how work is done.

We Encourage
Accountability

Organizations must take bold actions to move from good intent to tangible change.

We Believe
Intentionality Drives Progress

For sustained and meaningful progress to occur, HR & DEI goals have to be set, widely and regularly communicated, tracked, and measured.

We are committed to partnering with clients to break down institutional inequities, increase representation across all levels of an organization and create spaces where people feel that they belong. Are you ready to elevate your people strategies?

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Our Team

Natalie Norfus

Founder & Managing Owner

Consultant, Organizational Culture and Change

Stephanie Wesolek

Business Support Manager

Podcasts

See More

“What’s the DEIL?” is a podcast for organizational leaders – and those who support them – as they make their way along their DEI journey. In this podcast, Natalie Norfus and Shanté Gordon explore how leaders can create space for authentic human connection through the lens of DEI. We know you’re busy, so we focus on practical strategies and best practices that improve employee engagement, retention, and impact.

Subscribe to

“What’s the DEIL?” podcast to expand your understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Success stories

“I’ve worked with The Norfus Firm at both Sabra and IsraAID, a non profit whose Board I serve on. There were a number of things we were involved with from DEI training to coaching. And with all the amazing things Natalie & Shante offer, it is their ability to connect that for me is what makes them so successful and inspiring.”

Rick Matros

CEO & Chair of the Board, Sabra Health Care REIT

“One of the most impressive things about The Norfus Firm is that they don’t offer cookie-cutter services. Over the years, they’ve invested time in understanding our business and the individuals on our team, and they have consistently tailored their offerings to meet our evolving needs.”

Kate Walton

Owner & CEO, Steyer Content

“Working with The Norfus Firm was an empowering and incredibly positive experience. Their exceptionally capable and empathetic staff made them a superb choice for advancing our organization, including executive leadership and mid-management, within the DEI space. They took the time needed to understand our mission and laid the groundwork for a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable organization moving forward. We looked forward to every call and milestone and trusted their perspective and expertise. We were grateful to have worked with them and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to any firm or organization.”

Kristin Sprinkle

Co-CEO, Skeo Solutions