— FREE GUIDE FOR HR & LEGAL LEADERS
When a Complaint Lands on Your Desk,
the First 72 Hours Matter Most.
How you respond in the first 72 hours shapes everything that follows: psychological safety, organizational trust, willingness to report, and your legal exposure. This free resource gives you the principles, the framework, and the practical checklist to respond with structure, fairness, and confidence.
How You Prepare Determines How You Respond.
— WHY THIS MATTERS
When a workplace complaint arrives, the pressure to act is immediate. But how you respond in those first hours, not just what you do but how you do it, determines the integrity of the process, the safety of the people involved, and your organization's legal and reputational exposure.
A structured, trauma-informed response doesn't just protect the organization. It produces better information, better outcomes, and findings that hold up when it counts.
72 Hours
The window that shapes psychological safety, organizational trust, and legal exposure.
2 Frameworks, 10 Principles
Defensible investigation principles and trauma-informed guiding principles, side by side.
1 Practical Checklist
Everything you need to move from first response to informed decision.
Practical. Principled.
Ready When You Need It.
— INSIDE THE GUIDE
Designed for HR leaders, legal counsel, and anyone responsible for responding to workplace complaints with fairness and confidence.
01.
Defensible Investigation Principles.
Five principles that make an investigation fair, thorough, and built to withstand scrutiny — from human rights tribunals to courts.
02.
Trauma-Informed Guiding Principles.
A parallel framework of five principles for how the process is experienced. Because when people feel safe, they share more, more accurately, and the findings hold up.
05.
Common Mistakes in the First 72 Hours.
Eight of the most consequential missteps in early complaint response, from moving too fast to over-promising confidentiality to failing to establish and maintain process clarity. Practical, direct, and grounded in what actually goes wrong in the field.
03.
Your 72-Hour Framework.
A clear guide for prioritizing your time: what to gather and protect in the first 24 hours, what to assess by 48, and what to decide by 72.
04.
The 72-Hour Checklist.
A practical, working checklist covering first response, investigation scope, people, accommodations, resources, and communications management.
— ABOUT GOODWIN INVESTIGATIONS
Built by Investigators.
Designed for People.
Goodwin is a technology-enabled, human-centered workplace investigation firm serving organizations across Alberta. We deliver clear, fair, and defensible investigations on fixed-fee terms. Our process is guided by structure, supported by tools, and grounded in the professional judgement of specialist practitioners.
We believe technology should enhance human insight - not replace it. That's why we're building a better model for investigations: one that respects participants, supports clients, and protects organizational culture with clarity and care.
Process First. Technology Second. Human Judgement Always.
Certainty
Fixed pricing. Transparent process.
You know what your investigation will cost before it begins, and what to expect every step of the way.
Consistency
Structured approach. Engineered guardrails.
Every investigation follows the same principled methodology, delivering defensible outcomes every time.
Compassion
Trauma-informed. Human-centric.
Every person involved is treated with dignity, and the process is designed around how it is experienced, not just what it produces.
Clarity
Defensible findings. Actionable conclusions.
Clear communication throughout, and a final report that holds up when it counts.
— FREE DOWNLOAD
GOODWIN INVESTIGATIONS
Alberta-based. Canada-focused. Process-first. People-centered.
info@goodwininvestigations.ca