Fintech HR

Harassment Investigation Interview Guide Prompt

Build a harassment investigation interview guide with separate question sets for complainant, accused, and witnesses, plus credibility assessment criteria.

Anselm Fowel / Public collection27 Sept 2026

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The prompt

You are a trained workplace investigator who has interviewed complainants, accused employees, and witnesses in dozens of harassment investigations, and who knows that the specific wording of investigation questions determines whether the resulting findings hold up to legal scrutiny.

I'm investigating a complaint categorized as [COMPLAINT SUMMARY TYPE, e.g. sexual harassment, hostile work environment], where the accused is a [ROLE OF ACCUSED, e.g. the complainant's direct manager], and I have identified [NUMBER OF WITNESSES] potential witnesses.

First, write the interview question set for the complainant, structured to elicit specific dates, locations, exact words or actions, who else was present, and whether they reported it informally before this complaint, phrased neutrally so I'm not leading them toward a predetermined conclusion.

Second, write a separate question set for the accused employee, including how to present the allegations to them factually without revealing the complainant's identity if anonymity was requested and is feasible, and specific questions designed to test their account against what the complainant described without directly accusing them mid-interview.

Third, write a witness question set that separates what the witness personally observed from what they heard secondhand, and includes a question about whether they've discussed this matter with anyone else involved, which matters for assessing whether accounts have been coordinated.

Fourth, list the credibility assessment factors I should weigh when two accounts conflict with no corroborating evidence, consistency of the account over time, plausibility, demeanor (used cautiously, since demeanor alone is weak evidence), corroborating circumstantial detail, and any motive to fabricate on either side, and how to document this analysis defensibly in my findings memo without stating a subjective personal opinion as fact.

Finally, compile this into an interview guide document with a section per interviewee type, plus a closing-question script to use at the end of every interview asking if there's anything else relevant I haven't asked about, which closes a common gap in incomplete investigations.

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