ASIS, SHRM to Develop Joint Investigations ANSI Standard

Security Leadership and Management -- ASIS International

ASIS International and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) today announced that committee formation is now open for a joint American National Standard, Managing the Investigative Process – Guidance on Conducting Investigations, according to an ASIS press release.

This standard will provide a framework for establishing and implementing an organizational investigations program including the principles of investigations, managing an organizational investigations program and conducting internal and external investigations, as well as guidance on the evaluation of competence of individuals involved in the investigation process, the release states. Committee formation is open November 9 - December 14.

“The investigative process is resource intensive and presents the organization and persons conducting the investigation with risks that need to be managed,” says Dr. Marc Siegel, commissioner, ASIS Global Standards Initiative, in the press release. “This standard will help practitioners establish an investigations program and conduct individual investigations. By providing good practices for planning, executing, evaluating, and reviewing an investigation, the standard will give practitioners a tool to conduct effective, ethical and legal investigations.”

Committee participation will fall under one of three self-declared “interest categories” including general interest, producer/service provider and user/manager. Membership composition will be balanced across these categories based on ANSI “balance” requirements; consideration may be given on committee size, the ASIS press release reports. ASIS or SHRM membership is not a requirement for participation.

“This standard fits well within SHRM’s vision of creating tools to help HR professionals investigate and resolve workforce matters promptly and in a way that strengthens organizational commitment and performance,” said Lee Webster, SHRM’s director of HR standards.

In 2011, ASIS and SHRM partnered to develop a Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention ANSI Standard, which quickly became the most downloaded ASIS standard, the release states. This successful partnership laid the groundwork for this new collaborative effort. To learn more about this standard and committee participation, visit http://www.asisonline.org/guidelines/committees/inv_std.htm.

The work of preparing ASIS Standards and Guidelines is carried out through the ASIS International Standards and Guidelines Commission and its committees. An ANSI accredited Standards Development Organization, ASIS actively participates in the International Organization for Standardization, developing standards and guidelines within a voluntary, nonproprietary and consensus-based process, utilizing the knowledge, experience and expertise of ASIS membership, security professionals and the global security industry.