No. The process is best suited to situations where there are complex team / group issues for example, collective or counter grievances, culture of bullying / harassment. If there is a factual dispute and a need for findings of fact, the process will not be suitable as a neutral assessment report will only identify common themes rather than attributing / apportioning blame to certain individuals.

Anything said in a neutral assessment interview is entirely confidential. The assessor will discuss with you any information that might be used in the report and whether that information could potentially identify you personally and check what you are comfortable with being reported.

No. The process can be very empowering for the individuals involved as it allows employees the opportunity to be listened to, speak with someone empathetic about what is concerning them and provide them with an opportunity to confidentially discuss what they would like to be done to resolve the issue.

Individuals who have taken part in the neutral assessment process will receive feedback from the assessor(s); that feedback might differ from case to case depending on the issues involved and recommendations made. However, the assessors will prepare a confidential executive summary to be shared with all of the people that took part.

No. It’s an informal process. Evidence gathered as part of the process will be fed back to those instructing us (normally senior HR professional / member of management) in a non-attributable way. Where themes are identified e.g inappropriate behaviour, the assessors might recommend coaching for particular individuals (anonymised) with a view to feeding back how others perceive their behaviour and the impact that it is having.

The cost will depend upon the number of people involved. We will carry out an initial briefing meeting with you to understand the issues / potential numbers involved and provide an outline estimate of costs and timescales present.