When HR Is the Problem: How to Investigate the Investigation

with Sophia Sanchez, Employee Relations Leader at InfosysAn employee says HR botched her harassment complaint — too slow, no updates, sided with her manager with no real explanation. She's not wrong about the process. But now the same team accused of dropping the ball has to investigate itself, credibly, without torching the trust that's already cracked. Sophia Sanchez walks through what happens when the complaint isn't about the incident anymore — it's about HR.What you'll hear in this episode:Why "we can't talk about it, it's confidential" is the excuse that does the most damage — and what to say insteadThe turnaround-time math: how fast HR should actually respond to a complaint, and why silence is what pushes people to go outside the companyWhy the team that made the original call should never be the one reviewing it — and who should step in insteadHow to close the loop with an employee when the outcome doesn't change, without sounding like you're covering for yourselfWhat actually gets lost when investigators email employees questions instead of sitting down with themThe one bias check every re-investigation needs: don't assume the manager's right, and don't assume they're notAbout Sophia Sanchez:Sophia is an Employee Relations Leader at Infosys, where she manages complex workplace investigations and builds the processes that hold up when things get scrutinized from the inside. She's spent her career in the room where "we followed the process" has to actually be true — not just claimed — and she brings that same rigor to how HR teams should investigate themselves.