How a 75-person firm resolved workplace complaints and eliminated its legal exposure

An Alberta professional services firm with 75 employees. Well-regarded in its market and operationally strong — but dealing with a pattern of employee complaints that had gone unresolved long enough to escalate, and management practices that were inconsistent across teams.

The firm was managing multiple unresolved employee complaints related to workplace conduct and management consistency. The issues had been handled informally — and that had made them worse. Employees were aware of the complaints, trust in leadership was eroding, and the legal exposure was real.

The firm's managers had no consistent framework for handling complaints, and the existing policies were insufficient. Without a defined process, every new incident risked the same outcome.

We started with a workplace assessment — structured interviews with employees and managers to map what was actually happening and where the systemic gaps were. That gave us a factual base for the work that followed.

• Workplace assessment with structured employee and manager interviews
• Policy and procedure review and update
• Respectful workplace training delivered to all 75 staff
• Formal complaint investigation process established
• Executive coaching on consistent and defensible management practices

Outstanding employee concerns were resolved through the assessment and a structured response process. Recurring complaints stopped. Management accountability improved — managers now had both the tools and the training to handle issues before they escalated.

The firm avoided litigation costs that could have been significant. More important long-term: the culture shifted. Employees reported higher confidence that concerns would be taken seriously and handled properly.