Investigators use a variety of tools while managing their cases. One of the most powerful of these is investigation software.

What is Investigation Software?

Investigation software is a digital tool that helps investigators, human resources departments, ethics and compliance officers and others track and manage their investigations. Investigation software is sometimes referred to as investigative case management software or just case management software. It's a system that helps investigators work efficiently and collaborate securely with others.

Investigation software helps investigators capture tips and complaints and report on the results to prevent future incidents. Using one centralized, secure platform, investigators can:

• Create cases instantly by integrating your intake mechanisms
• Assign investigations and tasks automatically based on preset criteria or manually by a manager
• Search for open and closed investigations by location, subject and incident type
• View a timeline of actions taken on a case, including time, date and team member
• Collect supporting documents and audiovisual evidence
• Use built-in form templates to ensure accurate and compliant reporting

RELATED: Conducting Remote Investigations with Case Management Software

Why You Need Investigation Software

What makes investigation software better than other systems?

First, it allows investigation teams to resolve cases faster to avoid liability. Instant case creation and assignment let the team get to work right away, reducing the risk of an escalated or repeat issue. In case of legal challenges, an audit trail including all investigation steps and dates proves the investigator conducted a comprehensive investigation.

Software also helps keep investigations on track without any extra work. A system that has deadline alerts and task assignment notifications reminds investigators when they have an impending deadline and managers can follow up with past-due tasks.

Finally, a web-based, mobile-friendly system allows investigators to work whenever, wherever. Need to upload accident details from a work site? Want to work on a case while traveling? Investigation software lets team members edit cases from anywhere with an internet connection. Not having to wait until they return to the office to update a case file reduces the risk of important information falling through the cracks.

Top Investigation Software Features

No matter what types of investigations you conduct, they need to be timely, thorough and secure. Investigation software with the three features below helps you tick all of those boxes.

One-Click Investigation Reports

Investigators are busy and often don't want to spend their precious time completing paperwork. Investigation software can help you create professional, thorough investigation reports without sacrificing quality or time.

Choose software with a one-click investigation report builder. This feature collects information from fields in your case file to produce a properly-formatted report in seconds. Investigation software with built-in templates ensures that your reports are not only timely, but also compliant with relevant regulations.

These one-click reports can be shared automatically on the platform or sent by email. When a regulatory body or stakeholder requests the report, you don't have to spend hours gathering information and formatting the document, but can submit it right away.

Secure Collaboration

When you're working on an investigation team, collaboration is an important part of the job. However, you're also working with sensitive information that needs to be kept secure and confidential. Investigation software lets you do both.

Choose a system with role-based access. This feature lets team members, managers and external partners collaborate on cases while restricting what each user can see based on their role. You can easily work together right in the case without sacrificing privacy or confidentiality.

RELATED: The Fundamental Guide to Investigation Management

Data Analysis

Good investigators don't just resolve the immediate issue at hand. They also take preventive action to keep similar incidents from happening again.

Investigation software with a data analysis tool helps you spot patterns and trends for better prevention. Sort data by investigation subject, location and type of incident to identify risk hot spots. With visual representations such as heat maps, graphs and charts, you'll know where to focus your training, security or other preventive efforts.

Do you have more questions about investigation software? Take a look at these resources:

• Case Management Software Buyer’s Guide for Workplace Investigations
• Investigation Management: 10 Steps to Success
• Conducting Remote Investigations with Case Management Software
• Case Management Software Pricing: 8 Things to Consider
• How to Use Case Management Software for Compliance Automation
• Online Case Management Software: 3 Benefits of a Web-Based System
• Top 10 Features of a Great Case Management System
• What is Adaptive Case Management?
• How to Choose the Best Case Management Software for Your Company
• Enterprise-Wide Case Management: Why an All-in-One Solution is Best for Your Business
• What is Case Management Software?
• The Fundamental Guide to Investigation Management