Rachel Maxcy / Vancouver, BC
Organizations facing harassment complaints, discrimination allegations, governance concerns, workplace conduct issues, or complex interpersonal situations need an investigator who is experienced, independent, and thorough. That is what this practice offers.
15 years of HR experience across multiple industries and sectors. Investigations conducted with rigour, discretion, and procedural fairness. Reports that hold up to scrutiny.
Each engagement is scoped to the specific situation. Work is conducted independently, documented thoroughly, and handled with the discretion the subject matter requires. Workplace investigations are the core of the practice. Governance, compliance, disability management, and due diligence work extend from the same foundation.
Independent investigations into harassment, discrimination, bullying, misconduct, and complex interpersonal situations. Board member and executive vetting and investigations. Procedurally fair, thorough, and defensible. Written reports suitable for internal review, HR decision-making, board-level decisions, and legal proceedings.
Assessment of HR policies, procedures, and practices against current legal requirements and best practice standards. Governance reviews for boards and executive teams. Identifying gaps before they become complaints, liability, or public problems.
Thorough, discreet background research on individuals and organizations. Employment verification, reference checking, and professional history review for hiring, partnership, or governance decisions.
Careful, methodical research into individuals, organizations, or positions where a complete and accurate picture matters. Conducted professionally and confidentially.
Strategic and operational HR support for organizations that need experienced outside perspective. Policy development, process review, disability management, workplace accommodations, difficult situation navigation, and HR decision support.
One-time or ongoing consultation for legal counsel, HR teams, or executives navigating complex workplace situations. Advice grounded in 15 years of direct HR and investigations experience.
How I work
Workplace investigations require independence above all else. The value of an outside investigator is precisely that they have no stake in the outcome, no existing relationship with the parties, and no organizational pressure shaping their conclusions. Every engagement is conducted with that independence protected.
A good investigation serves the truth of what happened. Not the organization's preferred outcome. Not either party's account. What actually occurred, documented carefully and reported plainly.
Work is grounded in best practice and a thorough working knowledge of the Employment Standards Act, collective agreements, common law, and human rights law across Canadian and US jurisdictions. Reports are written to be clear, complete, and defensible in language that HR professionals, legal counsel, and decision-makers can act on.
I partner well with legal counsel and executive teams and am comfortable navigating the grey areas that complex workplace situations consistently produce. Risk mitigation and assessment are built into every engagement, not added at the end.
All parties are heard. The process is documented. Findings are based on evidence, not assumption.
Investigations are confidential by nature. Information is handled accordingly throughout.
No organizational allegiance. No preferred outcome. The work is the work.
Process and findings documented to withstand legal and regulatory scrutiny.
About
My career path has not been linear. I started in marketing, moved into film, landed in project management in health care, worked in the non-profit sector, and eventually found my way into HR through a combination of interest and circumstance. That non-linear background has been useful. I have worked in enough different organizational contexts to understand how workplaces actually function, not just how they are supposed to.
Over the past 15 years I have worked across layoff planning, disability management, performance management, compliance, and workplace investigations. In the past three years the focus has become intentional. After my own experience of layoff and burnout, I made a deliberate choice about where my work goes and why.
Investigations work requires someone who can hold a process carefully, assess credibility without bias, and write findings that are honest about what the evidence supports and what it does not. That is the work I do and take seriously.
I hold a certificate in Trauma Informed Workplaces and a certificate in Foundations of Workplace Investigations. I am able to practice as a Private Investigator under supervision and am currently in the process of registering under the Security Services Act. I have worked across Canada and the United States including British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, as well as California, Texas, and New York. I have worked with private sector organizations of all sizes, health care (union and non-union), and the non-profit sector. Every engagement is approached ethically and confidentially, with a clear eye for the grey areas that rarely come with easy answers.
I also run Embodied Work and its community Now What?, a separate practice supporting Gen X and older Millennial women navigating layoffs, career disruption, and midlife transitions. The two practices serve different clients with different needs and are kept deliberately separate.
Get in touch
Most engagements begin with a brief call to understand the situation, scope the work, and confirm fit. There is no obligation in that conversation.
Enquiries are handled confidentially. If you are unsure whether the situation warrants an investigation or what kind of support you need, that is a fine place to start.
All enquiries are handled confidentially. Response within one business day.
Rachel also runs Embodied Work and its membership community Now What?, supporting Gen X and older Millennial women navigating layoffs, burnout, and midlife career disruption. That work lives at embodiedwork.ca.