This is the first article in a three-part series on workplace investigations: Why you should care | The devilish details | Following through

"Workplace investigations are human resources problems. They're something only bigger companies have to worry about. All the employees in my office are friends."

All of these statements become quickly irrelevant as soon as an employee makes a complaint. Here are three reasons you should pay attention to complaints.

1. They can sideline your business

Whether a complaint is legitimate or not, it will become the new priority. Counterintuitively, it can cost you more to ignore a complaint than to spend the time investigating and addressing it.

More often than not, it takes a lot of mental energy and often courage for an employee to file a complaint. When anyone takes the time and effort to do something that serious, it is important to acknowledge it. That means listen to the complaint (or direct it to HR), take action and follow up.

Just like with a termination, a less-than-perfect review or any other negative event in an employee's life he/she may take personally, it is important for the person making the complaint to feel heard and respected. Listen, investigate it fairly and follow up with the employee.

If it turns out the complaint was unfounded, you have at least addressed it so that if it is possible, everyone will move on. And if it turns out there was a real problem, you are saving the company a lot of time, money, mental energy and human resources by addressing the issue before it goes too far.

2. Employees are savvy

Now more than ever, employees know their rights — or at the very least, have cousins, neighbors or cubicle mates who think they do. Hostile work environment, harassment and bullying are key terms that employees tend to mention when making a complaint, because they know they are the buzzwords that lead to action.

Furthermore, employees with legitimate complaints and those who have ulterior motives all have access to the internet. And there are great resources available to anyone who knows how to look. For example, there is an award-winning blog by Donna Ballman, a lawyer in Florida who does a great job of explaining the ins and outs of the law from the employee perspective.

So again, take it seriously. Legitimate complaints deserve your time and the others demand it.

3. They may be required

While I am not an attorney, court cases show making an effort to investigate quickly, fairly and thoroughly will bode well for the employer even if the situation does not. This paper on workplace investigations from Stewart S. Manela of Arent Fox, LLP, reviews both best practices and court cases that emphasize the importance of doing the right thing and the consequences of not.

Further, this easy-to-digest article from Dori Meinert, "How to Conduct a Workplace Investigation," for HR Magazine, takes you through step by step and explains pitfalls and common issues, as well as some interesting court cases that should rightfully scare and inspire you to do the right thing.

It is never fun or easy to listen to an employee who is unhappy enough to file a complaint. But it can get a lot worse a lot quickly if you do not. And if you do, well, you are doing a lot to maintain a healthy, productive work environment.

For more on when and how to conduct investigations, check out Part 2 of this series where we dive into the devilish details.