Early Resolution & Workplace Advisory Services
Early Resolution Workplace Services and Workplace Advisory Services to understand concerns early and choose a proportionate response.
Explore serviceIndependent. Objective. Practical.
Independent Workplace Solutions for Atlantic Canadian Organizations
Workplace complaints, conflict, safety concerns, and organizational challenges require thoughtful, impartial, and professional responses.
Hartlen Workplace Solutions helps organizations prevent, assess, investigate and resolve workplace concerns through independent services tailored to their needs.
Serving Atlantic Canadian organizations as an external workplace investigator, our ultimate goal is restoring workplace cohesion.
A complete workplace response continuum
- 01
Prevent
- 02
Assess
- 03
Investigate
- 04
Resolve
- 05
Restore
Services
The right response begins with understanding the concern.
Workplace investigations are the cornerstone of the practice, supported by a broader range of independent services for prevention, early response, resolution, and restoration.
Workplace Investigations
Independent, impartial fact-finding for Workplace Investigations in Atlantic Canada. External Workplace Investigator services for serious or disputed workplace concerns.
Explore serviceWorkplace Assessments
Workplace Assessments for Atlantic Canadian organizations include Workplace Safety Culture Assessments. A broader view of culture, systems, relationships, and organizational risk.
Explore serviceConflict Resolution
Conflict Resolution Services designed to provide structured, impartial support to help people move through workplace conflict in Atlantic Canadian organizations.
Explore serviceWorkplace Safety, Respectful Workplace & Culture Assessment Programs
Workplace Safety Culture Assessments and Respectful Workplace Training. Practical systems that support physical and psychological workplace safety.
Explore serviceRespectful Workplace Training & Education
Respectful Workplace Training and Occupational Health and Safety Training Nova Scotia. Focused learning for leaders, boards, and teams facing real workplace responsibilities.
Explore serviceWho we serve
Independent capacity when your organization needs it most.
Especially for organizations without dedicated internal HR departments or workplace investigators.
Small and medium-sized businesses
Municipal governments
Non-profit organizations
Associations and professional bodies
Healthcare organizations
Educational institutions
Why early action matters
Workplace concerns rarely improve when ignored.
Early assessment, independent review, conflict resolution, or workplace investigation can help address concerns before they escalate into formal disputes, external complaints, employee departures, or significant disruption.
The right response is not always a formal investigation.
Sometimes the most effective solution is an assessment, facilitated process, training initiative, restoration strategy, or early intervention.
Why organizations trust HWS
Experience assessing evidence and guiding complex matters.
Rick Hartlen combines workplace investigation expertise with more than eighteen years of experience evaluating credibility, guiding complex investigations, and making decisions in high-stakes environments.
About Rick Hartlen- Former Senior Crown Attorney attached to the Special Prosecutions Section, Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service
- Wiretap Agent appointed by the Attorney General of Nova Scotia
- Deputy High Risk Offender Coordinator for the Province of Nova Scotia
- Occupational Health and Safety Act prosecution experience, including workplace fatality matters
- Presiding Justice of the Peace for the Province of Nova Scotia (per diem)
- Specialized professional development includes workplace investigations, investigative interviewing, evidence assessment, ethics and accountability, credibility assessment, and report writing through programs offered by the Association of Workplace Investigators, the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (including courses developed in partnership with the Canadian Police College), the RCMP, and other recognized professional organizations.
- Outside of his professional work, Rick is an avid beekeeper and is quietly trying to save the world one honeybee at a time at his piece of paradise at the Bighouse Honey Farm in beautiful Lunenburg County.
A thoughtful response starts with a conversation.
Discuss your organization’s situation and the options that may be appropriate.