Faro Point Consulting

08/16/2025

Thank you Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read, Fairfax City Council Members, Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, Old Town Fairfax Business Association - OTFBA, and Fairfax City Economic Development for the warm welcome!

Fairfax business owners- we are here to support you with employee relations advice, policies, investigations, and more!

06/25/2025

Avoiding a difficult conversation might feel easier in the moment, but there's a cost: trust fades, morale drops, and your team notices more than you think.
Here’s what happens when managers don’t say what needs to be said:

As a manager, it’s your responsibility to address problems that affect team performance, morale, or culture even when the root cause isn’t entirely clear. These conversations can be uncomfortable, but avoiding them puts your team, your credibility, and your organization at greater risk. When you...

06/19/2025

Similar behaviors, different root causes, and very different consequences.
One employee misses deadlines. Another seems disengaged. On the surface, the situations look the same. But what’s driving them, and how a manager responds, can make all the difference.
We wrote about one of the most common judgment calls managers face, and what happens when they get it wrong.

When an employee drops the ball, misses a deadline, or behaves unprofessionally, managers are often left asking: Is this a performance issue or a misconduct issue? The answer isn’t always obvious. Getting it wrong can lead to missed opportunities, ineffective interventions, or even legal risk. Her...

06/17/2025

Some tools shape culture more than we realize. We wrote about one that’s often overlooked.

Every organization has policies, but not all have a Code of Conduct. When done well, it’s more than a compliance document. It is a leadership tool that sets the tone, clarifies expectations, and protects the organization when it matters most. A Thoughtful Code of Conduct Sets clear expectations

06/14/2025

Faro Point is a boutique employee relations firm specializing in investigations, accountability, and workforce strategy for companies and institutions.

We help organizations navigate complex people challenges — including misconduct, leadership breakdowns, and culture concerns — with clarity, structure, and discretion.

Our team — Ali Bowder, Lisa Sheldon, and Liz O’Reilly — led employee relations at the highest levels of government. We conducted high-stakes investigations, advised senior leaders, and built systems to strengthen trust and accountability. We began our careers as national security and counterterrorism analysts, where we learned to connect the dots.

We love the complexity of it all: the puzzle, the patterns, and the analysis it takes to get every recommendation right. Today, we bring that same rigor, discretion, and sound judgment to help organizations solve their most complicated people problems.

We’d love your help spreading the word by sharing this post with your network and we hope you’ll follow us on this journey.

06/14/2025

First impressions are powerful, sometimes too powerful. Do you know a leader who tends to fall for the first version of a story? The anchoring trap is a common cognitive bias and a costly one in high-stakes workplace decisions. We wrote about how to spot it, avoid it, and lead with clarity.

Leaders are expected to make decisions with clarity, objectivity, and balance. But even the most seasoned executives can fall prey to a common and costly cognitive bias: the anchoring trap. This trap occurs when someone gives disproportionate weight to the first piece of information they receive—o...

06/14/2025

Some workplace issues are messy.
Some are uncomfortable.
Some are mission-critical.
We built Faro Point Consulting to help leaders handle and address all three.

It all begins with an idea.

06/14/2025

Take a look at our recent article on when HR might not be the best option.
In complex or high-stakes cases, the first call matters. We wrote about why internal HR isn't always positioned to lead a neutral, structured investigation and what to consider instead.

When a serious workplace issue surfaces, such as harassment, retaliation, bullying, or something more complex, leaders often say: ‘Let HR handle it.’ Sometimes, that’s the right decision. HR professionals are often the first line of response, especially in large organizations. But too often, r...

05/28/2025

---We help companies and institutions navigate complex workforce issues, from misconduct investigations to workplace culture challenges and leadership accountability.
---When internal teams are too close to the issue, or risk being seen as biased, we offer an experienced, impartial perspective.
---Our team brings decades of experience managing sensitive matters in environments where discretion, clarity, and sound judgment are essential.

05/28/2025

... We help organizations address sensitive issues with fairness, clarity, and integrity — the foundation of our approach.