Reducing workplace misconduct is critical to an organization’s success. Inappropriate behaviors can have damaging effects within an organization by reducing employee engagement and morale, impacting productivity and leading to loss of talented performers.
As a result of the #MeToo movement, workplace misconduct also affects external perceptions of an organization. Companies once seen positively by the public have suffered brand damage through claims of sexual harassment and misconduct. To reduce these risks in your organization, it’s important to consider ways to create an anti-harassment culture within your workplace.
Conducting anti-harassment training is integral and may be required by the states where you operate. It’s important to create processes within your organization that support reinforcement and continued learning. Follow-up activities help ingrain training concepts into your corporate culture by reiterating their importance and understanding by your employees. By creating a culture where employees recognize inappropriate behaviors and feel safe bringing them to leadership’s attention, you can address these behaviors quickly and reduce damaging effects.
Here are a few ways to ingrain anti-harassment training into your organization’s culture.
- Encourage post-training reflection
- Post-training reflection increases the impact of any training course. Following anti-harassment training, encourage your employees to reflect on what they learned. What were the key takeaways from the training? What information was new and surprising to them? This exercise helps learners better absorb the concepts of the training and increases future recall.
- Leverage this reflection period to challenge employees to consider practical applications of what they learned. Ask them to think through how to react if they observe harassing behavior in the workplace. Have they seen this behavior in the past, and how did they react? This exercise helps solidify what they learned and how to react appropriately in the future.
- Hold employee discussion groups
- Learning doesn’t stop just because a training course is over. Reinforce the topics addressed. Consider holding discussion groups with employees three to five months after training. Discussions can be led by an HR representative or a team leader to emphasize what was learned in the training course and continue the conversation.
- Discussion leaders should ask questions like, “What behaviors should we watch for?” and, “What steps should you take if you see these behaviors?”. Take time to clarify or answer questions from employees. These conversations can help leaders build trust with employees and show their commitment to a harassment-free work environment.
- Ensure organizational leaders and HR representatives are available and approachable
- Your leaders and HR representatives are the front line in ensuring a safe work environment. To build trust with your employees and make them feel safe about airing concerns, ensure that your HR representatives and leaders connect with employees on a regular basis. They should be open to questions and demonstrate to employees that they are willing to listen to employees’ needs.
- Organizational leaders should also be encouraged to check in with their team members on a regular basis to ensure questions are answered. Building trust with employees increases the probability that they will feel comfortable sharing their concerns and bringing situations to the business’s attention.
Are your employees required to complete Anti-harassment training? Not sure? Contact one of our HR Professionals to find out.