Human Resources leaders are spinning a lot of plates. They must foster a workplace that is diverse, inclusive, and safe. They need to cultivate an atmosphere where employees are engaged and productive. All this, as they make sure everyone can function in a hybrid environment. To keep these proverbial plates from coming crashing down, one of the paramount compliance considerations for HR executives today is harassment prevention.
A Culture of Compliance
During a recent GDS Virtual Roundtable sponsored by Skillsoft, executives from a range of industries discussed the ways they are encouraging compliance. From a global oil and gas giant to a pharmaceutical company, to a sportswear brand, the same refrain was echoed throughout the panel discussion: “Doing the right thing has to be part of an organization’s very culture.”
A talent enablement executive from Skillsoft advises that leaders throughout the enterprise must be thinking about creating a workplace where compliance isn’t a matter of ‘checking the box,’ but implementing behaviors that will be sustained for the long term. Just offering harassment prevention training, without building respect into the culture, is nothing more than lip service. If employees do not feel safe and included, they cannot be authentic. The industry expert shares that there are a lot of people who are not bringing their true selves to work. Because systemically there might not be structures in place that support that.
Creating Systems
So, what would those structures look like? The delegates on the panel shared a few suggestions from within their own organizations.
- Training programs: On cultivating the right attitudes and behaviors; on recognizing demeaning or harassing behaviors.
- Reporting process: A clear and confidential way for harassment to be reported.
- Investigation procedures: A team, person or committee specifically trained to investigate reported behavior and recommend action.
A compliance chief from a large, multinational sportswear company on the panel shared how he thinks through systems, asking questions like, “how does somebody reach out? How does somebody speak up? Are we creating the environment? Are we creating the safety?” He says people need to know exactly how to report bad behavior. “Is that through a whistleblower program? Is it direct to your HR VP?”
What works? Employee listening and pulse surveys are great ways to ask those questions, and ensure employees understand the policies.
Make it Engaging
Once the systems are in place, HR and compliance champions need to make it relevant. An executive from a privately-owned biopharmaceutical company, who also sits on the diversity council of his company, warns that training courses cannot be rolled out casually, where employees can open the module and ‘click, click’ through it without absorbing it.
The expert from Skillsoft agrees, saying harassment prevention courses the company creates today are not only regionally specific, but based on current reality. She shares that they have individuals in these training courses who show them examples of what microaggressions, what harassment looks like, feels like, sounds like, and what the ramifications are. That realness that they are building around it has had a phenomenal impact on engagement.
Democratize it
Lastly, the leaders on the panel made this central point: a good culture can’t just be handed down from the HR or Legal department heads. It’s got to be instilled in all leaders, throughout the enterprise, so they can pass it to their teams. The responsibility to prevent workplace harassment, to build an inclusive, diverse, and equitable culture and workplace is across all leaders in the organization.
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