9 ways to mess up harassment training
August 12, 2008 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Harassment, Special Report, Training
Training is one of HR’s keys to preventing workplace harassment and keeping companies out of court. But when these common mistakes are made, the training might be ineffective or even backfire.
Here’s what to avoid next time you have to give a training presentation:
- Giving employees a grade — Testing employees’ knowledge of what you’ve covered sounds like a good idea, but imagine this scenario: An employee scores low on the test, then is later named in a harassment complaint. To a court, that might look like you knew the employee was a threat and didn’t take action. To avoid that, either avoid giving a written test or make sure you follow up with employees who “fail.”
- Trying to entertain — Holding people’s attention while you’re talking about harassment is a good thing. Making light of the topic isn’t. Training sessions aren’t the place for jokes or “funny” stories about harassment. It’s way too easy to offend someone.
- Talking in legalese — Complex legal terms appear way too often in training sessions. Many employees — i.e., most folks who aren’t in HR — don’t understand those terms and stop paying attention as soon as they hear them.
- Sticking to the videos, pre-made presentations, etc. — Ready-made training materials can be valuable tools that help HR stay on track and hit all the key points. But they can also be an easy way to put your audience to sleep. Try adding in your own examples and horror stories — for example, supervisor mistakes that you’ve witnessed in your career or lawsuits filed against companies in your industry or region.
- Only mentioning sexual harassment — Often, sexual harassment is the area in which most supervisors need a refresher course — but it’s certainly not the only one. A good training program will also mention harassment on the basis of race, age, disability, national origin, religion, and other categories that may be protected by state law.
- Asking for too much — A big complaint many managers have about training: It takes too much time. And if they’re forced to give up that time, the training might not be completely effective. Work with managers to come up with a schedule people can agree on. For example, several short sessions might be easier for your supervisors to swallow than one big presentation. Or, they might prefer to do it all at once. Find out by asking around.
- Forgetting about retaliation — When explaining policies to managers and employees, it’s important to emphasize your company’s stance against retaliation, too. That way, managers will know what to avoid, and employees will be more comfortable reporting alleged harassment.
- Not connecting it to their jobs — A manager’s job is to lead and get the most out of his or her workers. One way to do that is to prevent inappropriate conduct and handle complaints effectively. Making that connection will help managers see the importance of the training.
- Only using one version — Managers need to understand how the company can be liable for workplace harassment. Employees just need to know what harassment is and what to do if they think they’ve witnessed it. If you train both management and staff, it’s a good idea to give separate presentations so each group gets exactly what they need.
What has your organization done to overcome the obstacles of supervisor training? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Tags: presentations, training
August 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
We do bottom to top training using an outside trainer in our new hire workshops. The information that we recieve through her is then used in the annual management training so managers are aware of where potential hotspots are. We also have taken comments that may merit further investigation to ensure that managers or potential situations are remedied right away. This approach has minimized the time necessary to train individuals, keeps the company in compliance and managers informed. We do not use canned videos and do give a test (ungraded at the end) to determine the retention success of our employees as well as to determine if additional training maybe required on an individual basis. We also use these tests to support any potential issues that come up with individuals to remind them of their training/retraining and that the company has zero tolerance. This training is called Professionalism versus Harrassment training and encompasses not only sexual harrassment but also how we act, talk, perceptions we create by our actions and words, dress could create adverse effects for the organization. This approach has been endorsed by our attorney who does the annual management training.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
We use a combination of slides and DVD’s illustrating various behaviors that would be considered sexual harassment or creating a hostile environment. We do a quiz before and after the presentation. We explain that a person who feels discriminated against will not necesarily use legalistic terms and supervisors must be alert for the meaning behind the words. We stress retaliation is illegal and that people should not hesitate to report an occurrence based on fear of retaliation. We explain the meanings of terms like “constructive knowledge” and “loss of consortium” so supervisors are made aware of the liability attached. We have also asked the management team about whether to do the training in smaller sessions or the full two hours at one time. We do make the training interactive.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:30 am
What is the connection of “loss of consortium” damages and workplace harrassment?
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Hi, Jay:
We mention loss of consortium in this context: If a person has been sexually harassed at work and is so upset that she(he) doesn’t want to have relations with their spouse, that spouse can sue for “loss of consortium” and that can be a liability to the company. I suppose (hope) that’s really rare, but any lawsuit is one too many. For probably a lot of companies, one big settlement would be devastating. And, for this or any other litigation, even if the company wins, it costs thousands to defend.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:05 am
We have tried to move from doing strictly harassment training to more of a Diversity approach. We start with talking about Harassment and the policy on Harassment, but then we tie that to how important it is for the whole organization to be thinking of Diversity and embracing differences. We then conclude with some statistics and real life examples of Diversity, along with management’s role in promoting and enforcing it. We also show some humorous videos, which helps to keep it moving and keep them interested.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I do harassment training in orientations with new staff on their first day of work. I also do trainings to our managers and the staff as a group thoughout the year as refreshers. One of the things I stress is that harassment is based on impact, not intent, and that any employee who feels they may be experiencing harassment of any kind has a reporting path available to them within our policies. I make sure they all know that if they experience any situations that they think may be harassment - or any that even make them feel uncomfortable for any reason - that they can (and are expected to) come to me. The best trainings emphasize reporting to the appropriate party and making sure everyone knows that such reports will be taken seriously and acted upon. They may forget specifics of a training, but they must be made to remember who to go to if they have a problem and know they’ll be taken seriously.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:54 am
[...] 9 ways to mess up harassment training [...]