Many workplaces hold training sessions on topics such as sexual harassment. Of course, some employers handle this topic better than others do. Because a sexual harassment lawsuit against your business may prove costly, it is often worth your while to be proactive in how you approach training. This tactic can also help you attract a wider base of qualified applicants if you develop a reputation for being a fair and proactive business.
So, here are some general guidelines to help with your anti-sexual harassment training.
Make it interactive
Many employees go through training that means they sit at their computers, read scenarios and answer questions. Is that type of training bad? Not necessarily. In fact, it could work well for some groups of employees. After all, it is interactive to an extent and may allow employees to take their time and to finish at their pace. It is probably better than just having employees attend a lecture or read a handout without a genuine opportunity to reflect and ask questions.
That said, live, interactive training by qualified trainers is frequently the best-case scenario and can easily be paired with computer-based training. There is only so much a computer program can do, and a real person with helpful credentials can bring a fuller, robust aspect to your training.
Get top-level support
Employees are more likely to take training seriously if they notice that the CEO is present. Thus, it is important that top-level management understands and supports the need for training. Managers should not consider themselves above the need for this type of education and should participate fully. In fact, managers probably need more training because not only do they need to be aware of their own behavior, they must be able to respond appropriately if an employee reports a claim of sexual harassment to them.
Explain about nonretaliation
Many anti-sexual harassment trainings fail to explain about nonretaliation. If your training covers this area, employees should feel more comfortable coming forward because they do not fear a negative consequence such as salary cut or job loss.
