How to Create a Harassment Prevention Strategy for Your Business

Harassment is a significant risk to organizations today. It is necessary to commit to a prevention strategy that focuses on improving the culture of the workplace and avoiding legal liability and negative public attention. The following are basic principles proven effective in preventing and addressing harassment.

Leadership and Accountability

The foundation of a successful harassment prevention strategy is consistent and demonstrated commitment of senior leaders to create and maintain a culture in which harassment is not tolerated. Senior leaders should ensure that their organizations:

• Adopt a clear and comprehensive harassment policy that is regularly communicated to all employees.
• Establish an accessible harassment complaint system with multiple avenues (if possible) for making a complaint.
• Regularly and effectively train all employees on the harassment policy and complaint system.
• Regularly and effectively train supervisors and managers about how to prevent, recognize, and respond to objectionable conduct that, if left unchecked, may rise to the level of prohibited harassment.
• Enforce prompt, consistent, and appropriate discipline when it has been determined that harassment has occurred.

Comprehensive and Effective Harassment Policy

A comprehensive, easy to understand harassment policy that is regularly communicated to all employees is an essential element of an effective harassment prevention strategy. A comprehensive harassment policy includes:

• A statement that the policy applies to all employees, as well as to applicants, clients, and customers.
• A statement that harassment, based on any legally protected characteristic (class) under federal, state, and potentially local law, is prohibited.
• A clear description of prohibited conduct, including examples.
• A description of any processes for employees to informally share or obtain information about harassment without filing a complaint.
• A description of the harassment complaint system for reporting complaints.
• A statement that encourages employees to report conduct they believe may be prohibited harassment even if they are not sure the conduct violates the policy.
• A statement that the employer will provide a prompt, impartial, and thorough investigation.
• A statement that the identity of individuals who report harassment, alleged victims, witnesses, and alleged harassers will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law and consistent with a thorough and impartial investigation.
• A statement that encourages employees to respond to questions or participate in investigations regarding alleged harassment.
• A statement that information obtained during an investigation will be kept confidential to the extent consistent with a thorough and impartial investigation and permitted by law.
• An assurance the organization will take immediate corrective action if it determines harassment has occurred.
• A statement that retaliation is prohibited, and individuals who report harassing conduct, participate in investigations, or take any other actions protected under federal and state employment discrimination laws will not be subjected to retaliation.

In addition, effective written harassment policies are:

• Provided to employees upon hire and during harassment trainings, as well as posted centrally, such as on the company’s internal website, in the company handbook, near employee time clocks, in employee break rooms, and in other commonly used areas or locations.
• Periodically reviewed and updated as needed.

Effective and Accessible Harassment Complaint System

An effective harassment complaint system welcomes questions, concerns, and complaints; encourages employees to immediately report potentially problematic conduct; treats all parties involved with respect; operates promptly, thoroughly, and impartially; and imposes appropriate consequences for harassment or related misconduct.

For example, an effective harassment complaint system:

• Is fully resourced, allowing for a prompt and thorough response to complaints.
• Provides multiple avenues for complaints, if possible.
• Provides prompt, thorough, and neutral investigations.
• Protects the privacy of all parties involved to the greatest extent possible, consistent with a thorough and impartial investigation and relevant federal and state laws.
• Includes processes to determine whether alleged victims, individuals who report harassment, and witnesses are subjected to retaliation, and imposes appropriate discipline on individuals responsible for retaliation.
• Includes processes to ensure alleged harassers are not prematurely presumed guilty or disciplined for harassment.
• Includes processes to convey the outcome of the investigation to the complainant and the alleged harasser, to include any preventative and corrective action taken where appropriate and consistent with relevant federal and state laws.

Organizations should ensure that the employees responsible for receiving, investigating, and resolving complaints:

• Are well-trained, objective, and remain neutral.
• Have the authority, independence, and resources necessary to receive, investigate, and resolve complaints appropriately.
• Take all questions, concerns, and complaints seriously and respond promptly.
• Create and maintain an environment in which employees feel comfortable reporting harassment.
• Understand and maintain the confidentiality associated with the complaint process.
• Thoroughly document every complaint, from initial intake to investigation to resolution, and prepare a written report documenting the investigation, findings, recommendations, any disciplinary action imposed, and any corrective and/or preventative action taken.

Effective Harassment Training

Regular, interactive, comprehensive training of all employees is key to implementing any successful harassment prevention strategy by ensuring the workforce understands the associated policies, procedures, and expectations, as well as the consequences of misconduct. When developing training, the daily experiences and unique characteristics of the work, workforce, and workplace are important considerations.

Harassment training may be most effective if it is:

• Advocated by senior leaders.
• Regularly repeated and reinforced.
• Provided to employees at every level and location of the organization.
• Provided in a clear, easy to understand style and format.
• Tailored to the specific workplace and workforce.
• Designed to actively engage participants.
• Routinely evaluated by participants and revised as necessary.

Effective harassment training for all employees includes:

• Descriptions of prohibited harassment, as well as conduct that might rise to the level of prohibited harassment.
• Examples tailored to the specific workplace and workforce.
• Information about employees’ rights and responsibilities if they experience, observe, or become aware of conduct they believe may be prohibited.
• Encouragement to report harassing conduct.
• Explanations of the complaint process.
• Explanations of the information that may be requested during an investigation.
• Assurance that employees who report harassing conduct, participate in investigations, or take any other actions protected under federal and state employment discrimination laws will not be subjected to retaliation.
• Explanations of the possible consequences for engaging in prohibited conduct.
• Opportunities to ask questions about the training, harassment policy, complaint system, and related rules and expectations.
• Identification and contact information for the individual(s) and/or office(s) responsible for addressing harassment questions, concerns, and complaints.

Additional training is recommended for supervisors, managers, and team leaders who have greater responsibilities and authority.

Effective harassment training for supervisors, managers, and team leaders includes:

• Information on how to identify potential risk factors for harassment and actions that may minimize or eliminate harassment.
• How to address harassment they observe or that is reported to them.
• Clear instructions on how to report harassment up the chain of command.
• Explanations of the confidentiality rules associated with harassment complaints.
• An explanation of the types of conduct that are protected from retaliation under federal and state employment discrimination laws.
• The consequences of failing to meet their responsibilities related to harassment, retaliation, and other prohibited conduct.

Harassment Prevention Training Laws

In addition to the above best practices, several state and local laws have specific requirements for sexual harassment prevention training, including:

• Which employers must provide training
• The length of training sessions
• How training is conducted
• Which employees must be trained
• When training is required

Harassment Prevention Training from GTM

With a reputation for applying real-life scenarios to trainings, GTM’s live and e-training helps businesses of every size meet legal requirements. Attendees are shown how to use their learnings in their daily work life. While this training is one piece of addressing compliance, employers will also need help developing policies and procedures that create internal mechanisms that support an environment free from sexual harassment. All trainings are available physically on-site at your location, in our training room, or via webinar. Prices available per session, per seat, and bundled packages.

Fill out the brief form below for more information or to schedule your training today.