Nearly one-third of the 90,000 charges of discrimination received by the EEOC in the last fiscal year included workplace harassment. That’s a daunting number, and organizations have a responsibility to create a culture where harassment behavior - of any kind - simply isn’t tolerated.
Management’s role in eliminating workplace harassment should include the following nine steps:
- Know and support the organization’s harassment prevention policy and all other related policies. Regardless of personal views surrounding the issue of harassment in the workplace, as agents of the organization, supervisors and managers must support and enforce the organization’s employment practices and procedures, including all federal and state mandated laws.
- Be alert to potential problems and respond appropriately. Supervisors and managers must be alert and responsive to harassment in their departments or business units. Maintain an open-door policy that encourages employees to talk to supervisors and managers. Confront employees that use inappropriate language, sexual innuendo or engage in unprofessional behaviors to let them know that is not acceptable.
- Promptly respond to a problem or concern. Make the complaint a priority; do not put it on the back burner. The only way to eliminate harassment is to promptly address it when it occurs. When complaints are filed, a thorough and objective investigation should occur right away.
- Partner with human resources to resolve harassment concerns. Inform the organization’s human resources department immediately of a harassment concern, whether sexual or otherwise. Individuals in human resources have knowledge of the law and the potential liability or risks to the organization. Human resources may also have knowledge of prior events that could impact the outcome of the current investigation.
- Take each problem or concern seriously—do not prejudge. Until all the facts have been gathered during the investigation process, supervisors and managers should not jump to conclusions. The facts will reveal whether the behavior violated the organization’s policy.
- Document discussions and corrective actions. A separate investigation file should be kept for all materials relevant to the investigation (such as the initial complaint and follow-up interview notes), along with a summary report wrapping up the investigation. If it is determined that coaching, disciplinary action, or other employment actions are appropriate as a result of the investigation, these should be documented in the personnel file for the impacted employee(s).
- Maintain confidentiality to the extent possible. The very nature of harassment, especially sexual harassment, makes it difficult to talk about. Therefore, at all times during the investigation process, the individuals involved should be treated with dignity and respect. Complaints should be treated with sensitivity and confidentiality should be maintained within the scope of the investigation.
- Upon resolution of an investigation, continue to monitor the situation to ensure no further incidents occur. Supervisors and managers of the organization have the responsibility to maintain a harassment-free environment to ensure that inappropriate behavior does not reoccur.
- Periodically review and reinforce the organization’s harassment prevention policy and all other related policies with employees. Establish commonsense guidelines for employees and explain the organization’s expectations surrounding appropriate conduct versus inappropriate conduct in the workplace. This type of communication will alert employees that management takes the issue seriously.
Need help with third-party investigations or onsite training programs? Our Investigations team and Harassment Prevention programs can help!
