Do you think that how badly you punish sexual harassers is the best indicator of how likely sexual harassment will appear in your company? The surprising answer is no. Strict punishments will not stop or dissuade sexual harassers from committing their acts.
Instead, it turns out that the most effective way to stop sexual harassment in a company is by creating a company culture that does not tolerate sexual harassment for any employee. What this means is that employers need to do more than just discipline and fire people who are committing acts of workplace harassment. Employers need to focus on improving everyone's awareness of sexual harassment.
With the Me Too movement in full swing now, companies are facing heavy pressure to do more to combat and eliminate sexual harassment from among their midst. They can start by taking responsibility for any acts of workplace harassment that takes place at their company. Another thing they must do is set a clear example from the top to the rest of the staff. Promoting women and taking swift and fair action against both the accused and accuser is also paramount in preventing sexual harassment.
Creating a good policy to deal with workplace harassment can be a massive and complex undertaking. Here is some advice on how to create a company culture that will help prevent sexual harassment from taking place. Remember, it is better to be proactive. This way, you will be well on your way to preventing major sex scandals from every occurring at your company.
The initial step to creating a company culture free of sexual harassment is to set guidelines on what constitutes sexual harassment. Be clear and make sure employees understand the consequences of breaking any rules or guidelines. The rules should apply to everyone. This should dissuade acts of harassment and give your company the image that you are actively taking action to prevent this kind of behavior in the workplace.
Another tip is to get your employees involved. Be sure that you listen to what they have to say and note any concerns they may have. They may make suggestions such as civility training or anonymous reporting to help combat harassment and abuse on the job. Employees are also more likely to follow company policy if they helped craft in the first place.
Try to create a policy that encourages people to report any harassment they see or witness. Reporting any incidents or concerns to human resources should be made to be as easy as possible. Anonymous reporting is ideal as well.
An additional way that human resources personnel can fight against sexual harassment is through the use of online screening algorithms developed by companies such as FAMA. These algorithms look at a present or potential employee and gauge whether or not they are engaging in risky behavior online. If you see disparaging information on the web from an employee, then chances are they may bring this behavior into the workplace.
Screening potential employees is a great way to reduce the likelihood of hiring someone who may be likely to harass their co-workers. You may also want to question and make clear to such candidates that such words or behavior on the net will not be tolerated on the job at your company. Use every tool you have to fight against workplace harassment.
Lastly, your sexual harassment policy should be incorporated in your company culture. Make it part of the way the company does business. Empower both women and men when necessary. Let it be seen that the company does tolerate any deviant behavior when it comes to sexual harassment policy.
