Sexual harassment is not a new issue affecting employers; however, it has gotten a lot of attention recently with high profile cases in the media. Now is a great time to assess your company’s protocol for handling a claim. Defending a sexual harassment claim can be costly to employers and have a significant impact on morale, talent retention and recruiting.
Shore up your policies and procedures in 2018 and communicate them to your workforce. If you don’t have a clear investigative action plan, develop one with the help of your HR professional and/or an outside resource. Your plan should include information on:
One of the most important parts of Sexual Harassment Training includes clearly communicating how an employee who is a victim of sexual harassment should go about making a claim. A natural complaint process usually starts by notifying a supervisor; however, the employee may not be comfortable discussing something of this nature with their supervisor or (s)he could be the offender. Make sure your employees have multiple routes to take and understand your goal is to maintain confidentiality and take the claim seriously. Ensure company standards and values are communicated and procedures for victims to come forward are communicated and understood.
Often, it is a good idea to consider employing outside resources to conduct the investigation to maintain confidentiality and avoid bias. Co-workers and even internal Human Resource professionals can be too close to the situation to effectively gather facts and information about the claim. Your employment attorney or a certified investigator are good options.
Follow your action plan and determine who should be interviewed and what information is to be learned. Then, launch an investigation immediately. Treat all complaints with urgency and priority. If evidence supports the allegations, take immediate action and, at minimum, suspend the accused employee until the investigation is complete. Take notes from the swift action that was taken by NBC terminating Matt Lauer and follow suit, if warranted.
Document conversations and evidence thoroughly. Review the findings and prepare a report. Determine what final actions will be taken and how they will be communicated to the victim. Prepare and execute a follow-up plan if both individuals will continue to work together.
How will your company handle such an incident? Are you prepared?
