To protect your business and employees, it is necessary to have a workplace anti-harassment policy that works. All employees should have confidence in the organization’s structure and procedure of handling harassment claims – from reporting to investigating and finally dealing with any cases.
As an employer, here is what you need to ask yourself about your current policy.
Does it make reporting harassment claims easy?
Your anti-harassment policy needs to make it easy for employees to report harassment claims. You can do this by having several avenues to make reports. For instance, if an employee can only escalate harassment cases to their immediate supervisor, it might not be ideal since, in some cases, the perpetrator could be their boss.
Does it protect victims?
An effective anti-harassment policy should protect victims’ identities as much as possible. Employees will not fear raising harassment claims with confidentiality assured, even if it involves their superiors.
Are all employees aware of the policy?
It is crucial that all employees, right from the top brass, are aware of the existing anti-harassment policy, its procedures, and other important details. That way, everyone will know what to do or expect if they face any form of harassment at the workplace.
You should also consider regular training to align your entire workforce on the organization’s approach to workplace harassment.
Why is this so important for a company to do?
Firstly, you will protect your most valuable resource – your employees. Their productivity and morale will increase when they know that the employer is proactive in protecting them against any form of harassment. You will also avoid the costly consequences that come with harassment claims.
If your company’s way of handling harassment claims has some loopholes, it is advisable to get help in coming up with a solid anti-harassment policy that will do the job.