Corporate Training solution

Workplace harassment training

Sensitive topics require equal measures of respect and clarity. Our workplace harassment trainings combine both to help create a workplace where everyone is safe and supported.

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Why Should You Have Harassment Training?

We’ve all been there: the awkward scenario and sometimes painful situation of learning about harassment with your colleagues. Harassment training of the past usually relied on badly acted scenes—or pages of checklists and dos and don’ts. Most organizations acknowledge that workplace harassment training is vital, but aren’t sure how to approach sensitive topics or, worse, don’t approach them with the respect required to send a clear and consistent message.

As companies work to better their approach towards workplace harassment training, it’s become crucial for organizations to clarify the basic definition of various types of harassment—from gender and racial harassment to abusing power dynamics and workplace bullying.

One of the most common misconceptions about workplace harassment is that it’s limited to a 1:1 interaction. However, it’s often much more layered. Indeed, overt abuse is obviously cause for concern and action, but workplace harassment also includes (but is not limited to) inappropriate jokes that may be overheard, publicly shared pictures, drawings or posters, or microaggressions such as commentary on someone’s looks, gender, sexual identity, or disabilities (even if the commentary is being shared indirectly).

Our process

Workplace harassment is a symptom of a larger systemic deficiency. To truly be successful in developing corporate harassment training for employees, leaders should begin to consider a more holistic approach.

ELM works with together with your organization to identify blind spots or pain points in your current approach to workplace harassment training. Then, our talented and sensitive team of learning architects, strategists, and designers create training that centers on real-life scenarios and clear, applicable information. One of the main reasons that typical harassment training is ineffective is that it typically relies on a couple of simplified scenarios to expound on what isn’t OK at work. But a 30-minute video can only convey so much and can’t possibly teach all of the nuances, body language, and situations a new employee may encounter at work. Learners either treat the material as throwaway information or, worse, are even more confused than when they started.

From the hiring process to continuous learning, we’ll create crystal-clear messaging that shows the empathy and respect that workplace harassment training deserves. We know that the way your organization approaches the most sensitive topics sets the tone for your entire company culture, so we create intentional, consistent messaging . By aligning your training with your organizational values, harassment training never feels awkward or confusing. Instead, it gives your employees the tools, support, and information they need to feel empowered and safe at work.

Our approach to workplace harassment training

Even in the healthiest of workplaces, issues arise: people make mistakes—they speak off the cuff or tell bad jokes, and it’s not uncommon to find a disparity in mindset of what’s considered appropriate. However, if you’ve worked to create a community that’s built on trust and mutual respect, leaders are better equipped to empower team members to have transparent conversations. With the right people and structures in place, those in your organization should feel comfortable enough to approach one another, when needed, and say, “Hey, you know, that comment you made at lunch didn’t make me feel good,” or “I found that joke really offensive.”

Our approach to harassment training is to utilize accessible, empathetic scenarios that give learners a chance to think critically about their decisions. This type of training role-play doesn’t make light of a serious topic; rather, it gives the topic the respect it deserves by ensuring learners understand just how seriously you’re taking its delivery. Scenarios and simulations put learners in applicable situations to remove any questions or gray areas that might cloud their judgment.
We know that your organization is made up of unique individuals with different opinions, life experience, and backgrounds. It’s normal for learners to have different degrees of sensitivity, all of which need to be taken into consideration when building the foundation for clear, trustworthy, and empathetic workplace harassment training.

It’s not a magic trick. It can’t be instilled with a snap of the fingers, and it requires the deliberate coordination of personality, behavior, communication, and respect. In the end, we’re human. And while this is never an excuse for bad behavior, the real trick is to find people who truly empathize with the complexities of being one—people who work hard and feel deeply. Build a foundation with your learners. It’s not a fix-all and it won’t make it a simple adoption of thoughtful behavior, but setting the tone will definitely help make it easier.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission estimates that while 60 percent of employees experience or witness harassment at work, only 30 percent ever report it. Turning a blind eye or assuming that it doesn’t happen within your organization can make employees feel unheard, unimportant, and unsafe.

Harassment training is a sensitive topic, and you might feel awkward or uncomfortable addressing it at first. We’re here to guide you through the process with understanding and awareness. By working through the training and utilizing nuance and organizational dynamics, we can help you avoid heritage programs that are both ineffective and awkward. Instead, our approach makes way for simulations and scenarios that help employees feel comfortable and confident in their understanding of the rules.

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FAQs

- Discriminating someone at work for their gender identity
- Bullying an employee for expressing their gender freely, without any sort of reprehension
- Judge a work colleague for their sexual orientation
Workplace harassment training allows you to build an environment of inclusion and acceptance for your employees. That should be your number one reason to offer this kind of training to them.

On top of that, workplace harassment is against the law. But despite the growing awareness of its harms, many employees are still subject to this misconduct. And because it’s better safe than sorry, you should educate your employees and remind them of what’s not acceptable.

Legally, workplace harassment training rules out your responsibility as an employer in the event of a lawsuit. It saves you time, money, and a long-lasting damaged reputation.

Nevertheless, your focus should be on education and providing your employees a safe workplace. The consequences of workplace harassment to your company’s culture, employee morale, and productivity are devastating.
- Information about federal and state law prohibitions
- Guidance on how to identify and prevent workplace harassment practices
- Effective responses to workplace harassment incidents
- Remedies to victims of abusive conduct and harassment at work
- Lots of practical examples of workplace harassment, bullying, discrimination, and retaliation
- Thorough explanations of responsibilities, liabilities, policies, and complaint procedures
Additionally, we consider state-level requirements for workplace harassment that apply to your company size and industry.

Case studies

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A global company knows that personalities, backgrounds, and culture are what makes an organization truly great. At the same time, our client, a large employment website, also knew that managers might need a refresher on confronting their unconscious biases to more effectively and empathetically lead their teams. Our project with Indeed focused on illustrations and scenarios that gave managers a more holistic idea of what leadership looks like in 2021.

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