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.

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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

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