For years we have told people:
He didn’t mean it.
It was not a joke at you, just a joke in general.
Can’t you take it?
But it was funny.
Why are you offended by this?
Pick your fights.
She’s just jealous of you.
Leave it, it will be more difficult for you in the future.
Saying something will be career limiting.
Shake it off.
Shake it off (thanks Swifty).
Harassment, bullying and discrimination. It’s always been there, but movements like #metoo #timesup #blacklivesmatter have brought it into the mainstream. It is no longer something that people shake off or ignore and hope it goes away. People are speaking up.
As an employer, action needs to be taken. To be fair, action has always been required, but now with social media, employers who don’t take action are being called out about it.
Creating a Speak up culture
Do you have a speak up culture in your workplace? Do people feel safe to say something?
To create a speak up culture you need to:
1) Have clear processes and policies about what happens when an issue is raised. Is this published? Is it followed every time or do your star/senior/favoured employees get special treatment? People need to have faith in the process.
2) Are the people who deal with these issues trained and competent? Part of having faith in the process is faith that the issues will be dealt with fairly, impartially and properly. Having the junior HR person to deal with complaints against the head of HR will not inspire much faith in the process.
3) Are there multiple speak up channels? People may wish to raise issues to their line manager or their one up line manager. But what is the issue is with that team? Can they go to HR? the Legal team? Another manager? Do you have a dedicated whistleblower or complaints hotline that is managed externally? Can people raise anonymous complaints?
4) Communication and training. Do people know where to go, how to make a complaint and what will happen next? Is it in a language they can understand? Is it in a format they can use – there’s no point having only online complaints when people are mainly on a site with no wifi.
5) What happens after a complaint is dealt with? While there are confidentiality reasons for not discussing every detail with every complainant or witness, there can be lessons learned that can be shared to improve a speak up culture. It sends the message that people are heard and action was taken.
6) Do you have a policy on retaliation? Retaliation is when someone takes detrimental action against someone who raises a complaint or participates in an investigation or legal proceeding. For example, they are frozen out of team social activities. Or they no longer get good work because they complained about their manager. Having a clear retaliation policy (a common one is zero tolerance) is essential as fear of retribution is one of the key reasons people do not speak up.
Creating a listen up culture
Just as important as a speak up culture is a listen up culture. After all, speaking up is hard to do. It’s a lot harder if the person who receives the complaint says or does the wrong thing or worse, shuts it all down.
Do your line managers know what to do if someone raises an issue? Is there a listen up culture? To create a listen up culture:
1) Your senior managers need to be trained on how to listen up. It is rare that someone will come to you and say: “I believe John is breaching section 3 of our code of conduct because he is discriminating against women in his promotion practices.” It is more likely to be something like, “hey, John was acting a bit weird in that meeting?” Managers will need to be attune to whether someone is raising an issue that may require further probing and understanding.
2) Tell me more. If someone has raised an issue, there is a fine line between a senior manager asking for details as to ascertain if it requires further action and either investigating it or shutting it down. This conversation is crucial. If the manager says ‘yeah, but Amy always does that, it’s just how she is’, this will shut down the conversation immediately. If they run off and interrogate Amy and others without getting all the facts, they may compromise a future formal investigation. Do your line managers have someone to seek advice from in these circumstances?
3) Are your line managers required to raise an issue or speak up if someone tells them something, even if it they did not witness the incident? This is a difficult one. Bystanders or people who hear of an issue from somewhere else should be encouraged to speak up and raise the issue if they observed inappropriate behaviour or if have the consent of the individual who raised it. Some organisations mandate this and impose disciplinary action on those who do not raise an issue. But confidentiality must be maintained and managers need to understand what they can and cannot say.
Creating a speak up and listen up culture takes time and effort. But the rewards outweigh the risks. The last thing you want is for a major issue in your organisation to be brought to your attention by social media, a news crew, a regulatory body or a legal claim. If your organisation has a culture where speak up is encouraged, you have a better chance of dealing with it straight away before things get beyond your control and you won’t be able to shake it off.
Remotely Legal can assist employers and boards on all people issues including conducting independent investigations or preliminary inquiries, training your staff on investigations, providing employment law advice on external complaints, advising on disciplinary outcomes, defending any external claims and implementing any recommendations such as changes to contracts and policies or training on harassment, bullying and discrimination. Feel free to contact us here.
This blog is general advice only, please seek legal advice in relation to your specific circumstances
Comentarios