Beyond Instinct: Workplace Investigations Require Training, Not Trial and Error.

What are you doing to train the people who investigate workplace complaints?  Your organization may have created an Employee Relations function, designated members of Human Resources or Legal to receive and look into workplace concerns, or asked senior managers to serve as EEO liaisons.  You probably chose people with good judgment and strong people skills because you want employees to know where to go when they have concerns, and you want those concerns are handled appropriately.  But those good instincts are not enough.

Managing Interns: A Few Weeks In.

You've probably already seen it: the intern who's been refreshing their inbox for two weeks waiting for a "real" assignment, or the one who turned in something so far off the mark that you wondered if they'd heard your instructions. And you've likely also seen the interns who are hitting it out of the park – who ask smart questions and meet deadlines. Sometimes it’s them, but sometimes it’s how you set up the work. Perhaps the assignments you handed out in week one were vague, or the feedback you meant to give got pushed to the following week and still hasn’t been given. Either way, you're a few weeks into the program now, which is still early enough to fix what isn't working and reinforce what is.

Legislatures throughout the country continue to struggle with the question of how best to address the continuing issue of harassing and discriminating behavior in the workplace.  Is more legislation necessary?  If so, what should that legislation mandate and how will it be enforced?

But not every conversation or behavior that offends us, or makes us unhappy or uncomfortable, is necessarily “inappropriate” at work. Understanding the difference between substantive offensive behaviors and everyday workplace dynamics is crucial for fostering a healthy work environment.

Organizations tend to conduct harassment prevention training programs for a few primary reasons, centered around care of their current workforce and culture, their appearance as an employer of choice when recruiting, and/or to meet compliance requirements. There are a wide range of options out there, and we are seeing a growing desire by organizations to create workplace environments that attract and keep great diverse talent. 

Success in organizations is most often driven by people – people who believe in the organization’s mission and objectives, and in each other. In this time of polarizing conflict over political and social issues across the country and globally, that means organizations need to work harder to build collaborative, respectful, and thereby, more productive, workplaces.

January isn't just about resolutions – it's the month to supercharge your workplace dynamics. Forget the usual 'new year, new me' talk; it's time to revamp HR policies and foster a workplace where respect isn't just ink on paper.

Training materials drafted years ago may not address current social issues like bias and transgender harassment. Materials created during COVID may have highlighted remote work issues and materials drafted during election years may have focused more on politically based disrespectful behavior. Today’s training materials need to reflect today’s social climate.