Owning and operating a business can be an exciting experience. You can help people reach their potential while your company continues to succeed.
However, sometimes employees do not always act as you hope when they are at work. Whether intentionally or not, there is a lot that employees can do in the workplace that makes others feel uncomfortable.
Here are some ways you can ensure your employees are comfortable reporting harassment at work.
Be proactive
While there may always seem to be new ways for people to make each other feel uncomfortable, you can still be ahead of the situation with your harassment policies.
When you describe harassment and other similar behaviors, use language that can adapt to new situations rather than specific examples that could become outdated.
Training is key
There are some parts of employee training that you hope your staff will never need. Reporting harassment is one of them.
However, it is critical to train employees on both how to recognize harassment and how to report harassment so that if the time comes, they know what to do. Keep in mind that harassment can cover many types of employees (including non-employees) and various types of unwelcome conduct.
Take all claims seriously
Typically, your employees are more likely to talk to another employee before reporting an incident of harassment. If the employee they are talking to previously filed a claim and did not feel the claim was taken seriously, more employees may get the idea that the reporting system you have in place will not give them the support they need.
Although you cannot change claims made in the past, you can adjust how you approach future reports. As you begin the conversation with the employee, you should not take a particular side. Still, it is essential to discuss the process and follow up with the employee to let them know what is happening.
When your employees are comfortable with the system you have in place, they will feel more supported and more likely to report an incident quickly.