By Sonya Llewellyn, Director of Program Development
HR Services is pleased to announce a new multi-state compliant training opportunity for our clients.
Currently, five states (CA, CT, DE, ME, and NY) and New York City mandate some form of harassment prevention training for those working within their jurisdictions. We have partnered with Hollaback! to bring you training that goes beyond these basic requirements. Our interactive virtual event is your opportunity to continue or start conversations in your organization regarding harassment, bullying, and plain ol’ bad behavior. Creating a healthy culture is important to a successful nonprofit.
I’ve written before about #MeToo and moving beyond (here and here) and while those articles connected with our readers, we wanted to be able to provide more. To delve deeper into something that goes beyond the law and checking the proverbial box. I am pleased to announce that our upcoming training opportunity will provide just that.
Some of you may have attended our May webcast with Hollaback! CEO, Emily May. We had a terrific overview of bystander intervention and a primer on what harassment can look like as well as ideas to combat rude and crude behavior.
In a recent conversation with Emily, she expressed, “To end sexual harassment in the workplace, it’s going to take all of us. Our sexual harassment training lets people know what to do when they experience sexual harassment, and it also goes beyond that by giving people practical, everyday tools they can use to create a workplace culture grounded in mutual respect, support, and trust.”
Part of the puzzle to end harassment and bad behavior is to move beyond what the law requires. We need to change our thought process and change our behavior before we can change the behavior of others. As an organization, and beyond, to society, we need to implement consequences to unacceptable behavior.
Dr. Pat Pitsel (check her out here https://twitter.com/themicrocoach) suggests using both a firm voice and an appropriate hand gesture. (No, not that one.)
Hold up your hand (traffic cop style) and say, “Stop!”
“Your comment (closeness, touch etc.) makes me uncomfortable. I need you to…”
Each one of us are responsible for the culture in our organizations. As leaders, we must model the behavior we expect from others. Here are five steps to help you create and maintain a healthy workplace culture:
- Define, as an organization, what a healthy culture and respect looks and feels like. What does it mean to “be professional?” Write it up, and incorporate it in your handbook.
- Engage all employees in this discussion. Every person, regardless of their position in the organization, has ideas, thoughts, feelings and experiences. Tap into that tremendous resource.
- Walk the talk and talk the walk. Expect that your leadership team will be leading the charge.
- Hold each staff member accountable for their behavior (include in performance appraisals).
- Train and educate your staff on an ongoing basis.
Empower yourself and others by not letting your coworkers get away with rudeness, crude comments and disparaging remarks. So often we experience a moment that makes us uncomfortable and we don’t say something. It’s time we step forward and expect a workplace and world that doesn’t accept belittling behavior towards others.
This training, while mandated in some states, is a great place for all of our organizations to start.
We must create cultures of inclusion, support, respect, and trust for all.
Please join us on September 18th or October 7th.
Both trainings take place at 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific.
The training costs only $7 per employee.
If you are interested in registering yourself and/or additional staff or need morning information, please click here.
