Sexual Harassment Training & Effective Reporting Employee Hotline: A Combined Solution

Sexual Harassment Training & Effective Reporting Employee Hotline: A Combined Solution

Sexual harassment shouldn’t occur in any workplace. The harms to productivity, morale, and an organization’s reputation that result from incidents or patterns of harassment are enough to make investing in an effective prevention strategy well worthwhile. However, changing public sentiment and legal requirements are making it more important than ever for companies to understand their responsibility to combat sexual harassment and create a comprehensive plan to try to prevent it.

While long ago sexual harassment might once have been tacitly condoned or shrugged off as an unfortunate side effect of “boys being boys,” those days are long gone. Many states, including California, have enacted laws requiring sexual harassment prevention training. However, meeting the bare minimum of statutory requirements may not be enough to protect a company from a lawsuit. As evidenced in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in Kandice Pullen v. Caddo Parish School Board, simply having an anti-harassment policy is not enough to show that an employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct sexual harassment—it must actively promulgate that policy via sexual harassment prevention training and similar steps.

Beyond that, however, companies need to ensure that their dedication to preventing sexual harassment doesn’t end when training concludes. A recent decision in Delaware’s Court of Chancery clarified that the fiduciary duty of oversight applies not just to a company’s board of directors, but also its corporate officers, noting that they have a responsibility to “make a good faith effort to ensure that effective information and reporting systems exist within a company and not to ignore red flags signaling misconduct.” In short, if your organization doesn’t have clear procedures and channels for reporting misconduct, the risk of legal liability in the event of a sexual harassment claim is heightened.

How Effective Training and Modern Reporting Can Work Together: Employee Hotline

Bridge Training Consultants has long understood the impact that effective sexual harassment prevention training can have in the workplace. Too often trainings are designed to meet the letter of the law rather than the spirit, focusing only on limiting an employer’s liability without sufficient thought to what employees are learning. Instead, we provide engaging content that promotes comprehension, enhances retention of what’s learned, and clarifies appropriate workplace conduct. Our training is tailored to your industry, so examples are relevant to facilitate understanding and is available in both English and Spanish.

When training is over, though, what happens next? When you have clear, easy reporting solutions in place, you build employee trust and increase the odds that you’ll get timely information about potential problems before they’ve gotten out of control. That’s why we’ve added #NotMe Solutions as part of our service.

Digital Employee Hotline with NotMe Solutions, 100% Anonymous Reporting

NotMe Solutions is a modern, integrated reporting and case management system that makes it easy for your employees to speak up about incidents of misconduct. The reporting app can be used on a phone, tablet, or laptop, and employees can remain anonymous if they choose. The case management dashboard allows you to prioritize, track, and resolve issues, so that incidents of sexual harassment don’t fall through the cracks or get swept under the rug, only to resurface as costly lawsuits years later. With AI-powered insights, you reduce the workload for HR while enhancing the ability of company leadership to act in a timely fashion, before damage is done.

Putting modern reporting in place doesn’t just solve problems after the fact, though. It serves as a deterrent for would-be harassers, letting them know that your company won’t ignore misconduct. Once you’ve affirmed your company’s anti-harassment policy by providing sexual harassment prevention training, having a modern reporting system also demonstrates your company’s commitment to maintaining a safe workplace environment for all employees.

Together, the right sexual harassment prevention training and reporting system can help you create and maintain a safe workplace environment. Bridge Training Consultants and #NotMe are the combined solution you need to educate your workforce and root out misconduct. To learn more about how we can support your organization and your employees, contact us here.