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Welcoming a new child into the world is an exciting and often exhausting experience for new parents. Schedules and routines are suddenly thrown off balance or completely out the window, and while still trying to navigate this new normal, the time eventually comes to return to work. Besides the lack of sleep, there are doctor appointments, childcare concerns and schedules, regular pumping breaks for breastfeeding mothers, and usual at-home responsibilities that can put more of a burden on the minds of new parents. Unfortunately, many companies expect employees to return to their prior schedule or tasks no matter how time-consuming, but relative flexibility is needed to help retain those returning from parental leave.
Sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome verbal, visual, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature or based on someone’s sex that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile working environment.” This could include making inappropriate sexual jokes, requesting sexual favors or dates, spreading personal rumors about others, inappropriately touching another, intentionally blocking someone, using derogatory gestures, sharing sexual photos with others, and more.
Of course, not all sexual harassment is sexually suggestive. If you are being harassed based on your gender, it would be considered sexual harassment. An example would be a woman working in a male-dominated field receiving harsher criticism or abuse than the men regardless of performance. In order for any of these actions to be considered illegal, these behaviors need to be either severe or pervasive. For the most part, they would need to be done repeatedly over time, even when disinterest or discomfort has been expressed. The exception would be a more serious event, such as rape or attempted rape, which would warrant punishment immediately.
Handling any sexual harassment claim begins before a complaint is even filed. Openly posting and informing all employees of policies will let everyone know upfront that all complaints will be investigated, and harassment is not tolerated. Being proactive in dealing with sexual harassment will help to ensure it does not become a cultural norm, which is becoming increasingly more important to Generation Z and Millennial employees in the workforce. Those who step forward to file a claim may find it difficult to do so, even knowing the company has their backs, so provide everyone with various filing options. One specific chain of communication won’t do much good if the complaint must go through the individual being accused.
Once a complaint has been filed, plan a thorough investigation based on the initial information received. Conversing with the employee who filed the claim is vital, and they will want to know they are safe from retaliation, but should any occur, to notify you immediately. Listen to them with care and be sure to note specific dates, times, situations, witnesses, and other relevant information. Meet with those who witnessed the event for more perspectives. Speak separately with the person being accused, being careful to provide him or her with the same respect. When coming to a decision, it is best to consult with a lawyer to ensure the information you have received warrants the decided punishment to prevent potential litigation.
All aspects of the investigation should be done promptly in order to prevent more issues for the employee from arising and protecting the company from legal action.
As stated, it can be difficult for some to step forward, so sexual harassment may go unreported, affecting turnover and team morale. Utilizing anonymous, third-party surveys are a great way to get open and honest feedback from current and exiting employees. Stay interviews provide your HR department with up-to-date data on various aspects of your business, and any unethical or illegal behavior reported would be sent right away as a Red Flag Alert, allowing it to be addressed quickly. Our ExitRight® Employee Exit Interview can also help you receive honest feedback from anyone leaving the company, perhaps bringing unknown sexual harassment issues to light that would allow you to address the problem before affecting others.
No matter the approach, investigating and addressing sexual harassment claims quickly and thoroughly is vital. If you’re searching for a new way to provide employees to share their honest feedback, contact us today to schedule a demo of our survey products.
Safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to the workplace. Depending upon the business, disregarding proper safety could lead to serious injury or even death. Any company that puts the job before the person should be an immediate red flag to employees to demand change or find work elsewhere. Companies who do not make safety a top priority will have issues with employee retention and, eventually, business viability. The goal is to ensure employees have trust in the company to keep them safe and provide all necessary precautions against both health and safety hazards.
Legally, every company is responsible for taking the right steps towards keeping employees safe. While there are many, here are a few highlighted by the United States Department of Labor and OSHA:
Following the guidelines set by OSHA is the best place to start in order to create a safe working environment for everyone. Of course, in order to provide the safest environment for employees, it is vital to identify any current safety or health problems present within the workplace.
First, it’s important to understand what exactly health or safety hazards are.
If management isn’t regularly present in potentially hazardous areas, listening to your employees’ complaints and concerns is imperative. Those who work closest to potential hazards or are exposed to them daily may be seeing something you aren’t. Any concern should be examined, investigated, and remedied. Observe which particular employees are experiencing injuries or symptoms to help determine how, when, and where these dangers are present.
Of course, keeping employees safe and healthy is the number one reason to make workplace safety a priority. From a business standpoint, providing a safe environment will help keep employees happy, ensure they have trust in the company, and help reduce employee turnover. If you find your company is experiencing high turnover rates, get honest, timely feedback from exiting employees will help you get to the root of the issue and make changes before losing more great talent. Using a third-party system, such as our ExitRight® interviews, will provide you with in-depth analytics and the ability to take quick action on feedback. You can also utilize employee stay interviews to get open and honest feedback from those currently employed, which can also be outsourced with HSD Metrics, saving your company valuable time.
Don’t let something as important as the safety of employees become an issue – take action now. For more information or to schedule a demo of our surveys and products, contact us today.
Summer is almost here, and that means an influx of time-off requests for the holidays and various family vacations. Having a process in place to ensure you have staff on-hand is essential, but it needs to be done fairly and in a way that still provides your employees ample opportunities to take the time away from work they need. While some businesses have this figured out, it doesn’t mean a plan is perfect, so be sure to review your policies in case they need to be tweaked before the season.
When thinking about your company’s vacation policies, keep in mind how vacation time is more than just a perk, but a benefit that is as good for the employees as it is for the business. Employees who take advantage of their time off generally exhibit higher productivity and stronger morale and have even been shown to stay with a particular company for longer. Not only that, but those who take vacation time are usually healthier, which may mean less unexpected sick time.
Vacations are also great for the economy as more people are away from the office to travel and spend money, generating potentially millions of jobs. Unfortunately, if employees believe taking time off will hurt their career opportunities, or their workload simply prevents them from comfortably taking a few days away, you will inevitably see employee burnout and may begin to have issues with retention.
As the season approaches, reach out to employees and review your vacation policies. For new and prospective employees, discuss these policies upfront; if someone knows the policy won’t work for them, they can choose to no longer pursue the position and aren’t going to be surprised if or when they start the job.
Ask that any time-off requests be submitted as soon as possible to ensure ample planning time and avoid scheduling conflicts. Whether requests are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, or team seniority, particularly around major holidays, being fair is important, but know that you aren’t going to be able to please everyone every time. No matter how requests are done, be sure your company is using a system to keep the scheduling organized for easy reference.
If your company is willing to allow many employees off for holidays but still is required to remain open for business, consider bringing in temporary, contracted professionals to help. While this option is not possible for everyone and may result in more of a headache if training is required, it is something to consider should the need arise.
Again, there is no way to guarantee everyone will be happy if a majority of employees submit time-off requests for the same dates as some will have to be turned down, but be careful how you make that determination. Having a fair system in place that all employees are aware of will help you avoid looking as though you are choosing favorites which leads to lower morale and even lower productivity.
Discuss with your team the possibility that extra work may be required on top of their usual workload in the upcoming months if a coworker is expected to be out. Encourage team members to discuss their roles and duties with one another so they are prepared, and have any employee who knows they will be absent leave a list or document stating tasks that will need to be completed while they are gone. Nothing is more frustrating to teams than an employee leaving no information for others who then must pick up the slack and try to figure out what was already completed and what still needs to be done with any given task. The goal of laying out these tasks and notes for others is to keep everything running smoothly and eliminate the need to contact anyone while out of the office unless it is an emergency.
Not all time off or away needs to be as part of a full vacation. The warmth and allure of summer can make it feel difficult for employees who feel “stuck” inside an office all day. During summer months, offer “half-day Fridays” for employees throughout the season without them having to take time out of their vacation stock. If possible, allow employees to work from home once a week. While they’re still working, being able to do so at home allows them to feel more relaxed in a different environment.
If these options aren’t possible for your business, don’t leave your employees out. Ask for their opinions on what ideas they have that could be implemented to make the summer more enjoyable for everyone while still getting the necessary work completed. Showing your employees that you understand the importance of their work/life balance will make them feel more appreciated within the company, leading to better productivity, higher office morale, and better employee retention.
To help discover what your employees’ thoughts are regarding current vacation policies and other aspects of the company, utilize third-party surveys and interviews, such as HSD Metrics’ ExitRight® interview. These will provide you with in-depth analytics, open and honest feedback, and more, all in a timely fashion to help you make any necessary improvements or resolve issues quickly. To schedule a demo or for more information about our many survey options, contact us today.
People going to work generally don’t think much about violence taking place within a professional environment, but unfortunately, there are 2 million assaults and threats of violence against others in the workplace annually, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In some cases, this violence may even result in death. In any company, it is important to keep everyone safe, but how can you keep an eye out for violent tendencies before it’s too late?
While workplace shootings have received quite a bit of attention in recent years, there are a few different classifications (per safety.blr) that fall under workplace violence:
Although these are all different situations, any violence runs the risk of death, so it is vital to take necessary precautions to prevent such actions.
While it may not always be obvious as to who may present a risk for workplace violence, there are certain warning signs that could indicate a higher likelihood:
In general, even if you do not have a particular employee that is showing warning signs, it is recommended to address any workplace negativity to prevent any potential violence from stirring up. Employees can experience a loss of confidence, control or community, so once you hear of any negative feelings, they must be addressed openly with everyone as soon as possible.
Much like the warning signs, you may not always be able to prevent workplace violence, but you can do your best as a company to make it as safe an environment as possible for all employees.
Another way to identify any underlying issues within the workplace is by performing exit interviews for any leaving employees. Providing a way for individuals to express concerns anonymously, such as through our ExitRight® Employee Interview survey will give you more comprehensive information about particular areas in your business rather quickly, allowing you to take swift action as needed. Taking all necessary precautions in order to keep your business safe for employees will create a positive environment, showing that you care about everyone’s wellbeing.
For more information about our ExitRight® survey, or to schedule your demo, contact us today.
“Management must do a better job with problem employees and correct situations.” – Actual comment from an employee exiting a company.
The truth of any business is that the employees’ perceptions are reality. If managers allow issues to go unaddressed, work will get piled onto more capable employees, resulting in great talent leaving the company due to frustration. Of course, discussing and properly correcting poor employee performance can be a tricky slope to navigate, and it takes prompt action and careful attention to detail on the manager’s part.
Having a difficult conversation with anyone can be tough and awkward to start, but when it comes to an employee, it’s important to not delay the conversation. If an employee suspects or knows a performance discussion is coming, they may take the time to consult a lawyer, alleging a legal wrong against them, or even take protected leave. If the meeting needs to be delayed for any reason, document why and when to ensure there is record should it be needed.
Before the meeting takes place, write out all of your necessary talking points. This will help you keep your thoughts in order and not get sidetracked during the conversation. You may also wish to provide a document to the employee so they can read over their appraisal just prior to discussing, giving them some time to understand what will be covered during the conversation.
When it’s time to talk, ensure you are in a place to be respectful. If you are not in the right frame-of-mind for whatever reason, push it back until you feel you can have a productive conversation. The goal is to help improve the employee’s performance, but if all you end up doing is venting at the person, you’ll end up leaving them feeling defeated and shut down. Remember that you are wanting to attack the performance issue, not the person.
Once the meeting has started, do not start with small-talk. While it seems like a good ice breaker to discuss something going on in his or her personal life, it can too easily result in a discrimination claim. Acknowledge that it will be a difficult conversation, but that you want to help the person improve. Be sure to provide actual examples of work-related issues as general examples will only do so much. Showing concrete examples can help the employee see where things may have gone wrong and that the claims you’re making did in fact happen as opposed to a simple notion that you have something personal against them.
Don’t assume you know the intent of an employee’s performance, such as “you just aren’t trying.” The only thing you need to worry about is the results, because intent cannot be proven and it comes across as more of a personal attack than anything. Also, don’t bring up perceived reasons for why you think the employee is not performing as expected. An example would be saying something like, “have you been depressed about an event at home lately?” Instead, just be helpful in sharing that you want to see them succeed and that you are interested in what you can do to help them.
Once you feel everything has been covered, don’t simply consider the meeting complete. Clearly discuss your expectations moving forward so there is mutual understanding, then set up a meeting in the near future to go over how the employee is performing based on those expectations. Any manager’s goal should be to help their employees succeed as it will in turn help the entire organization. Of course, if the underperforming employee is not improving with time and support, the best decision may be to let that person go, but effort should always be made to retain employees where possible.
No manager can take action without knowing what is going on with his or her team first. A great way to gauge current employees’ perceptions is by utilizing stay interviews when possible. These will provide you with insightful data to help find any problem areas that need to be addressed. If you have great employees leaving, be sure to use exit interviews, such as our ExitRight® survey, which may help you understand why great talent is choosing to leave the company, whether due to poorly-performing coworkers or other business-related issues. Knowing what is going on with your team and how to properly address issues will help you be a better manager and leader.
For more information or to schedule a demo of our survey products, contact us today.
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