Independent Banker - March 2018 - 76

Risks & Rules
of senior leaders to create and maintain
a culture in which harassment is
not tolerated, " the agency writes.
The guidance includes checklists
based on these principles to
assist employers in preventing and
responding to workplace harassment.
While the practices are not required
by the EEOC, they may enhance
employers' compliance efforts,
according to the agency.
In the current environment of
numerous, highly visible claims
it helps create a work environment
in which all employees feel valued
and are more likely to be productive
and satisfied with their employment-resulting
in a greater ability
to retain and recruit employees, "
says Reinhold.
Brian Kropp, HR practice leader
at research and advisory company
Gartner in Arlington, Va., says the
fundamental problem with the " current
playbook " that HR uses to deal
with sexual harassment is that it's
" A good sexual harassment policy ... not only
reduces legal risk, it helps create a work
environment in which all employees feel valued
and are more likely to be productive and
satisfied with their employment. "
-KAREN REINHOLD, HOPKINS & CARLEY
against high-powered people, more
claims of sexual harassment in the
workplace are likely, says Karen
Reinhold, co-chair of law firm
Hopkins & Carley's employment
law practice in San Jose, Calif. " It's
absolutely imperative that employers
have policies that detail what is and
is not permitted, " she says.
Employers should develop
procedures that make it easy for
employees to report any instances of
sexual harassment, Reinhold says.
Some companies use a 1-800 reporting
number or set up a contract in
order to ensure employees feel free
to report.
Damage control
In the event of a claim, the main
focus is a thorough and fair
investigation and effective remedial
action, Reinhold says. An employer's
failure to have a robust sexual harassment
policy creates a substantial
legal risk for the company. However,
employers can reap benefits if
they practice good governance.
" A good sexual harassment policy
and effective enforcement of that
policy not only reduces legal risk,
about 30 years old- " and it simply
will not work. "
" The company starts by waiting for
the employee to make a complaint,
then HR takes time to investigate,
and often the company keeps the
matter as private as possible with the
goal of reaching a financial settlement
between the harasser and the
accuser, " Kropp says. " Unfortunately,
the results are terrible with
this approach: 75 percent of those
who experience harassment don't
report it, 73 percent downplay the
significance of the assault and 70
percent try to ignore, forget or simply
endure the behavior. "
Employers need to shift to a more
active listening approach, one that
includes monitoring social media,
he says. For example, the #metoo
campaign has enabled millions of
victims to publicly say they were
harassed, and employers can review
those feeds and determine if any of
their employees are among them.
Zero tolerance
Employers should reinforce a zerotolerance
harassment policy by
communicating exactly what will
74 ICBA Independent Banker March 2018
happen to harassers-and then follow
through on that, no matter the
accused's title, Kropp says. While
many companies will say they have
a zero-tolerance policy for harassment,
fewer follow through on their
statements when harassment occurs.
Instead, compromises are made,
exceptions are created and other
conditions emerge that protect the
harasser from termination.
" A common refrain heard from
harassers is that they didn't realize
what they were doing was wrong-
hence the explanation for why they
shouldn't be punished, " Kropp says.
" To break through this fog, companies
need to explicitly tell employees
what will happen if they commit any
form of harassment; there can be
no doubt as to the outcome if [this]
behavior occurs. "
To ensure employees are fully
aware that the company takes
workplace harassment seriously, the
company needs to communicate to
the entire organization when harassment
has occurred and what has
happened to the harasser, Kropp says.
Without this transparency, companies
will not achieve changes to behavior.
Employers should also embed fair
treatment into HR workflows, rather
than just into communications, he
says. Most employees-and almost
all harassers-will simply not change
their behavior based on being told
to do so by senior leaders or HR.
Indeed, Gartner research shows that
this type of approach has a roughly
1 percent impact on the company's
ability to change its culture. Instead,
companies must ensure that all
employees are treated fairly through
the recruiting, promotion and
rewards processes.
" By ensuring that there is process
fairness along all of these dimensions,
companies will shift their
culture toward a [fairer] one, " Kropp
says. " Without shifting workflows,
companies will continue to have an
environment where bias is tolerated
and contribute to a sense that harassment
will be tolerated. "
Independent Banker - March 2018

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