So much has changed in the workplace, from where employees work to how they interact on a daily basis. Companies also must comply with more laws than ever before.
As I discussed in my previous blog, Preventing Harassment and Discrimination in a Remote or Hybrid Workplace, these changes have created some serious challenges for employers in one particular area: workplace harassment and discrimination. Employers are not only facing increasing incidents of online harassment, but also difficulties complying with more-and increasingly varied-workplace harassment prevention training laws. Many organizations are now subject to new harassment training mandates since their employees relocated to new states.
To address these challenges, organizations are turning to online employee training, given the expense and impracticality of convening employees in person. But not all online workplace harassment prevention training is created equal. In fact, according to research, many types of traditional harassment training are either ineffective or can lead to increased misconduct.
Organizations need an online training solution that stays up-to-date with changing laws, evolving employee needs, and new working environments, so they can:
- continuously comply with the growing list of harassment training mandates–both today and in the future
- make a positive impact on their employees, so it’s not just a check-the-box exercise but an engaging experience that can drive positive behavior
- prevent harassment from occurring in their in-person, remote, or hybrid work environments.
To meet these needs, harassment and discrimination prevention training must have the following six features:
- contemporary and highly realistic scenarios
- engaging interactions
- inclusive and accessible design
- up-to-date compliance
- positive approach
- focus on bystander intervention skills.
New Release: EVERFI’s Preventing Harassment and Discrimination Course
At EVERFI, we continue to increase our efforts to support organizations as they face today’s toughest challenges. Our newly-released training course, Preventing Harassment and Discrimination, is designed for even more impact, through:
- Contemporary and highly realistic scenarios, featuring examples of harassment and discrimination that are the most timely and relevant to today’s workplaces-including remote and hybrid environments. Our course showcases even more thought-provoking and nuanced examples of harassment that are often overlooked, including harassment through video meetings, texts, and gifs.
- Engaging interactions. Gone are the days of employees passively watching narrated slideshows or webinars. Our course uses multiple forms of interactivity, such as brand new video-based “choose what happens next” scenarios, thoughtful “what would you do” situations, and personal storytelling, which prompt employees to reflect on their behavior, practice taking positive action, and retain what they’ve learned.
- Inclusive and accessible design. Employees expect to feel represented by workplace training, see themselves in it, and be able to access and engage with it fully. Our content, imagery, characters, and interactive moments all have been designed with a DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) approach so the learning experience is a fully inclusive one. The course is built toward WCAG 2.1 AA standards, available in numerous languages, and optimized for mobile devices for maximum reach.
- Up-to-date compliance. Numerous states have different requirements for what compliant employee training must cover and new legislation is proposed each year. At EVERFI, we have always relied on an in-house team of attorneys, including former EEOC and SHRM senior advisors, who monitor federal and state legislation daily to ensure our workplace training is continuously updated and remains compliant with key laws. Does your organization have supervisors who manage teams across state lines? With our new state law training supplements, supervisors can quickly and easily review mandated content for their direct reports in multiple states.
- Positive approach. A lot of harassment prevention training focuses on what employees should NOT do–highlighting examples of inappropriate behavior and penalties for policy violations–but very little time on what they SHOULD do. But research shows that this negative focus can actually lead to increased misconduct. So our Preventing Harassment and Discrimination course takes a different approach, teaching employees the practical skills to do what is right and support a positive work environment.
- Focused on bystander intervention skills. The EEOC says that bystander intervention training shows “significant promise for preventing harassment in the workplace.” For this reason, some jurisdictions like Chicago and New York City have made it a requirement for compliant employee training. Teaching your employees what specifically to say and do to address a concerning interaction in the moment is far more powerful method of preventing harassment and discrimination than simply encouraging reporting after the fact. For this reason, we at EVERFI integrate robust bystander intervention training throughout the entire course for maximum impact.
EVERFI’s Preventing Harassment and Discrimination course can help you easily deploy engaging, impactful, and compliant harassment and discrimination prevention training, while ensuring each employee receives the unique information they need wherever they work. If you are looking for training that will bolster your efforts to create a positive culture that can prevent harassment and discrimination from occurring, EVERFI can help.