Tech companies like Uber attract bright, young, and energetic talent, especially when these companies enter into traditionally-run industries. The management of such companies establish forward-thinking organizational strategies and assume those strategies will illuminate all management problems of the past. Unfortunately, issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination are still prominent in the workplace today.
On the bright side, there are things companies can do to combat these issues. Research shows that having balanced and diverse leadership can help lessen the possibility of acts of harassment or discrimination. It is essential for top management to establish a company culture in which harassment of any sort will not be tolerated.
Although training programs are important to addressing sexual harassment precautions, traditional top-down mandatory training has proven to be ineffective—and can even backfire entirely—in these situations. It is more effective to hire an outside specialist to conduct a one-day training seminar, which can establish that the company understands the severity of these issue ands therefore facilitates regular training.
A company also must have a confidential procedure for reporting harassment and an HR manager who will address these issues. The common issue with the reporting systems in most companies is that they are either not confidential or the core issue never gets addressed.
Hiring a law firm to serve as outside council is also another step to take toward working to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employment attorneys have exceptional knowledge and experience with such issues and may be able to provide valuable insight.
To learn more about the best practices in addressing discrimination or harassment, please read this article by the Spiggle Law Firm’s founding sexual harassment attorney, Tom Spiggle.
