Online Sexual Harassment Training: A Wise Investment

Sexual harassment isn't fun. One man's - or woman's - idea of a compliment or a joke can start a mess of trouble that can cost companies big money.

On January 9, 2006, the largest sexual harassment lawsuit ever, at $1 billion dollars, was filed in Manhattan against Dresdner Klienwort Wasserstein Services, the American branch of Dresdner Bank of Germany. The complaint cited lewd behavior toward women, entertainment of clients at a strip club, and reduced opportunities for women who returned to the job after maternity leave, and made it clear that sexual harassment occurs in all types of companies and at all levels of business.

In fiscal year 2006, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 12,025 charges of sexual harassment. 15.4% of those charges were filed by males. The EEOC resolved 11,936 sexual harassment charges in FY 2006 and recovered $48.8 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).

Sexual harassment in the workplace presents an ongoing and growing risk to any business operating in the United States. It doesn't take the threat of a lawsuit, however, to do the right thing. Sometimes it's just good business. Tingley Rubber Corporation, a leading provider of quality protective footwear and clothing with 31 employees, has never had a sexual harassment complaint. But Nancy Jenkins, Human Resources Manager, knows that could change in an instant. That's why Jenkins decided she needed to be proactive about providing sexual harassment training at her company. Says Jenkins, "The training we have heightens awareness that there is certain conduct that is not acceptable in the workplace. It reminds us that we need to be respectful of diversity and people's feelings when we engage them in conversation."

According to the EEOC, "Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains."

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:

• The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
• The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
• The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.

After comparing several options, Jenkins chose The Lindenberger Group, a New Jersey-based human capital consulting firm, to provide online compliance training. Jenkins liked The Lindenberger Group's product because of its user-friendliness. "Not everyone has a lot of computer training," she says. "They don't need it with this system because it is so simple."

"Online training is more cost effective," Jenkins said of online training, "compared with instructor-led efforts."

The online training provided by The Lindenberger Group means that Tingley Rubber Corporation's employees have the option to train online in English or Spanish at any time and at their own pace. Online trainees may also take advantage of Web-based course amenities, such as real-life video scenarios to improve comprehension, interactive exercises that reinforce key concepts and bookmarks. And, online training has been reported to improve employee's comprehension and retention.

"We have several employees in several states," says Jenkins, "and our sales people have demanding travel requirements, so it can be a challenge to set up training sessions that fit everyone's schedules. The Lindenberger Group's customized e-learning programs are an efficient and convenient management tool to train our employees." 

"Now that the initial implementation of this project is behind us, Jenkins adds, "I can proudly state that our entire management team was impressed with the robustness of The Lindenberger Group's online training. I especially like the capability to load our company logo and anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies into the training program."

Miele, a premium brand in the household appliance industry, is known for high end products including vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, ovens, washing machines and dryers. Miele's workforce numbers over 15,000 in 35 countries including 430 employees in the United States. Ingrid Astudillo, Human Resources Manager, chose The Lindenberger Group's online sexual harassment prevention training after examining several options.

Says Astudillo, "My first attempt was to bring in an outside company that does on-site training. I found that, even though the classroom training was mandatory, we did not reach everyone. The beauty of online training is that you can reach everyone, keep track of who takes the training, and re-train employees every few years. I really like the added feature of having an 800 number that employees can call if they have questions or wish to make a complaint. Before online training, I could not keep track of who attended training because everything was manual. The electronic tracking software facilitates our record keeping requirements and confirms employee participation of the training programs, an important feature if a lawsuit is ever filed."

In addition, Astudillo is happy with the consistency and 24/7 availability of computer based training. "We can be assured that all of our employees will receive the exact same content. And, our employees can access the training whenever they have the time for it, rather than interrupting their regular routine to attend a specially-scheduled seminar."

Failure to adopt a proactive and aggressive stance on sexual harassment in the workplace can result not only in costly lawsuits but also in loss of employee morale, decline in productivity, and an erosion of an organization's public image. Says Astudillo, "It is much less expensive to implement sexual harassment policies and training than it is to be involved in one sexual harassment lawsuit." Jenkins agrees, "Investing in this training is was well worth it."