Canadian HR Reporter

P robably the biggest reason sexu- al harassment continues to be a challenge in the workplace is a lack of courage — at the organizational and individual level — to deal with re- ally tough issues, according to michelle edwards, corporate director, global re- wards and hr services at Agnico eagle mines in toronto. " e victims are very much in a vulner- able situation so it's diffi cult as an indi- vidual to bring these things forward if you feel like you're in jeopardy if you do or that you're not supported or the en- vironment you're in is not safe. So until we address some of those issues, it's go- ing to be very diffi cult for us to continue to move forward on the issue of sexual harassment." e culture of an organization also plays a huge part, she said. "I'm not just talking about how you deal specifi cally with situations around sexual harassment but culture in general as an organization — how open are you for people to challenge the status quo in general, how safe is it for people to speak and voice their opinions? Are we in an environment where our expected behav- iours are pretty clear?" At a high level, people understand what's inappropriate behaviour, said Ed- wards. But in the moment, they might act on the fi rst thought that comes into their minds. "I'm working according to what I per- sonally believe is OK and it's a lack of awareness of my environment or people around me and how what I'm saying or what I'm doing might aff ect that person." Agnico Eagle, which has about 6,000 employees, has programs in place to edu- cate people in harassment. But policies and procedures around investigations are just the starting point, she said. "What really holds it all together is whether or not someone feels safe enough to come forward and will you do something about it in the end." If the issue isn't dealt with, there are repercussions on an individual, team and organizational level, said Edwards. If an individual doesn't feel like he's in a safe environment and he's constantly being harassed, he's not going to be able to give his best. "I know that it'll impact their work, whether directly or indirectly… depend- ing on the kind of harassment you're dealing with, it could create some per- sonal insecurities for that person, from an emotional level… it creates trust is- sues for the individual person. ere's so many repercussions." And if a person brings a complaint for- ward, and co-workers fi nd out, he might be walking on eggshells, worried about being judged, she said. And if people have an inkling or know harassment is happening, and nothing's been done about it, that team dynamic automatically changes, especially if it in- volves someone in a position of author- ity," she said. " ere's issues of respect, trust, loy- alty that come into play. If you know it's the person you're reporting to, you can't respect them because of the behaviours they're demonstrating in the workplace… (so it aff ects) engagement, morale — all of those things." Organizationally, you don't want to be known as an employer that accepts inap- propriate behavior, said Edwards. "We talk about retention and attrac- tion of talent but… whether you deal with this situation or not, word gets around — people will know if you're the type of organization that really holds… people accountable for demonstrat- ing your values and behaviours. And if you're not addressing it, then that creates issues from that perspective. And there's a whole bunch of legal implications if it does come out that sexual harassment has been happening in that workplace and you haven't done anything about it." An employer has to have the courage for enforcement but also needs to take an honest look at the environment it's cre- ated and whether it deals with concerns when they're brought forward, she said. "People will look at how you address the smaller concerns before they even feel comfortable enough to bring the big- ger concerns to the table." Leaders need to take the concerns of employees seriously, regardless of what the issue is, and do so immediately, said Edwards. "If one of the people who are causing these issues are in a senior leadership position, they should be treated no dif- ferently than anyone else," she said. "As a leadership team, as an HR group, we need to be very aware of the situations where we're creating a perception of favour for people because of status, be- cause of results, because of any other rea- son — relationships they may have with others — because that puts you at risk." It's great to recognize the contribu- tions people make as far as results are concerned but these should be achieved in a respectful way, not by violating peo- ple emotionally, physically or any other way, said Edwards. "We have to fi gure out 'How are we creating an environment where some- one might think that they're immune to all of that?' We focus a lot on the victims but what about the people who are actu- ally committing the issues? Clearly it is a crime but how are we focusing on dealing with that issue, what made that person think that it was OK to do that in this environment?" Many HR people don't have much ex- perience when it comes to conducting these investigations and more time could be spent educating the HR team, she said. " e more confi dent I feel as an in- dividual in being able to conduct a full investigation and do it justice, the more willing I will be to grab it and take it and deal with it the moment it comes across my desk. When it comes to you, you don't want to have to waste time trying to fi g- ure out 'How do I do this?' You want to be confi dent and comfortable enough to be able to plan right away and take action." Most importantly, HR can't start deal- ing with this issue when it comes across their desk. "You have to start dealing with behav- iours far before that, on everything, not just on harassment. If you accept bully- ing in your work environment, people are not going to come forward with a sexual harassment case." And with the Jian Ghomeshi case — in which the former CBC on-air personality was charged with sexual assault — there might be a surge of people fi nding the courage to step forward, said Edwards. "But as soon as that comes out of the limelight… the courage kind of dissipates and then you're back to where we were before. So… if you haven't done anything about it, this is the time to grab this op- portunity to really address the issues that potentially may exist, even though you don't know they're there within your organization. You have to keep the mo- mentum going." FEATURES Sexual harassment was back in the spotlight recently with CBC's fi ring of Jian ghomeshi and allegations on parliament Hill. we spoke with 5 Hr leaders from across the country to hear why this issue is still a problem. Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Confronting Michelle Edwards corporate director, global rewards and HR services, Agnico Eagle Mines The Toronto-based gold mining company has about 6,000 employees

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