Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR January 26, 2015 20 FeAtures Mark Ellis director of human resources at Redpath Sugar The Toronto-based company has about 400 employees A lack of education, recognition and reporting can help explain why sexual harassment continues to be a challenge in the workplace, according to mark ellis, director of human resources at redpath sugar in toronto. "Everybody needs to know about it and perhaps some of the education has lapsed as of late… it's on the law books so maybe there's some lax practices there." Employees really need to recognize what sexual harassment is and report it, he said. "Bottom line — sexual harassment is illegal. We look at sexual harassment, we consider it to be akin to safety in that you have to ensure you have the appropriate workplace culture in place and programs in place to ensure, to the best of your ability, that it doesn't happen." Redpath doesn't necessarily focus on policy or enforcement, it focuses on developing a culture and proper behaviour, said Ellis. "We let employees know they're accountable, not only for their own personal actions but for the actions of others, their co-workers, so we estab- lish a standard that we hold everybody accountable to… it's all about being accountable to each other for each other's well-being." To maintain that healthy culture, it's important to be clear on what's acceptable and not acceptable. "(Employees) do the education, they do the training — those are the cornerstones and they ensure that people know what be- haviours are considered harassment or offside in whatever fashion they're looking at it. Everyone should be clear on the consequences of that behaviour, everyone should know how to report it transparently and properly — it's critical that employees report it," said Ellis. While such harassment could lead to the suspension or termination of an employee, there are also repercussions for the employer, he said. "It can damage a company's reputation, it can lead to a poisoned work envi- ronment, it can destroy a positive culture — I mean, it can really have a lasting impact on the company itself… and the ability to attract and retain talent." Leadership plays a critical role in the equation, said Ellis. "ey have to set the tone in the sense that when we're talking about cul- ture and we're talking about setting expectations, (leaders) have to support that — they can't be seen to be having a double standard, they have to be there as well. "ey have to act on any investigations that are necessary or any instances have to be reviewed, have to be discussed, have to be communicated — they have to have an involvement in it." And harassers who happen to be star employees should not be dealt with any differently, he said. "e process is there for a reason — to make sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect and if you deviate from that process just because they're a high performer, you're not doing justice to your underlying culture. Hier- archy has no place when it comes to harassment of any kind. ere should be no leniency, no bending of the rules — whether you're an executive or a temporary worker." Roddy Macdonald vice-president of HR at the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation The Halifax-based corporation has about 1,500 employees l uckily, sexual harassment is not an issue the Nova scotia liquor corporation (Nslc) has had to deal with much — though roddy macdonald, vice-president of hr, has seen it occur during his career. "It seems to me it continues to be a challenge in those workplaces where either people feel hesitant to report harassment so that it just kind of stays below the radar, or the culture makes that kind of behaviour OK. And it can be a complex issue both from an HR perspective but also for the complainant, so that makes it challenging as well." It's not really about "training," per se, but exposure and education around what's appropriate in the workplace when it comes to potential harassers, he said, and letting those who are being harassed know that it's OK to raise the issue and they'll be supported. "It is important that the organization makes sure the complainant feels safe and supported in raising a complaint, so on an informal basis, making sure they have access to an EFAP brand, for example, is important." Sexual harassment is akin to bullying in the workplace, he said. "ere's no such thing as an innocent bystander — if you're a bystander, you're a part of it." Culture is a really important factor, said Macdonald. "Culture is probably the biggest single weapon against harassment or really almost any unacceptable workplace behaviour," he said. "Culture kind of brings us all together in opposition to that kind of behaviour, rather than just making it 'Oh, management will deal with that as it happens.'" Policy is essential in terms of having a framework, but combating harass- ment is about more than just a document, he said. "Education and culture have the biggest impact in the long run for address- ing this kind of an issue, way more than the enforcement of a particular policy. So… culture is pre-emptive and enforcement really is always after the fact." Sexual harassment is a complex issue and it's not always clear why people are afraid to act, said Macdonald. "If culture makes it uncomfortable to report or to disclose the situation, then that's going to keep it below the radar, so that's not good," he said. "ere are issues around how to handle it respectfully, what's the right degree of confi- dentiality and the actual investigation process needs to be structured. If you haven't thought about how to deal with this, it's not the easiest thing to deal with so it is a complex issue in the workplace." e investigation process has to respect the privacy and dignity of every- body involved and it must be respectful while still being confidential, said Macdonald, "so there's that balance there and really it speaks to the HR team too because the degree of trust the organization has in that HR team to deal with those kinds of sensitive or complex issues, that's really important." And the investigation should be properly structured so people understand their rights, they know who will be told what, confidentiality is maintained and HR is covering all the bases, he said. "You don't want to put time and effort into an investigation only to find you can't uphold it because you've missed a step." Any situation that leaves an employee feeling disenfranchised or defence- less in the workplace is going to have an effect on morale or productivity, said Macdonald. "When I think about our circumstances in a retail environment, that has a direct impact on customer service so I'm a strong believer that the employee's workplace experience directly affects the custom- ers' shopping experience. So if you're not deal- ing with those kinds of issues, that's going to translate through to the customer." Leaders are a very important part of the solution, he said. "ey have to set and follow a stan- dard of behaviour in the workplace and, as leaders, their behaviour has a strong influence on culture. But I would have to say that leaders can't deal with this issue by themselves — it really takes the whole workplace com- munity to come together to eliminate harassment." And if the harasser is a top employee, she should be dealt with no differently than any other person, said Macdonald. "In the circumstances where it's (at the) top in the sense of more senior hierarchical- ly, a manager or an executive, the precautions against retaliation are important. Really, in any circumstance where there's a power differ- ential, whether it's a senior employee or a front-line supervisor… it's impor- tant to be aware of that." "we let employees know they're accountable, not only for their own actions but for the actions of others, their co-workers."

• Cover