Human Resources Issues for Senior Management
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/747024
feature/HARASSMENT CANADIAN HR STRATEGY/23 IMMEDIATE RESPONSE But when allegations rst strike, the employer should try to keep the allegations as contained as possible, says Williams. "Organizations should contemplate and have at the ready some external PR support to help manage any type of media or PR crisis that should arise so they can at least contain some of the messaging… the adverse implications." The slower the response, the more rumour and innuendo ll the gap, so being prompt is critical, says Bernstein. "(It's about) not shooting from the hip but responding as quickly as you possibly can because if something goes viral, if it's worded right, if it catches people's attention, there's not too much competing news that day." And once the allegations arise, the executive who's the target of these allegations will want to seek counsel rst and foremost, as will the company, says Abdul-BasitKhan, partner at law rm WeirFoulds in Toronto. "If you've got a president or CEO facing charges of sexual ha- rassment or bullying or harassment of any kind, then certainly that person will want to seek counsel and the company has to decide who is going to be the point person for handling that sort of investigation." As for any board of directors involved, some members may temporarily become part of the C-suite, particularly as sexual Markham, Ont. "I've had more than a few cases that involved sexual harass- ment or harassment allegations against executives and the one thing that I nd is that most company policies don't contem- plate the reality that there could be allegations against the C- suite… often times, they're caught off-guard… they haven't thought it through." Employers would be wise to structure policies for potential eventualities so they have a plan already set out, she says. "So you have your contacts, you're not scrambling for any- thing, you're ready to respond in a manner that's swift to ensure that you contain the exposures and the harmful impact as much as you can." The policies should be very clear, spelling out appropriate behaviour while also providing training, says Bernstein. "The nexus for HR is making sure that there are not only policies but there is constant refresher training on any policies that are critical to preventing crises." And the board of directors also has to have a policy, he says, "because it becomes then not just a problem for the individual but a problem for the company. And often board policies have been modi ed… for example, if a CEO is accused, perhaps one board member steps in and becomes temporary CEO, or the board takes over control for public communications."