Human Resources Issues for Senior Management
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/747024
CANADIAN HR STRATEGY/25 court of public opinion, you lose because it ties your name to the allegations," he says, citing as an example former president Richard Nixon and his famous declaration "I am not a crook." Otherwise, if the person is willing to be transparent with his board of directors, that's a good starting point, says Bernstein. Then it's about co-operating fully with any investigation and, in the meantime, expressing con dence to anybody who's asking that when the investigation is complete, you'll be exonerated, he says. "Unfortunately, simply being accused will leave a long-term negative mark on the individual in terms of reputation." RESTORATION Finally, irrespective of the outcome, there's the fallout, which organizations often don't think about, says Williams. "Even if the executive is totally vindicated through the pro- cess… there can be a signi cant impact to the organization's credibility, senior leadership's credibility. And the organization has to be intentional to take restorative steps — steps to restore culture, restore morale and restore overall faith in leadership, particularly when you're going to now reintegrate that individu- al back into leadership," she says. "You still have to take those restorative steps to ensure that the workplace culture is healed because those types of allega- tions, particularly at that level... it does cause a trauma on the workplace culture." forthcoming and you don't want to say too much." Communications are crucial and employer counsel will play an important part, he says. "Employer counsel's role is both a legal role, a crisis manage- ment role and, to a fair extent, a communications role. Because the employer's not going to go out and hire two or three service providers to do the same thing — they're not going to hire an in- vestigator, a PR consultant, along with legal counsel. That may be necessary in the highest-pro le cases or may be an option but, generally speaking, my experience is it is my responsibility as employer counsel to guide them on message sending to the accused, to the complainant, to witnesses, to the company as a whole when that issue becomes public and guide them through that process." Someone facing sexual harassment allegations may choose to address them directly, as seen when David Peterson wrote a letter of denial to a national newspaper. But Williams disagrees with that approach. "If you were conducting a similar investigation, you wouldn't want any other employee, being a higher-level managerial em- ployee or another employee facing allegations, to start making statements to the press or trying to clear their names without having the investigation process see its way through." Sometimes, it is a good idea to issue a statement to media, but at-out denials don't do any good, says Bernstein. "The second you get into trying something like this in the Join the Strategic Capability Network —Exclusivity Without The Price Tag The Strategic Capability Network is a high-level forum for HR and organizational leaders. Our members enjoy provocative monthly programs with inuential thought leaders, CEOs, academics and authors around our core themes of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership in Action and Strategic Capability. Our low annual membership fee of $225 provides access to all programs, which can be enjoyed live at the National Club, or viewed in our video library shortly after the event. Membership also includes social media development sessions, vibrant social events, and a host of free professional resources via our afliation with HRPS. As a non-prot association driven by senior volunteers, we offer exclusivity without the price tag. www.scnetwork.ca feature/HARASSMENT