I am excited to have another article on Thrive Global! Read more about how to handle the dreaded office move on my Thrive page!
The Dreaded Office Move: 6 Tips for Navigating the Change
From a Whisper to a Roar: Handling Workplace Sexual Harassment in 2018
Note: This article was a collaboration with my former colleague and favorite “sisterpreneur”, Tamara Gardner, Founder of Becoming Boldacious and Tamara Gardner Coaching & Consulting, and was recently published in the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA) publication “Insights”.
It is an understatement that the last year has been one of radical change in the United States. For Human Resources practitioners, perhaps the most impactful and talked about was the “Weinstein effect”. When media outlets reported on numerous sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, it was described as a “tipping point“, and precipitated a “national reckoning” against sexual harassment.
It was a shocking transition from what had become the norm – victims feeling worse for having reported incidents due to how they were handled, overt and subtle retaliation, or simply because the victim did not see a clear path to address the behavior, and was left feeling exposed and vulnerable. That being said, even prior to Weinstein’s “outing” and the #metoo movement, sexual harassment was evolving right in front of us.
For example, it became more than a two-gender problem. Today, there are a whole host of genders in the mix, including but not limited to woman, man, trans-woman, trans-man, gender-fluid, questioning, and unsure. Any and all of these genders can harass or be harassed. Historically, it was men who were viewed as the more likely perpetrators of harassment and as having less of a stake in helping to solve the problem. However, with the recent explosion of high-profile cases, more and more men are asking questions, expressing genuine concern, and inquiring about how they can play a role in eradicating this behavior in the workplace. We are witnessing a seismic shift in how sexual harassment is being discussed. Inclusion, equality, and diversity have started to mean something different, and the words have become more prevailing than ever.
So, what does this mean for HR practitioners in 2018? Simply said, we have an opportunity to change the narrative and elevate the way it’s being addressed. Discussing sexual harassment is no longer an obligatory training, it is an imperative discussion. HR has been presented with an opportunity to demonstrate strategic leadership, to partner and have meaningful dialogue with colleagues, and together, truly affect the change needed to ensure every employee is supported and treated with respect.
We’d like to offer that it’s time to be innovative and engaging about how we address this issue, and get downright strategic about how we prevent it. It’s time to toss out the standard annual sexual harassment PowerPoint presentation and/or email reminder of what not to do. After all, how much personal understanding and commitment is someone demonstrating by clicking a box to indicate they have read and agreed?
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to navigate this new landscape, perhaps the resources have been right in front of us all along. Maybe it’s time to actively engage employees in becoming part of the solution. What we’ve found is that when employees have a safe forum to share their thoughts and learn from each other, it becomes a powerful and educational conversation. Furthermore, when you engage someone not associated with your organization to facilitate, the dialogue becomes much more fluid and enlightening. As a result, you receive an honest assessment of what your employees are dealing with, which can be invaluable and inform how you can better address the issue going forward.
It is also time to galvanize your employee resource groups and supercharge your efforts around making them impactful. Typically, employees with passion for (or at least a strong interest in) equality and inclusion self-select to join an ERG. If you have ERG’s that are established, there is likely already trust and open communication. Talk to them. Learn more about their personal perspective, pilot your new and improved anti-harassment education approach with them first to get their feedback, and remind the entire population that these ERG’s exist, and why. You may find that you have an uptick in new members given all that is going on. On the other hand, if you do not currently have employee resource groups, the timing may be right to create them.
No matter what approach you choose, getting a realistic understanding of what your employees concerns are and what may be impacting their performance and engagement can be crucial in creating an inclusive environment. It’s high time that we let the whispers to turn into a roar, and to let that roar inspire positive actions that result in actively preventing sexual harassment in the workplace instead of merely addressing it.
Onboard or Onward: Ensuring the Success of Your New Executive Hire
“About 40% of executives who change jobs or get promoted fail in the first 18 months.”
Where does it all go wrong? Too often, the onboarding process is where things fall apart. I am not talking about “orientation”, which often is done day one and generally involves the basics of assigning a building pass, conducting a benefits overviews, meeting the team and reading a few policies. Onboarding is a longer process, and if done well (typically in partnership with Human Resources and managed by the new executive’s manager, or the Board Chair if they report to the Board of Directors) can almost guarantee fit. It is holistic and gradual. It is also very deliberate, and will require constant check-ins and open communication. Here are five key activities that will help to ensure that your new executive will be successful in their new role:
Start to Onboard Before They are Actually ON BOARD!
The time between an offer being accepted and the executive starting is sensitive. They may be dealing with a counteroffer, having to say goodbye to much-loved colleagues, and are nervous about this new venture. Keep in touch. Reiterate your excitement to have them joining the team, and have a few people in the organization reach out. If there are organizational overviews, annual reports, strategic plans or other things that that they can read up on ahead of time, get those to them during this time so that they start to feel like part of the team.
Send an announcement out to the staff and the board a few days before their start date explaining their background and the job they are filling. This will help make them seem more familiar to the team when they come through the door, and as an added benefit they will not have to review their resume and background with absolutely everyone in their first week or so.
Relationship Before Task
Ideally, new executives will meet with their team and people across the organization. One-on-one meetings are great, but remind those who will be meeting with the executive to get to know them before delving into the inner workings of their role or the issues they face. Building rapport with new colleagues and direct reports is critical in the early days.
Learn By Doing
Too often, in an effort to get all the information to a new hire as soon as possible, they are introduced to processes way too soon. Guess what? They will not remember how to do an expense report or change their password or complete a sales report 30 to 60 days in when they actually need to do it if they are taught how to do it their first week. Have the right people meet with them at the start to review the process at a high level, and then have them set up a time to do it later when they can sit down with real data and learn from it real-time.
The Buddy System
What we learned in grade school still applies: the buddy system works when the new kid starts. This should not be the executive’s manager, but a peer or high-performing direct report who has longevity and the personality to be an effective buddy. The buddy can manage the nicety of taking them to lunch on day one and being available to explain the intricacies of culture, relationship dynamics, and certain pitfalls to avoid, which are things that the executive may not be comfortable asking of higher-ups.
Check In Early & Often
I too often hear that executives join, get a ton of attention the first day or two, and then are largely left on their own. It does not feel welcoming, and it runs the risk of them going in a direction that is difficult to course-correct later on. Meet with them daily, even for 10-15 minutes, in the first few weeks. Move on to twice weekly, weekly….you get the point. Let them know where they are doing a great job. Let them know where they need to take a different approach. But LET THEM KNOW. Being clear on what is a success will lead to more success.
While by no means a complete onboarding process, following the steps above will help to ensure that your new executive hire is one of the 60% who will be a success in the first 18 months.
Cindy Joyce is an Executive Recruiter and the Founder of Pillar Search, an Executive Search and HR Consulting firm located in Boston that works with clients nationwide. She can be reached here.
