Multi-day Sexual Harassment Training Program For Small Business

Our client was a design and construction company of about 150 employees. After it was threatened with a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former employee, it asked us to devise a training program aimed at reducing risks of future problems. The client’s workforce includes employees of both genders and all ages. Some work solely in the office on computer screens, others work solely in the field at construction sites, and still others travel between the two, interfacing with designers and contractors. The diversity in ages, experience levels and personal outlooks on appropriate workplace behaviors in general and discrimination issues in particular created a challenge to effective communication of the information necessary to achieve the client’s objectives.

Result:  After visiting the work site and interviewing key personnel to gain an understanding of the workforce and the workplace, we devised and implemented a multi-day sexual harassment training program. Employees were grouped based on jobs performed and authority levels. Each attended a training session that covered the same general information but was designed for the particular audience. When each was completed, attendees demonstrated a working knowledge of essential sexual harassment principles.