The workplace is an essential part of our society. It’s where we spend most of our day and provides us with the tools we need to achieve our goals. The workplace can be stressful and challenging for many people, but not all workplaces are like this.
Some companies have created cultures where employees feel safe and supported while they work on projects with their colleagues. It is because they’ve adopted some practices that help prevent harassment in their organizations. Let’s take a closer look at these practices.
Background Checks
Background checks are an essential part of the hiring process for any job applicant. Background checks can help you avoid hiring people who have been unable to keep their hands to themselves in the past or who have a history of criminal activity. They can also help you avoid hiring applicants with histories of drug use and other problematic behaviors that may not be directly related to harassment but could lead them into behavior that would make them bad employees.
Background checks are essential when hiring employees who work closely with others in close quarters, such as those working on a production line or in construction jobs where workers spend long hours together outside all day. If even one person on the line has been harassing co-workers and continues it at your company, they’ll cause problems for everyone else on the crew. It’s better to hire someone without any history whatsoever than hire someone with a record of harassing other people.
Employee Referrals
Employee referrals are one of the best ways to find top-notch employees who will stay with you long-term. Research shows that employee referrals are four times more likely to be offered a job than regular applicants. The same report also suggests that employee referrals account for up to 40% of total hiring.
That’s because when you hire someone through an employee referral program, you’re getting a highly engaged worker who is invested in your company’s success and has a vested interest in being part of it. Another benefit, employees who make successful referrals tend to stay longer with the company they refer candidates to. They feel like contributing something significant to their workplace culture and want others there too.
Interview Process
A structured interview process is a must. According to a Zippia report, HR representatives use structured interview techniques 74% of the time. You need to have the same questions for all candidates, and you need to ask them those questions in a consistent way. Because you want to be able to compare candidates objectively, it’s essential that all of your interviewers ask precisely the same questions and that they’re being asked by everyone who interviews each candidate.
To get at this objective comparison, we recommend having each interviewer use a pre-created list of questions for every candidate. It’s more complicated than just winging it from memory but will pay off with more accurate assessments of how well people can do this job and whether or not they’ll be good fits for your workplace culture (which can be challenging to assess in person).
Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
According to a Gartner report, HR leaders of the industry count diversity, equity, and inclusion among their top 5 priorities in 2022. Diversity, inclusion, and the pursuit of equality have been a significant focus for many companies over the last few decades. The goal is to create a culture where people from different backgrounds, genders, and ages can feel comfortable and accepted at work. It helps companies attract more qualified candidates for jobs and enhance their employee retention rate. Diversity also supports innovation because different perspectives lead to better decision-making.
For example, if you’re trying to improve your product based on customer feedback, having an assortment of diverse employees will allow you to get more accurate insights into what customers want or need to be compared with just one person or group who may not fully represent all customers’ viewpoints.
Creating an inclusive working environment requires leadership commitment. Hiring managers should set clear expectations about their values by empowering managers to speak up if they see something wrong happening in their teams, such as harassment against women or minorities.
Open Communication Between Leaders and Employees
An open relationship between leaders and employees is key to preventing workplace harassment. To create an environment where your workers feel comfortable raising issues, you must foster a culture of openness and trust. Here are a couple of steps you can take:
- Take the time to get to know your employees as individuals. Your goal should be to build relationships based on mutual respect rather than control or dominance over their lives. It will help ensure that they feel comfortable speaking up when something goes wrong instead of simply accepting it because they’re afraid of upsetting the boss or looking bad in front of one another.
- Make sure someone in charge handles all complaints explicitly related to harassment claims. Make sure there’s also someone who takes other types of complaints (like discrimination). It is important because if all such issues go straight through HR instead, no one knows precisely where they stand when claiming another colleague.
A Better Hiring Process Can Prevent Workplace Harassment
Hiring the right people is a crucial part of any workplace. A bad hire can lead to many problems, and you must avoid making these hiring mistakes. If you find yourself in this position, the best thing to do is address the issue immediately and work on rectifying it.
However, if they don’t fit in, they may cause more harm than good by creating tension among their co-workers or even engaging in behavior that could violate company policy. The most important thing when interviewing potential candidates is ensuring they have similar values as you do so they would be willing to uphold them throughout their tenure with your firm.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it’s all about ensuring your hiring process is as effective and holistic as possible. You want to ensure that you’re not only bringing in qualified applicants but also making sure they fit into your company’s culture and can contribute meaningfully to its success.