preventing sexual harassment
Proven Learning Effectiveness
Sexual harassment is a complex subject. Explicit pictures sent via e-mail can clearly constitute sexual harassment, but what about an innocent joke? Or a well-meaning neck massage between co-workers? Or artwork that includes nudity? Given the complexity and subtleties associated with the subject, and individual personal interpretations, traditional methods of learning (lecture, memorization, etc) are not effective at changing behavior with adults.
The key to the effectiveness of Preventing Sexual Harassment is its instructional design. The training includes common examples of potentially harassing situations that employees can experience on a day-to-day basis, and it is interactive – requiring users to evaluate these situations and then providing feedback and information based on their responses. The objective is to create an introspective learning experience in which users can reflect on their behavior and decide to make changes if appropriate.
The effectiveness of the training has been confirmed by many users who have reported they will change their behavior based on what they learned in the course.
Customized Contents
Each course is customized to include information specific to the employer. In addition to incorporating the employer’s specific anti-harassment policy, each training course includes an opening message from the CEO, logos, and other scenarios and photographs familiar to employees.
Furthermore, the contents are tailored according to the industry and workplace environment. In a manufacturing environment, for example, training contents are available for supervisors and non-supervisors, whereas in an educational environment there are separate versions for faculty, students, and other staff.
As a result of New Media Learning’s customized approach, employees identify with the training materials, and the learning experience becomes more effective.
Customized Management Reporting
Preventing Sexual Harassment is effective training, but for legal and other management reasons it is also important to track employee participation in that training. New Media Learning provides monthly management reports that are customized for each licensee.
As an important element of its instructional design, Preventing Sexual Harassment contains a Mastery Test that measures the knowledge of the learner upon completion of the course. Some providers suggest this is risky and can result in increased employer liability if the employer does not provide remedial training on all questions wrongly answered in the test. The Editorial Board for Preventing Sexual Harassment respectfully disagrees and considers such claims unwarranted fear-mongering. A test that provides feedback on both correct and incorrect answers is a useful learning tool and the passing score is set by the licensee as part of the customizing and can therefore always be changed. The management reports provided to the employer are customized and contain only the information desired by the licensee.
Each learner is offered a certificate upon successfully completing the mastery test and the licensee determines what information is recorded as a result of that completion for management reporting.
Up-to-Date Information
Course contents are updated regularly to reflect changes in the law or other relevant information. For instance, when the most recent United States Supreme Court decision on sexual harassment was handed down in June, 2004, Preventing Sexual Harassment was updated for all customers within two weeks. Other changes – such as an update in the organization’s relevant policies, contact information, or other changes – are also made promptly, generally within 24 hours of notification.
Cost-Effective Training
By far the largest cost of training is the time lost in attending scheduled classes and the disruption of normal work routines. E-learning is the most convenient and cost-effective way to educate employees who find it difficult to interrupt their busy schedules with training classes. Enabling employees to access e-learning when they have time available can significantly reduce total costs and overall time to complete training for the entire work force. Individual Preventing Sexual Harassment licensees have had over 1,000 employees complete the training in a single day.
Preventing Sexual Harassment online training eliminates all time and costs associated with travel, scheduling, and record-keeping. Monthly management reports provide up to date records on course completions and test results.
Affirmative Legal Defense
Making Preventing Sexual Harassment available to employees can establish, or improve, a respectful, productive work environment and can also provide a level of protection against legal liability.
Although employers are responsible for providing a workplace free from sexual harassment, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that harassment will never occur. By establishing an organization-wide policy against harassment, informing employees of the policy and helping them understand the many different forms of sexual harassment through enterprise-wide training, employers can demonstrate a “good faith” effort to establish and maintain an environment free from harassment. If, despite this caution, a sexual harassment claim were to be filed against the organization, this good faith effort can earn the employer an affirmative defense as long as all reports of unwelcome conduct are thoroughly investigated and followed up. No employer is expected to monitor employees around the clock and effective training can go a long way to preventing costly lawsuits.
Anytime, Anywhere Training
The training program resides on New Media Learning’s Internet servers. To access the training, employees need only an Internet connection and a web browser. Once employees are given the organization’s chosen password, they can access Preventing Sexual Harassment anytime, from any computer worldwide, and New Media Learning will record their participation. If for internal reasons the licensee prefers to host the training internally that is easily done.
Rapid Deployment
Customizing and implementing Preventing Sexual Harassment is both simple and quick. In a twenty to forty-five minute phone conversation with the human resource executive, New Media Learning gathers the information necessary to customize the program. The licensee provides its policies and other relevant information (images, slogans, etc.) and New Media Learning creates a draft of the online training course and posts it to a staging (temporary) web site for review. Usually, the draft is posted within ten days. The licensee may then request changes which are made as they are provided until the training program is ready for rollout to the workforce.
Licensing
Preventing Sexual Harassment is usually licensed to an employer on an annual basis. Course licensing fees are all-inclusive and cover customization, ongoing web hosting, monthly management reports, customer support and all program maintenance and content updates.
For employees who have previously completed Preventing Sexual Harassment or other qualifying training, a refresher version with a shorter instructional section and a more challenging mastery test is also provided. This provides another option for employers to include training in a regular cycle, or to roll out a refresher at any appropriate time.
The refresher course also meets the statutory training requirements mandated by California law AB 1825.
Please feel free to review the benefits of Preventing Sexual Harassment, view an online demo, or contact us for more information.
