When recruiting in a competitive job market, employers need to put serious thought into how they present themselves as a company. Corporate culture and quality of work product are both very important in building a good reputation among candidates, but there is a very real issue in the workplace that many companies simply have not yet been able to address: Workplace bullying.
Rather than overlooking or brushing this hot topic under the rug, employers who are tackling the problem head on are better able to address problems as they occur, create a more engaging and productive environment for staff, and also attract top industry talent with a stellar reputation. All-Star Personnel shares a number of ways you and your company can address workplace bullying and earn the respect of your employees, your competitors, and your potential hires.
Start with an Anti-Bullying Policy
First and foremost, your company needs to have a policy in place that outlines the corporate response to bullying, if one doesn’t already exist. Bullying may seem like a small matter in the greater scheme of day-to-day business, but the consequences of not responding proactively to such issues are great and quite painful for employers. For example, a court ruled in 2014 that key managers had created a hostile work environment undermining a salesman’s work, making false accusations against him, blocking him from promotions, and otherwise marginalizing the employee. The plaintiff was awarded $2 million in restitution.
Protect Your Employees
In order to avoid legal action and also to create a fulfilling and productive work environment, employers need to do their best to protect their employees. Similar to how discrimination is unacceptable in the workplace, bullying needs to be taken seriously as well. There needs to be an established grievance channel that provides an outlet for staff to have their voices heard confidentially. Often, corporate leadership can be the last to know about problems such as these. Providing a safe and confidential way for employees to voice their concerns may be the only way bullying can come to light.
Train Your Management
Providing training to corporate leadership and managers is crucial to enacting a high-impact anti-bullying policy. They need effective training to learn how to identify and handle bullying without they themselves becoming aggressive or defensive. Being able to distinguish between legitimate and bogus concerns is another issue many managers simply are not trained to be able to address. Offering your leadership team the tools they need to build a more inclusive environment will go a long way toward addressing the issue.
Follow Up with Appropriate Enforcement
Lastly, but possibly most importantly, intervention and response needs to be a keystone in your corporate response to bullying in the workplace. Enforcement of policies is critical because without repercussions there is no room for improvement, and bullying will remain a non-issue. Corporate leadership needs to actively intervene once they discover that managers or employees have violated the policy in order to ensure such issues do not impact the workplace in the future.
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For 20 years, All-Star Personnel has been locally owned, operated, and an active member of the community. When you have a staffing need, contact our great team of recruiters today to work with a top staffing agency in Tennessee.
