12 Questions to Consider when Evaluating Sexual Harassment Awareness Training Options
Several states and jurisdictions now require annual (or biannual) harassment awareness training - including California, Connecticut, Chicago and Illinois, New York City and New York State.
On-demand training can be an efficient and cost-effective way of meeting these recurrent compliance training requirements - if the training is effective and is more than a check-the-box exercise.
What should you look for in on-demand training?
Let’s explore 12 questions to consider when evaluating sexual harassment training solutions.
#1 - Is it engaging? Effective training – even compliance training – should draw people in with a variety of interesting scenarios, statistics, and studies that provide context and make it meaningful – and relatable – for them. What’s relatable and meaningful for some industries, organizations, or professions may not be so for others, so the ability to tailor the message and the experience to the target audience is a real plus, too.
Look for training that is interesting, insightful, and engaging enough to hold your attention for the duration.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series was designed specifically to keep learners engaged throughout the course - with a variety of realistic interactive scenarios, statistics, and studies designed to evoke some a-ha moments - all while respecting their time and intelligence.)
#2 - Does it reflect diversity and inclusivity - and a wide range of behaviors that can be considered harassment? Every course you provide to your personnel should reflect the full spectrum of today’s diverse workforce – and the variety of ways that sexual harassment can show up in the workplace. The reality is, harassment isn’t just the stereotypical male supervisor harassing a female subordinate. Sexual harassment - or “harassment based on sex” - includes harassment related to gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and encompasses a lot of behaviors that might not be readily recognizable as sexual harassment.
Look for training that covers a full range of behaviors that can be considered inappropriate – and a variety of characters and scenarios that reflect the diversity of our world today.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series explores the variety of ways that sexual harassment can show up in the workplace and reflects diversity and inclusivity throughout - in scenarios, characters, names, visual imagery, and the like.)
#3 - Does it include interactivity? Many states and jurisdictions specifically require that harassment awareness training be interactive – and there’s a great reason why. Interaction increases engagement. And engagement increases retention, and in turn, the likelihood of compliance. That is, the more you engage with a learning experience and practice your new skills, the more likely you are to learn from it. Keep in mind that storytelling and interactivity are a powerful combination; stories help to make concepts “real” and relatable—and encouraging the learner to interact with the story increases the engagement factor even more. The most effective self-paced training leverages these concepts to make the on-demand learning experience as engaging and memorable as possible.
Look for scenarios and other interactive exercises that take concepts beyond the screen and apply them to real life.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series was designed to have just the right amount of interactivity to encourage learners to engage meaningful with the course. Questions are designed to encourage meaningful reflection, not simply the selection of a right or wrong answer.)
#4 - Is it in plain language (vs. legalese)? Encouraging the right types of behaviors in the workplace is not about knowing the legal definitions of harassment (“Quid Pro Quo” and so on). It is about treating people with respect. It is about recognizing the types of behaviors that contribute to a productive and respectful workplace culture—and those that don’t. It is about being simultaneously self-aware and aware of the potential impact that your actions have on others.
Look for training that emphasizes preventing a wide range of inappropriate and disrespectful behaviors, not just those that fit a strict definition of unlawful.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series goes beyond addressing the legal definitions of harassment, exploring the full range of behaviors that can contribute to a workplace that is not respectful.)
#5 - Does it provide practical guidance that your learners can apply if and when they need it? It’s not enough to educate people on what not to do; ask yourself what you want them to do? What can they do if they feel they are being harassed? How can they stand up for themselves? What can they do if they observe someone else being subjected to disrespectful behaviors? How can they avoid being a complacent bystander? Most people want to take action but simply don’t know how. Effective training provides practical tools that can make the difference in whether someone chooses to stay silent or to speak up—for themselves or others.
Look for clear guidance that your learners can easily recall and apply in a problematic situation.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series explores a practical, clear, and memorable three-step process for addressing harassment that you experience or observe. We call it the BUS Approach. Request preview access to see it for yourself.)
#6 - Are you able to refresh the course from one year to the next? Finding an online course that you’re proud to provide to your organization takes time – and reviewing the array of options that are out there gets old fast. You really don’t want to go shopping for a new course every year to meet annual training mandates while keeping content fresh for your workforce.
Look for a provider that provides opportunities to roll out a refreshed or updated course each year.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series provides an array of options for refreshing the courses each year.)
#7 - Can it meet the unique requirements of the states or jurisdictions that you’re in - and if so, how? Many states and localities - including California, Connecticut, New York City and New York State, Chicago and Illinois - identify specific content that must be addressed in any harassment awareness course. Some have specific duration requirements for the training, too - such as California, Chicago, and Connecticut requiring two hours of Harassment Awareness training for Supervisors or Chicago requiring one hour of Bystander Intervention each year. To meet these mandates, some training providers require that your personnel take two separate courses to meet a state’s requirements: (1) A basic harassment course PLUS (2) a separate state-specific supplement. This approach may work well for some organizations; for others, it raises concerns about having to assign and track twice as many courses to ensure full compliance.
Look for training that addresses the state-specific requirements that you must comply with - using an approach that aligns with your needs and preferences.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series includes 5 distinct state-specific series (each with a Supervisor and Non-Supervisor edition), plus a US/General series that works well for states without specific content requirements. For employers with personnel across many states, the Respectful Workplace courses can be combined, if desired, so your personnel will only have to take one course to meet all requirements that apply to them.
#8 - Is it customizable? Your personnel will tune into the message more if it has been tailored to incorporate your organization’s brand, standard terminology, policies, and procedures. Customization is more important to some organizations than others, but it’s great to know if it’s an option. This could include adding an introductory video of a member of leadership emphasizing the importance of the topic. Or it could include incorporating your specific terminology or summary of your processes. Even minor adjustments to the messaging can make the difference between training that resonates vs. training that is viewed as just “checking the box.”
Look for training that can be branded to your organization and customized to meet your specific needs.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series can be branded and customized just for you - as little or as much as you desire.)
#9 - How quickly can you roll it out? If you need to get training rolled out ASAP to meet a compliance deadline or perhaps to remediate a harassment-related issue that has arisen, don’t let that be a reason to compromise on the quality of the course. There are options to get immediate access to quality courses for your entire organization - without ever talking with a salesperson.
Look for quality training that enables rapid deployment.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series is available on an Instant Access / Self-Serve basis for organizations who don’t require any branding or customization. Get an Instant Access quote now.)
#10 - Is the user experience easy and intuitive? Your personnel need:
quick and easy access to the assigned course;
the ability to navigate through the course, see that they’ve met all requirements, and then not think about it again until next year;
course content that is organized into short bite-sized chapters and subchapters that makes the content easier to follow and absorb, one small section at a time;
progress indicators that show how far they’ve come and how much more they have to complete - providing learners with the information they need to gauge their process;
Certificates of Completion issued upon course completion - with automatic certificate delivery and recording; and
the ability to pause a course and resume it later from the same section - because not everyone will be able to dedicate a full hour or two to completing a course in one sitting.
In addition, your users may want to access their course completely on a mobile device or even begin on one device and then continue the course on another. Not all vendor solutions offer this as an option, so if this is important to you, be sure to ask.
Look for features that provide a positive, intuitive user experience - including well-organized bite-sized segments, progress-tracking indicators, automatic certificate issuance and delivery, and the ability to pause and resume the course later - even on a different device.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace includes all of these features and more, designed to enhance the learner’s experience and maximize their engagement.)
#11 - Is it easy to administer? As an administrator, you’ll want access to a user-friendly administrative platform that allows you to easily upload your personnel data and assign the right course to the right group of people; for example, Supervisors vs. Non-Supervisors. Or New York personnel vs. Chicago personnel. Since sexual harassment training is required by law, the system must also track whether your personnel have completed their assignments and provide you with downloadable and printable reports to save for future reference. And if you would like individual Administrators to only have visibility and control over specific user groups (like a New York office Administrator and a separate Los Angeles office Administrator), you’ll definitely want to ask potential vendors if they offer this functionality as most do not.
Look for a solution that provides you with an intuitive administrative platform with features designed to simplify and streamline the assignment and tracking of compliance training.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace courses are accessed through our proprietary web-based platform that makes assigning the right course to the right group of people easy, even if you have various administrators responsible for different audiences or teams across different states. Automated reminders and reporting capabilities make administration a breeze.)
#12 - Is it a solution that others use and recommend? If other people and organizations that you respect have had success with a solution and are recommending it to others, that’s a good sign that it could work well for you, too. Don’t just rely on advertisements. Ask HR leaders in your field about their experiences and recommendations. Ask your Labor & Employment attorneys about theirs, too.
Look for a training solution that comes recommended by your peers and others you respect.
(SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace solution is used by more AmLaw 100 law firms (the country’s largest law firms) than any other on-demand solution. It is recommended by more Labor & Employment (L&E) attorneys to their clients than any other solution.)
Are you in search of effective harassment prevention training?
Explore the on-demand training solutions used - and recommended - by more AmLaw 100 law firms than any other - check out SkillBurst’s Respectful Workplace series today.
If you’d like to talk with us about your training needs, contact us to learn more about how SkillBurst can help.
Important Notice: The content of this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. You should not act or rely on the information included above without first seeking the advice of an attorney.