Discrimination in the workplace is an ugly feature of modern life. And any responsible company will do all it can to stamp it out. But more companies than you might think have problems when it comes to race and discrimination. Obviously, you don’t want your business to suffer the same fate. Here’s what your competitors can teach you about discrimination.
Get Familiar With All The Anti-discrimination Laws
In all Western countries, there are laws in place, designed to discourage discrimination in the workplace. In the US, though, these laws go a step further. Companies have to abide by the legislation of the Federal government. But they also have to make sure that they are following the laws of the state and local governments too. There are states in the US where it is illegal to fire a person on the basis of their sexual orientation. However, the federal law makes no provision against this. Thus, you should read up on the law as it applies in their own state. Don’t make the same mistakes as your competitors.
Make An Anti-Discrimination Plan
Once you’ve understood where you stand concerning the law, it’s time to develop a plan. In business, plans are everything. You make financial plans, business plans, even strategic plans. But now you need a plan to eliminate discrimination in the workplace. This plan needs to make clear to employees what type of behavior is and is not acceptable. Your anti-discrimination plan should cover the following key points.
First, it any anti-discrimination policy should have teeth. If an employee engages in discriminatory behavior, they have to fear reprisal. That means making sure that there are sanctions codified into the plan. These penalties should be mentioned in the employee handbook.
Next, you need a procedure that prevents retaliation by employees accused of discrimination. The idea here is to protect the victim. Victims need to be able to complain without fear if you are going to have a genuinely free workplace.
Third, policies need to have robust reporting mechanisms. Where should victims go to report a case of abuse? Who is best placed in your organization to deal with these complaints? Make sure that you are smart about which reporting channels you choose. And be sure to promote confidentiality where necessary.
Fourth, any plan should include a policy document. The job of the policy document is to spell out what is and is not considered discrimination. Try to include examples of what is and is not acceptable conduct concerning gender, sexuality or ethnicity.
Finally, invest some time with an employment consultant. Consultants will be able to help you write a policy and show the best way to implement it.
Set Up Training Programs
Employees need to know how to obey the company’s anti-discrimination policies. Even with a great policy document, employees might not understand what is expected of them. To make it more concrete, the best companies put their employees through training programs. These programs make it clear what the company expects from them in terms of their conduct at work.
Companies that are serious about discrimination regularly train employees and make it mandatory. They also make employees sign forms that say that they attended the training. This means that they can’t plead ignorance of company policy or the issues if they do discriminate.
The best training does the following things. First, it trains employees in the company’s anti-discrimination policy. This includes not only what is deemed as unacceptable behavior, but also how to report abuse.
Training programs also need to extend beyond issues of race and gender and explore all forms of discrimination. Discrimination can include harassment for all sorts of personal characteristics.
Finally, training programs should engage staff. They should include real life training examples with which staff can genuinely connect. Employees are far more likely to remember a simulated situation than something they read in a policy document.
Analyze Your Business For Unintentional Discrimination
Unfortunately, it’s often the case that employers accidentally discriminate against employees. For instance, an advert for a job might not target a particular protected segment of the workforce. Many companies have fallen foul of accidentally discriminating against certain groups. And this has let them into trouble with the law.
For instance, a simple literacy test might be considered to be discriminatory. Why? Because it would disproportionately affect physically challenged people. Now, some jobs, like being a reporter, require literacy skills. But other jobs, like manual labor work, don’t. It could be seen as discrimination if you ask applicants to do a literacy test who don’t need literacy for the job. So you have to show that the job advertised requires literacy skills.
Milo Senalle
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