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Dealing Proactively with Inappropriate Conduct

Deciding to intervene

As a manager or supervisor, you have the responsibility to ensure your employees can do their jobs in an environment free of harassment. But you also have the opportunity to set the tone in your workplace. Your actions and attitudes filter down to those you manage. You're in a position to model the respectful types of behaviors and conduct your company expects. And by doing this, you encourage employees to do the same.

Don't wait for a complaint to be made before dealing with possible harassment issues. Be vigilant and proactive in responding to any conduct that you think might lead to harassment. A few well-chosen words may be enough to head off a complaint. And by taking preemptive action you are showing that you're serious about harassment, which will deter offenders and encourage victims or witnesses to report any harassing behavior that does occur.

Principles for intervening

Making a correct decision to intervene is one thing; knowing how to intervene in the right way is another. Consider the following example and think about how the manager handled the situation.

There are five steps to follow when intervening proactively in an incident of harassing behavior:

1. deal with incidents quickly and as soon as possible after their occurrence
2. speak to the employee who's responsible for the behavior in private
3. specify the problem behavior and explain why it could be considered harassment
4. gain employee's commitment that it won't happen again
5. document what happened

As a manager, it's your responsibility to model respect and to promote a harassment-free workplace. Don't wait for complaints but be proactive in managing harassment issues. By intervening early you may prevent a situation from escalating.

When intervening, you should follow five principles: deal with the incident as quickly as possible after it has occurred; speak to the employee responsible in private; be specific about why the conduct is not acceptable; get the offender's commitment to stop the offensive behavior; and document what occurred. Remember that you can always seek help from HR if you have questions.