You may have heard the news – California has extended its harassment prevention training deadline for employers with 5+ employees from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2021.
I know many of you employers are thinking, “Phew! I’ve got another year!” As a business owner, I totally get it. It’s nice to get relief wherever we can for mandatory stuff.
However, procrastination has never been identified as a super quality we should all strive for, and harassment prevention training is no different.
Here are three reasons to stay the course and complete your harassment prevention training now, instead of later:
- Continuing with your plan to complete training conveys that you truly care about the topic and the work environment. And if you have the right trainer (say, me, for example), your training provides a lot of tools for building a respectful work environment. This is something we should all care about whether we are required to or not.
On the flip side, if your employees all knew training was coming, and you send an email telling them that it’s been moved to next June, consider the message you’re sending. The message you send is that harassment prevention training, and thus harassment is not important.
- Protect your workplace sooner. Consider it insurance. If you get sued tomorrow by an employee or former employee, the first thing his or her attorney will ask for is your harassment prevention policy and your training records. Having the records now will show you take the topic seriously, which would work in your favor.
“I’m glad you didn’t do the training just yet. You were wise to hold off for another year.” Said no judge, ever.
- Training sets expectations for behavior. Are your employees aware of how to behave, and how not to behave? I find in my work the answer to this question is a resounding and strikingly loud no. Use this training to get started on setting expectations for behavior and holding managers accountable for creating and sustaining a positive work environment.
Visit our website to learn how our training might differ from others. One thing I know for sure is that my training is more focused on culture and respect than most other programs, while still hitting the wickets to keep it compliant.
We’ll see you there!
