Could the removal of two well known TV presenters from our screens have been avoided?
With what has happened in the last week or so, perhaps it is time for us all to take a deep intake of breath and have a good look around our own organisations. High profile events like this are the ideal opportunity for us to draw a line and set new standards in the workplace.
Sometimes employees quite simply do not know where the line is and so are not sure when they have crossed it. Without training and guidance as to what is and what is not acceptable, how can we expect employees to know the ins and outs of the law and where they stand? Of course, there is also an element of common sense that we all should be able to apply in our day to day lives and in some cases, we should all know what is wholly unacceptable.
However, once you start to look at these events, it raises concerns over other areas of training. Internet and Email use is a prime example, where a throw away remark can cause great offence and land the sender in deep water. And of course there is inappropriate browsing on work computers. How do you deal with this? Have your staff been trained in both what to do if they are offended by someone else's Internet or Email use and what is and what is not acceptable?
Training in these areas can be time consuming and costly and so, quite often, gets brushed under the carpet until it is too late and there is a problem. EssentialSkillz have recognised this issue and have produced E-Learning courses on both 'Equality and Diversity' and 'Internet Use'. Concise and to the point, they are aimed at educating all levels of employees right up to the boardroom. The courses can be deployed through the EssentialSkillz O-LAS LMS, or through your own LMS.
Of course, one of the problems with E-Learning is that by using a generic course, it is not specific to your organisation and therefore loses relevance to the intended audience. By making all of it's courses fully customisable, EssentialSkillz have overcome this issue to help organisations get the full impact of relevant, targeted E-Learning.
By delivering training through E-Learning, you can train your whole workforce in less time and at a fraction of the cost of traditional training. You have a record of the training given and the ability to test users knowledge on their training providing you with a complete audit trail of your compliance.
Providing training for your employees in these sensitive areas shows that you are a caring employer and helps to create a better culture within your organisation. And there is an added benefit. If ever you should find yourself in an awkward situation with a member of staff having acted inappropriately, it won't be you that's offside, because you provided the correct training and can evidence it with training records. The line was drawn.
So, don't wait for it to happen to your organisation. EssentialSkillz can help with E-Learning courses on many different subjects – see www.EssentialSkillz.com for further details.