Do you feel like your hands are tied when it comes to workplace harassment? You’re not alone. Many employers know they should do something to address the issue. But they just aren’t sure how to handle such a sensitive and uncomfortable subject.

Unfortunately, ignoring it can be an expensive mistake. Harassment costs businesses millions of dollars each year through poor employee morale, reduced productivity and litigation.

Help is here. These practical strategies will give you the tools to prevent workplace harassment in your workplace – before it starts.

Put Your Company on Solid Ground

Sexual harassment gets most of the headlines. However, lawsuits are filed every day alleging harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, and other legally protected characteristics.

Although diversity in today’s society benefits the workplace, old habits die hard. Many people still retain stereotypes and biases they bring to work. You can’t control stereotypical thinking but you can control your workplace and take action to prevent unwanted behavior.

The first step is to create a no-harassment policy. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) declares that it is “critical” for every employer to develop and distribute an anti-harassment policy.

Your policy should include a clear explanation of harassment and specific types of prohibited conduct. It should encourage employees to report harassment immediately and explain the internal complaint procedure. The policy should specify at least two contacts within your company who are properly trained to investigate complaints.

Set Expectations for Acceptable Conduct

Your company’s training should reinforce that prohibited conduct will not be tolerated. Employees should be given examples of all forms of harassment. And it’s important to emphasize both severe and subtle instances. Behavior doesn’t necessarily have to be blatant to be illegal. To be illegal it must be severe or pervasive.

Use engaging training materials with fresh, current and interactive content. Include scenarios that fit within your company culture. Don’t only include office situations if you run a construction company, for example.

Many employees may not know what constitutes unlawful harassment and may not recognize when their actions are offensive or illegal. Training can help prevent harassment from occurring in the first place.

Stress personal accountability. Of course, employees should not engage in illegal behavior. But beyond that, your staff should never allow an uncomfortable situation to escalate. It’s every worker’s responsibility to either tell the offending employee to stop or walk away.

In addition to the basics, your supervisors will require additional training. Here are some points to cover:

• DO set a good example as a manager
• DO take all complaints seriously, even if your initial judgment is that the complaint is unwarranted
• DO report any complaints immediately to designated contacts
• DON’T use your position to request personal favors of any kind
• DON’T wait for a complaint if you personally observe something that is likely to be offensive
• DON’T retaliate against any complainant
• DON’T tell complainants to “just ignore it”
• DON’T promise confidentiality as complaints can only be kept as confidential as possible

It’s important to note that certain states have begun requiring employers to provide harassment training. And many more are expected to follow suit.

Create a Compassionate Company Culture

A study by the Society for Human Resource Management found that “respectful treatment of all employees” was the number-one contributor to job satisfaction. And “trust between employees and senior management” was the second.

One way to achieve a company culture of respect and trust is through open communication. Ask for – and encourage – employee feedback at every opportunity. Strive to create an environment where employees feel free to raise concerns and are confident those concerns will be addressed.

Don’t Postpone It Any Longer

If you haven’t conducted harassment training in the past year, it’s time to get it on the calendar. The Harassment Training Smart App from HRdirect provides a web-based solution for businesses of all sizes to provide up-to-date and compliant harassment training.

This affordable training program is delivered via PowerPoint slides and is specific to both employees and managers. Best of all, you can choose to present the training in a group setting or have employees complete it themselves at their own pace.