Continuous employee training on the prevention of discrimination, sexual harassment and other misconducts in the workplace is the cornerstone for creating a safe and positive environment in the hospitality industry. An organization can benefit immensely by prioritizing initiatives that promote a healthy workplace culture.
Achieving a discrimination-free workplace may seem like a tall order. While there are laws in place that prohibit various forms of discrimination at work, some employers never comply. However, failing to create a safe and positive work environment that is devoid of discrimination can make your business vulnerable to costly court cases.
Here are a couple of tips that can help you prevent workplace discrimination:
Hold routine training on discrimination prevention in the workplace
Facilitating routine discrimination training in the workplace sends a strong message to everyone that discrimination has no place in the workplace. Besides notifying the team of the specific details about the organization’s policy on discrimination, routine training also ensures that employees acquire proper knowledge of proper ways and channels of reporting incidents of workplace discrimination and harassment.
Do not ignore any complaints or requests
Once an anti-discrimination policy is in place and circulated to everyone within the organization, it is important to hold everyone accountable. This means that complaints of discrimination should never be ignored, however trivial they may seem.
Settle complaints quickly and comprehensively
Delaying response to a discrimination complaint can worsen the situation. First, it could send the message to the victim that their concern, and by extension themselves, is not a priority. Second, it could embolden the perpetrator to carry on with the unacceptable behavior. Every employee deserves to know that they work for an organization that has zero tolerance for discrimination. It is prudent that you treat every complaint of discrimination with the seriousness it deserves.
Workplace discrimination can hurt the victim’s productivity and self-esteem and result in high turnover. One of the best ways of fostering a discrimination-free work environment is to put in place preventive measures. Implementing a comprehensive policy and training can go a long way in creating a workplace that is devoid of discrimination.
