You are the HR director who supervises 18 professionals. You have a great team who generally works well together, which allows you to be a hands-off director. They often work late hours and work closely together. You have hired Richard to be a new administrative support employee to help the team with their clerical workload. You learn through various employee complaints that one of the professionals on your team appears to be acting inappropriately toward the new employee. Diane, a manager and the team lead, is witnessed making harassing remarks about the “young new guy” and how he dresses and looks. These comments are not overt sexual harassment, and Richard has not made any complaints; in fact, he seems to laugh it off in staff meetings. There are two other employees who have complained that Diane’s behavior is negatively affecting the team. There are even claims that she has been seen touching and grabbing Richard when they are working closely together. As the HR director, how do you address the situation? What steps do you take to address the problem? Be as specific and detailed as possible. What policies do you reference? Provide a detailed, step-by-step plan for any communication and discipline. Make sure you describe how and to whom you need to communicate your information, and respond to the prompts below.
What are some best practices in employee communications that you can use in this scenario?
What tools can you use to communicate your information to the employees and the organization as a whole?
Explain how you can use appropriate discipline to effectively manage the employee’s behavior.
Explain the steps that you would take in both progressive and punitive discipline programs.