Required Interactivity for Sexual Harassment Training – Responding to Employee Questions

It’s been exactly one week since the AB 1825 sexual harassment training regs became effective.  Any training done after August 17, 2007, must align with strict and detailed requirements.  
 
I know many of you are taking a careful look at your sexual harassment training programs and asking tough questions about compliance.
 
Last week, I blogged about the 2 hour timing rule.  This week, I want to help readers tackle one of the required forms of interactivity for online sexual harassment training programs - that supervisors be able to submit questions during e-learning, and have those questions responded to within 48 business hours.
 
Inserting a link into an online program that allows your learners to submit questions is easy.  Figuring out how to respond to those questions is where the challenges arise.  Many employers fear they may not be able to answer questions in time - either because they have too many questions, or too few responders.  
 
Not surprisingly, this creates a lucrative business opportunity for the training industry.  Several e-learning providers are offering to answer questions for you - for a price.    
 
But is outsourcing the response to potentially critical questions the answer?  In my opinion, the answer for the overwhelming number of employers is “no.”  
 
The costs and risks are just too high.  
 
Let’s Start with the Practical Costs
 
Many of the training providers offering to answer employee questions brag that their sexual harassment training programs are used by several hundred thousand, or even several million learners.  That’s a lot of employees with potential questions.   
 
The problem is that these vendors simply can’t afford to hire a phalanx of qualified employment lawyers or HR experts to field the calls.  You will be shocked if you ask potential outsource vendors two simple questions.  How many people on your staff are dedicated to responding to questions?  What are their qualifications?   
 
Another practical problem is the quality of the “response.”  Third parties sitting on a phone bank cannot possibly understand the nuances of your organization’s culture, sexual harassment policies or past practices.  A quick response is no help if it doesn’t make sense in your environment – and may actually frustrate employees who get generic responses.  
 
Anyone who has called a phone help line and gets an unqualified “customer service specialist” can empathize.
 
Finally, there’s the cost issue.  Most vendors charge on a “per question” basis.  You pay for every question - whether it raises a legitimate sexual harassment issue, or involves finding the “next” button at the bottom of the course page.  If you have any kind of significant employee population, those costs could really add up.
 
And Now the Legal Risks
 
The legal implications of outsourcing responses to sexual harassment training questions can be huge.  Clients often fail to understand that communications between your vendor and employees are not privileged, and can be used in court against you.  
 
The lack of privilege is a giant potential landmine.  Remember that the vendors talking to your employees will not have a history with your organization, or your sexual harassment policies. How comfortable will you be if plaintiff’s counsel projects an email communication between your vendor and one of your employees onto a court room wall?
 
The other legal red flag involves complaints.  Questions that set off your duty to investigate sexual harassment claims are not always labeled as a “complaint.”  They often take the form of inquiries or statements that should “sound the alarm” and kick start a sexual harassment investigation.  Failing to respond quickly to sexual harassment complaints is the number one reason that employers are found liable for harassment, and pay out big damage awards.  
 
Are you really comfortable letting a third party make this critical judgment call?  
 
The Biggest Problem of All
 
Even with the serious practical and legal considerations, I think the biggest problem with outsourcing responses to learner questions is that it takes you out of the picture.  
 
With questions going invisibly to third parties, you don’t see the ebb and flow of the harassment issues that employees are facing.  You don’t get to police the quality of the response, and have no way to ensure that employees understand and properly apply the guidance they receive.  
 
Most importantly, outsourced solutions mean that your organization doesn’t benefit from its best defense to a potential sexual harassment claim - your experience and judgment addressing and defusing potential problems.  With outsourced solutions, it’s all in someone else’s hands - and you hope for the best.
 
So Who Takes the Call?
 
If outsourced solutions are not the answer, what is?  I think the best answer is to choose the right sexual harassment training program in the first place.   
 
A well designed sexual harassment training course will answer most employee questions up front, in real time – and at no additional cost.  

The questions that then filter internally to your organization are the ones you should and need to handle yourself.  
 
To minimize the volume of questions that are routed internally, and to maximize risk mitigation, choose a program that:
 

1. Provides a clear orientation on how to use the sexual harassment training course.  This eliminates a whole category of questions that may start your response time ticking.
   
   
2. Clearly explains basic principles prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace with realistic scenarios and interactive exercises.
    
   
3. Provides learners with easy access to supplementary information resources - like an interactive content / topic guide.
    
4. Includes a searchable FAQ tool that provides immediate answers to the most common questions that arise in sexual harassment training.
   

 
At ELT, we’ve taken this 4-step approach to help employers filter out the large majority of questions that are asked during sexual harassment training.  Our interactive Q&A Solution provides a database of hundreds of questions and answers based on our years of experience specializing in harassment prevention training.  AB 1825’s Q&A interactivity requirement is easily met with no additional cost, and without introducing unnecessary risk to the organization.
   
Whatever solution you chose (or build yourself), remember that it’s not just about racing to provide some response - any response - within 48 business hours. It’s really about getting your supervisors good information on harassment prevention and making sure that serious issues get the attention they deserve.   
 
It’s hard to believe, but the next AB 1825 deadline for most employers is just 4 months away.  While you tackle the challenges of getting training set up and deployed, be smart about streamlining the required Q&A component.