ELT's Top Five New Year's Resolutions

It’s that time of year again – when we vow to make a difference and start the New Year off on the right foot. When it comes to personal resolutions, some of us have decided not to make them. I know some of my “good ideas” at the start of the year quickly turn into “what was I thinking? …” Like the year I tried to go cold turkey on not purchasing new (non-essential) consumer goods for a couple months – a challenge that proved extremely difficult and virtually impossible.

When it comes to the workplace though, making a couple of solid resolutions is a very good idea. The process of selecting your top initiatives and then working out a plan to achieve them can help you focus your time and attention on what really matters.

So … for those of us in the compliance training world, and those of us who manage employment law risks, what should be on the list? At ELT, we’ve boiled it down to 5 simple items:

1. Resolve to Avoid Crippling Fines and PR Nightmares: If we’ve learned anything from 2007, it’s that mandatory ethics and compliance training is a must for all employers. Training not only gets the right message out to your employees, but it can also help protect your organization from huge fines and criminal sanctions, not to mention a lot of bad publicity. Unfortunately, some employers learn this lesson the hard way. The most recent victim – the Tribune. They got caught inflating circulation numbers, lying to advertisers, and overcharging for ad placement. The Tribune just settled a criminal case with the feds to the tune of $15 Million. They now require ethics training for all their employees. If only they’d made a commitment to train employees sooner… they may have avoided this mess entirely.
   
   
2. Resolve to Send a Consistent Message to All Employees: When it comes to harassment training, one consistent, nationwide message is best for all employees. This includes everyone from entry level workers to your senior leaders (let’s not forget the recent Red Cross romance debacle). And don’t think that just because your state doesn’t mandate harassment training that it isn’t essential. If your organization is sued under federal law (and most claims today include both federal and state actions) sexual harassment training can mean the difference between winning and losing the case.
   
   
3. Resolve to Tackle New Ground with Wage and Hour Education: In the last few years, wage and hour litigation has slapped US employers squarely across the face. Employers of all sizes are reeling from costly and time-consuming litigation that’s resulting in staggering damage awards and settlements. Did you know that wage hour class actions now outnumber all discrimination class action cases, combined? 2008 is the year to do something about it, and to change your organization’s risk profile. Start (or enhance) your wage and hour compliance program with effective and carefully designed wage and hour training for all of your employees.  Training needs to address both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, and accommodate state law issues. Wage and hour education can actually help your organization establish critical good faith defenses to federal and state wage and hour claims. And another side benefit, your employees will know how to do things right from the start. Most violations in this area result from a basic misunderstanding of the laws and your policies.
   
   
4. Resolve to Go Beyond Harassment: Harassment training alone may not be enough to protect your organization in the event of a discrimination lawsuit. For example, if you get sued for national origin disparate impact discrimination, trotting out your sexual harassment training program won’t get you very far, especially if punitive damages are on the table. Discrimination training for supervisors across all of the protected categories is a critical part of establishing the Kolstad defense. Remember, harassment is just one form of discrimination. Your managers need to be trained on discrimination basics across the employment lifecycle (hiring, performance management, terminations), in addition to harassment.
   
   
5. Resolve to Train More Efficiently & Effectively: Nothing is more frustrating than purchasing an entire library of compliance courses only to discover that you have way more content than you need or could possibly consume. When it comes to compliance training, the best approach is to stay focused. Most employers do not need a massive course library – they need 4 cornerstone courses (ethics and code of conduct, harassment, discrimination, and wage and hour). A narrow focus will help ensure that your annual training initiatives are a big success rather than a massive flop – and that they carry true ROI in terms of reduced claims, and assertable defenses.

Adopting these simple but effective compliance training resolutions will help your New Year get off on the right foot, and finish strong.

From all of us at ELT, all the best for 2008!