Requiring Bystander Intervention Training at Work
A Perspective on Effecting Real Change vs. Check-the-Box Training
Recently, the city of Chicago made headlines when they expanded their sexual assault prevention efforts by requiring bystander intervention training for all companies with at least one employee working in the city. This requirement is the first of its kind in the nation and advocates hope that required bystander intervention training will expand to all companies around the nation.
Other cities have previously expanded compliance-based sexual harassment prevention. In 2019, New York City enacted requirements for sexual harassment prevention training for all employees, including bystander training as a required topic. Chicago’s ordinance is different because it is “the first jurisdiction requiring a separate component—a full hour of bystander training—for all covered employees.”
Guidance on the new Chicago requirement defines bystander intervention as “safe and positive actions that may be carried out by a person or a group of people to prevent harm or intervene where there is a risk or perceived risk of sexual harassment to another.”
In the workplace, bystanders can be defined broadly to include co-workers, supervisors, customers, and contractors. Bystanders are the people who witness the harassment before, during, and after the incident. Bystanders may be people who weren’t there but hear about it after the fact. Intervening in the workplace has unique barriers. Without demonstrated support from leaders and effective policies against retaliation, employees worry that stepping in as a bystander could jeopardize their job, affect advancement including a promotion or offend a boss.
Often, we see a check-the-box approach to prevention – employers looking to simply fulfill the requirement without further investment. Some workplaces hire law firms to teach an annual compliance training while others buy off-the-shelf online training modules that are not customized or adapted to the workplace. Often such trainings are boring or worse, reinforce unhealthy aspects of the workplace.
The response to this Chicago legislation has been largely positive. Certainly, we at Soteria Solutions know bystander intervention works and agree it should be taught in more workplaces. However, the training needs to be effective to succeed. It must be relevant and resonate with audiences. It must be presented in a meaningful way with scenarios and skill building that touch on situations employees experience frequently.
At Soteria Solutions, we believe in a tailored approach to bystander intervention solutions. We review employee surveys and conduct focus groups. We work with leadership and employee resource groups to make sure employees are represented. Training is tailored for the groups we are talking to, even down to the unit or location where they work. Following training, evaluation is conducted to make sure the training achieved its goals. Adjustments are frequently made, and employees are consulted on the training’s applicability.
To create and maintain safe and respectful workplaces for all demands a partnership between the leaders of the organization and the bystander intervention solution provider. A one-size fits all annual training approach is unlikely to effect real, positive change. It satisfies the requirement, it checks-the-box, but employees return to the same daily work life experiences.
In our experience, partnering with organizations to achieve lasting change in the workplace requires the following:
- If an organization is having a problem with their culture, it is often not just one thing. It is often a mix of communication problems, leadership issues, and a lack of being able to bring your full self to work. Identifying the root causes within the culture is essential to effecting positive cultural changes.
- Leadership must be engaged and demonstrate their support. This can’t be an HR initiative without the continual demonstrated support of leadership. Achieving lasting change needs to start at the top.
- If you have data from your employees about their feelings on working conditions, use that data in your training. Employees are often over-surveyed and under-delivered. Show them their opinions are heard and matter.
- If you have other forms of training, integrate the various elements to create a unified approach and a shared goal. Build the linkages so they are understood across the organization.
- Work within an organization’s strengths and priorities. For example, if you work for an environmental organization, that skillset can be translated from caring about the earth to caring about your colleagues. Prioritizing compassion and positive communication can use skills employees already exercise. Build on your strengths to build momentum.
Bystander intervention is a valuable tool and an important component of preventing incivility, harassment, violence, and discrimination, but it requires thoughtful implementation and facilitation of curriculum – not empty headlines and canned training.
For organizations looking to make real, meaningful changes in their workplace, learn more about our solutions for the Workplace.