Yesterday’s Advisor featured attorney Allison West’s take on bullying in the workplace. Today, her guidance for dealing with the bully, plus an introduction to the all-compensation-in-one-place website, Compensation.BLR.com.
West, who is principal at Employee Practices Specialists in Pacifica, CA, delivered her suggestions for dealing with bullying in the workplace at the SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, D.C.
Here are West’s guidelines for dealing with bullying:
1. Start with Your Culture
- Be sure that respect is a core value.
- Teach/reward deliberate acts of kindness and decency.
- Start zero tolerance for bullying at top levels of management.
- Walk the talk—Don’t reward bad behavior.
- Institute a “no jerks at work” rule.
- Have a policy! Caution: Don’t have a policy if you don’t plan on following it, says West. Include these in your policy:
- Civility
- Respect in the workplace
- Code of conduct
- Antibullying
2. Insist on Accountability
Tie all aspects of conduct, including bullying, to financial rewards, evaluations, career advancement.
3. Track Turnover
Keep track of turnover statistics by department, manager, and unit.
4. Fine-Tune Hiring
Fine-tune your hiring procedures, says West:
- Do reference checks with current coworkers, subordinates.
- Prescreen for professional competence; then focus more on “personal” traits and skills.
- Ask questions related to team and individual relationships, working style, longevity of subordinates.
- Involve candidate in some day‐to‐day activities—meals, meetings, etc. as appropriate.
- Consider a 360 interview panel, perhaps with unrelated departments.
- Remember, bullies will often hire other bullies!
5. Do Exit Interviews
Don’t be relieved when the target quits—there could be others.
6. Conduct Surveys
Conduct climate/attitude surveys by department or companywide (only if you plan on doing something with the information).
7. Pay Attention
Pay attention and assess the situation(s):
- Are you on notice, that is, required to take action?
- Are targets members of protected classes? Remember: Bullies are one step away from being “harassers.”
- Is the conduct a onetime occurrence or pervasive?
- Do you find yourself making excuses for the bully (bully is in a position of power, is a rainmaker, creates fear)?
- Don’t downplay an employee’s complaint or force him/her to confront the bully alone.
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8. Follow Basic Rules
Follow these basic rules for training/coaching a bully, says West:
- Focus on remedial training meant to assist in changing unacceptable behavior.
- Individual training—group training typically won’t work.
- Not an investigation interview—it’s not about excuses or the bully’s version of the facts.
- Bully is often in denial and/or disagrees with the findings.
- Bully must state reasons for the training.
- Training should be interactive.
- Don’t bother training/coaching unless you have specific examples: dates, places, content, conduct.
- Be direct: “People are afraid of you, staff doesn’t feel safe.”
- Avoid: “Please be nicer!”
- Consequences are an absolute must. Bullies won’t change unless motivated.
- Don’t try to understand why bullies bully—this is not therapy!
- Give the bully tools to:
- Change his/her conduct.
- Be a better communicator.
- Effectively handle conflict.
- Give constructive feedback.
- Make good on threats—Terminate the bully!
Dealing with bullies—just one more daily challenge. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Like comp surveys, regression analysis, FMLA intermittent leave, overtime hassles, ADA accommodation, and then on top of that, whatever the agencies and courts throw in your way.
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