Employers that create a support plan in the event that employees begin transitioning their gender can benefit by being ahead of the curve. Playing catchup reactively can cost you in a discrimination lawsuit or make things more difficult than they need to be.
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Eva Breslin and Keith Epstein of Intel shared the company’s experience with assisting its transgender workers; it has about four to six employees transition per year, they said. Their presentation, given June 21 at the SHRM event in Washington, D.C., also offered best practices for ensuring that employees have the support they need.
Make a Plan Now
Breslin and Epstein recommended that employers get a plan in place now instead of waiting for employees to announce their plan to transition.
They said Intel lost time by trying to figure out how to approach the situation every time an employee came to them. Both the company and the employee were unsure where and how to begin the process.
Now, Intel has formed a support team that includes human resources, legal, managers, and other transgender employees, among other participants.
Initial Steps
Once an employee informs the employer that he or she intends to transition, the team can establish a timeline, draft a communication plan, and identify “back-office” changes that need to be made.
Timeline: The first thing the team should do is establish a timeline that works for both the employee and the employer.
Generally, when employees inform the employer about an upcoming transition, they’re ready to make the change, Breslin and Epstein said. But the company needs time to ensure the workplace transition is successful and that the employees receive the best response possible, the speakers said.
Also, an employee may want to take time off and then return to work. Intel offered the example of an employee who requested permission to work from home while he grew out his facial hair. He was uncomfortable with dressing as a woman while growing a beard and Intel chose to grant that request.
Communication plan: The team’s next step is to draft a communication plan. The Intel representatives said they generally defer to employees’ preferences. Some individuals want to inform their work group themselves because they want to gauge reactions. Others have opted to stay out of the meeting so that coworkers can ask questions without them present. Alternatively, the employee may wish to inform coworkers on an individual basis.
If the employee is making the announcement, either in person or via e-mail, it is important that the employer know in advance what information the employee intends to share. The speakers offered the example of an employee who drafted an e-mail that happened to disclose a medical condition. In that case, you need to work with the employee; you probably don’t want a medical condition disclosed in an e-mail announcement, they said.
The team—and HR specifically—also needs to ensure that managers react appropriately. A seasoned manager may not need any coaching ahead of time. But if you’re dealing with someone who is new and/or inexperienced, HR may want to take that manager aside and provide him or her with relevant company policies. You need to ensure they understand your expectations and have the opportunity to ask questions, Breslin and Epstein said.
It also is important to consider the employee’s preference with respect to customers and employees outside his or her immediate work group. An e-mail or a telephone conversation may be appropriate in those cases.
Crafting an individual communication plan each time an employee transitions may take some time but it will be worth it; taking the time to fine tune the plan will set you up for success, the speakers said.
Back-office changes: Intel’s support team also assigns transitioning employees a representative to help navigate all of the “back-office” changes that need to take place.
A transition involves a lot of paperwork and coordination among various departments. An employee may need to change his or her e-mail address, identification badge, benefits, and more. Intel also offers to amend archived information; for example, it will go back and change names and pronouns in old performance reviews. Breslin and Epstein acknowledged that such a task involves a lot of work, but they said that Intel believes it is important to do.
Intel also set up a section on its intranet called “Gender Transition” to help employees complete these changes. It is housed with other “Life Events” such adding or dropping dependent benefits coverage or changing names or addresses.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to prepare for pushback and the benefits of staying in touch.