In an ideal world, nothing would ever go wrong, and we could live our lives happily and peacefully! However, this is not the case, and it is certainly not the case in the workplace. Here, a variety of different things can go wrong. A heavy patch of rain can cause slippery floors that cause someone to fall. A member of staff might call a meeting with you to report a case of harassment. And a new hire that had loads of potential may not turn out to be the person for the job. So, in each of these scenarios, what should you do? In this guide, we’ll discuss the best course of action for each of these occurrences, and more.
Incidents or Injury
Once an incident has happened in the workplace, the most important thing is taking care of the person or people affected. However, once this is sorted, you need to look to incident reporting. Doing so is the single best way to stop the same thing from happening again. In aggregating the related information, from what happened to what caused it, you can see more clearly. You can spot trends, and issues that are occurring time and time again. In doing so, you can decide what needs immediate attention and prioritizing. If you need to modify or change anything, you also know where your attention is needed the most. Incident reports gives you a clear picture of what went wrong. It also allows you to keep your staff, visitors, and customers safe in the future.
Harassment claims
There is a firm line between bullying and harassment. The former isn’t against the law, but the latter is. Harassment can be identified when it is regarding someone’s race, sex, religious beliefs, and gender. Plus other things. Examples of inappropriate behavior might include unfair or unjust treatment. This might be not giving a woman a certain task because of an incorrect belief that a man would do the job better, for example. It may be something more overt, like spreading rumors and lies about a person in their professional setting. Conversely, it may be focused on their abilities as a member of staff, and at attempt to undermine them when they are actually doing a good job.
If a member of staff cannot deal with the issue themselves, they are well within their rights to take it to their employer. In fact, doing so should be encouraged. However, once it reaches this stage, it means something has already gone wrong. What is crucial now is that you deal with it properly, and cause no further damage. So, sensitivity and discretion should be your buzzwords when it comes to any meetings or discussions. At the end of the day, employers are the ones both responsible and liable for employee harassment claims. Thankfully, there is lots of support out their. There are also guides for how to deal with harassment claims effectively and professionally.
A new hire not working out
Employers sometimes make the mistake of hiring someone and then realizing they are not right for the job. This can happen for a number of reasons. It may be that the new hire has been dishonest in the interview, or presented themselves in a misleading way. Or it could be the fault of the person in charge of the hire. Or occasionally it can just be a case of it not working out, through nobody’s fault. When this happens, you might find yourself in a difficult situation. A team manager, for example, has a trickle down effect of a whole team. If they turn out to be incompetent, keeping them on any longer than necessary can negatively affect everyone. This is why you should have trial periods for all new hires. While this means that a new hire can leave abruptly during this period, you can fire people far easier. Probation for the first 90 days at work is commonplace and entirely acceptable. Understanding the laws and rules is an obvious point here. But what employers commonly neglect to do is keeping adequate documentation of everything. If a fired member of staff does try to take things further, a log of everything that went wrong will help protect you. Note down things like lateness, arguments with employees and tasks not fulfilled. At the end of the day, you can train people to do a task, but it is much harder to teach someone a strong work ethic. Listening to your gut instinct and acting decisively and firmly will prevent any further harm from being caused.
