Most managers understand that workplace harassment is prohibited. They know their organization has a policy, and they have probably completed harassment prevention training, perhaps multiple times.
For managers, though, understanding the rules is only part of what the job requires. Managers need to understand that under the application of the law, they act as “agents” for the company so that the company’s duty to prevent harassment in the workplace passes directly onto them and becomes their duty to do so, too.
Managers occupy a particularly important position when it comes to harassment risk. They are making decisions about people every day, often with information HR doesn’t have. They also have a vantage point that gives them an opportunity to notice concerns and address inappropriate behavior before it develops into something more serious.
The EEOC has described properly trained middle managers and first-line supervisors as potentially an employer’s “most valuable resource” in preventing and stopping harassment. That makes preparing managers to recognize and respond to workplace concerns, as well as to understand their clear obligation to do so, an important part of any harassment prevention effort.
Throughout my career as an employment attorney, I’ve seen how much can depend on what a manager does in those early moments. Knowing the rules is important. But managers also need to be prepared to apply them when the situation in front of them isn’t clear-cut. That’s where manager judgment becomes an important part of effective harassment prevention.
Managers Have to Make Decisions in the Grey Areas
Harassment prevention training necessarily teaches managers what conduct is prohibited and how employees can report issues. Managers need that foundation. But their responsibilities require them to go further.
Consider what happens when an employee says, “Something happened to me, but I don’t want to make this a formal complaint.”
That’s a difficult conversation for a manager. The employee may simply want someone to listen, while the manager may have a responsibility to do more. And because the manager doesn’t yet know exactly what happened, it can be difficult to know where that responsibility begins.
The natural instinct may be to respect the employee’s wishes and wait. But depending on the nature of the concern, waiting may not be the appropriate response.
The EEOC’s guidance on harassment prevention specifically recommends that managers and supervisors receive training on how to prevent, identify, stop, report and correct harassment. It also recommends giving them realistic methods for dealing with conduct they observe, that is reported to them or that they otherwise learn about.
Managers shouldn’t be expected to make legal determinations. They should be prepared to recognize when something needs attention and understand what is expected of them once it does.
Good Intentions Don’t Always Lead to the Right Response
One thing I’ve seen repeatedly is that managers generally aren’t trying to mishandle employee concerns. In many cases, they’re trying to help.
That’s part of what makes these situations difficult. A manager may think the most supportive response is to keep a conversation confidential or handle the issue quietly. But there may be information the manager doesn’t have. HR may already be aware of other similar concerns related to the individuals at issue, or the organization may have an obligation to look into what was reported, given the substance of the concerns.
A response that feels helpful in the moment can lead to additional concerns later.
This is why manager training needs to go beyond clear examples of prohibited conduct. Managers need the opportunity to work through situations where there isn’t an obvious answer and recognize that being supportive and responding appropriately are not always the same thing.
Sometimes good judgment means knowing that the decision isn’t yours to make.
Train Managers for What Happens Before a Complaint
Some of the most important moments happen before anyone uses the word “harassment” or makes a formal complaint.
Managers are in a unique position because they see and hear things as part of the normal workday. Sometimes what they notice is enough to raise concern.
Instead of presenting managers with obviously inappropriate behavior and asking them to identify the violation, put them in situations that feel more like the ones they will actually encounter, where the information may be incomplete and the appropriate response isn’t immediately clear. That requires them to think through what they know and what they should do next.
That kind of practice gets much closer to the judgment managers actually need on the job.
The same principle applies after a concern has been raised. The EEOC’s retaliation guidance recommends training managers on how to recognize potential retaliation and providing practical guidance on workplace decisions that can create risk.
Most managers know they shouldn’t retaliate against someone for raising concern. What may be less obvious is how ordinary management decisions can take on a different significance afterward.
For example, reassigning a project may be an ordinary management decision. But taking a project away from an employee shortly after they reported a workplace concern may raise questions about whether the decision was retaliatory.
Managers need to understand that their responsibility doesn’t end once a concern has been passed along.
Judgment Includes Knowing Your Limits
There is another part of manager judgment that is often overlooked: knowing where the manager’s role ends.
When an employee raises a concern, the manager doesn’t need to decide whether unlawful harassment occurred. Nor should the manager conduct an investigation or promise a particular outcome.
But the manager’s initial response still matters.
How they listen and whether they follow the organization’s reporting process can influence what happens next. It can also influence whether the employee feels that raising their concern was the right decision.
Training can prepare managers for that responsibility without asking them to become HR professionals or employment lawyers. The goal is for managers to understand their role well enough to recognize when a situation needs to move beyond them.
Ask Whether Your Managers Are Ready
Completion rates tell HR who took the required training. They don’t tell HR how a manager will respond when an employee comes to them tomorrow.
A better question may be whether managers understand the rules and are prepared to respond appropriately when a concern is raised.
Managers also need opportunities to practice applying those rules when the facts are incomplete, and the answer isn’t obvious.
The value of HR compliance training ultimately depends on whether people can apply what they’ve learned. The real measure of manager readiness isn’t whether someone remembers the right answer on a training quiz. It’s whether they can exercise sound judgment when a real workplace situation requires it.
Katherin Nukk-Freeman is an employment attorney and co-founder of SHIFT HR Compliance Training and Nukk-Freeman & Cerra.