Recruitment and Career Blog -

How to avoid sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace

2019-06-13

Here at Swanstaff we are very big on providing equal opportunities for all (in fact, it’s one of our core values). Unfortunately, even in 2019, many hardworking LGBT professionals face discrimination, unemployment, wage gaps and a lack of legal protection just because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Though much improvement has been made in recent years in the form of anti-discrimination legislation, there is still a lot of progress to be made until everyone experiences fairness and equality in the workplace, regardless of sexuality. Therefore, (in light of Pride Month) we have put together 5 easy steps your organisation can take to avoid sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. #1 – Apply the platinum rule Using the golden rule is normally the way things go, “treat others the way you would like to be treated”, however this cannot be the case for each individual, so why not use the Platinum rule of “treat others how they want to be treated”. This lowers the chances of conflict and discrimination in the workplace. #2 – Continuously update anti-discrimination policies Employers should update their anti-discrimination policies on a regular basis. Employers should also ensure that their employees are actually reading and taking in these policies before signing it. This would allow employees to understand what is and isn’t appropriate behaviour. #3 – Provide regular training to employees Okay so this may be an obvious one, however it is crucial that you cover all aspects of sexuality/gender discrimination training. This includes bystander training. Bystander training is teaching employees what to do if it’s not happening to them but they witness and see it happening to someone else. #4 – Provide separate training for Managers This may seem unnecessary but hear us out; employees should know how to report discrimination but managers need to know how to deal with it. This means having separate training on how to deal with challenging situations in the workplace. #5 – Don’t let the smaller things slide Now, obviously we understand that any discrimination is discrimination, but there can be different levels of it. Managers should not let the lower levels of it slide and ignore it. This can open doors for the situation to escalate to serious discrimination incidents. Statistics Almost 1 in 5 LGBT staff (18%) has been the target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues in 2018 because they're LGBT. 1 in 8 Transsexual people (12%) have been physically attacked by customers or colleagues in 2018 because of being Transsexual. Almost 1 in 5 LGBT people (18%) who were looking for work said they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity while trying to get a job in 2018. 1 in 8 black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT employees (12 %) have lost a job in 2018 because of being LGBT, compared to four per cent of white LGBT staff. Almost 2 in 5 Bi-sexual people (38%) aren’t out to anyone at work about their sexual orientation. More than a third of LGBT staff (35%) have hidden or disguised that they are LGBT at work in 2018 because they were afraid of discrimination. (These stats have been taken from the Stone Wall website, please click here to see all statistics) The most important thing to remember is that legislation changes regularly and new ways of defining Sexual Orientation emerge so it is vital that your HR department keeps on track with changes and passes this information on to the SMT and wider employee network. ACAS have a free workplace guide available for Employers Click here to download it. You should also check out our Gender Bias in Recruitment Blog here

Exit interviews and their impact on employee retention

2019-05-21

In most companies, the Human Resource Manager conducts a brief interview with the departing employee to gather feedback. Though it’s completely voluntary to conduct an exit interview, it is extremely helpful in shedding light on departmental issues that may have been unaddressed. They’re often more informative than regular check-ins. This may be because the departing employees can answer the questions in all honesty since they have little to lose. Types of Exit Interviews If the organisation is serious about retaining their employee then an online exit survey works great. Here are a few reasons why a company should get an online survey tool to create online exit feedback; Taking feedback online removes the possibility of interviewer bias. Online exit surveys convey the answers as they are to a more authoritative professional in the organisation. In most cases, employees fill the feedback forms easily when not confronted since they no longer feel the need to sugar coat their tone or the nature of their answers. There’s no requirement of manual entry since the survey stores the exact data entered by the employee. What the departing employee writes in the survey is exactly what is interpreted. Face-to-Face Interviews Planning a face-to-face interview works great if you’re certain that there will be no bias. Here are a few tips to make a face-to-face exit interview impactful – Schedule the interview and inform the employee about the scheduled date beforehand. This will give enough time to the departing employee to be prepared and share their answers in all honesty. Make it private and give the employee the freedom of being honest and candid. Promise the content of the interview will be confidential. Why Exit Interviews? Highlight toxic management practices – Exit interviews give insight into the problems in the organisation since the issues may be more than what meets the eye. Here are a few problems that can be identified with an effective exit interview – Managers may be mentally absent and forcing the staff members to take managerial decisions. They may be unaware of the toxic dynamic developing in the team which often leads to disputes within the team members. Managers or team leaders may not be able to resolve conflicts if they lack interest in team activities. As a result, the staff members may suppress their frustration which not only affects their performance but can also push them to a point where they feel that resigning is the only option. Identify if the Work Environment is Hostile – Exit interviews help identify feuds in the work environment that may not have been reported to the management or HR. Work environment conflicts may include harassment, racism, discrimination, etc. And departing employees speak up without any fear which can help the organisation take the required action. Reduce Employee Turnover – Apart from the hostile environment, employees may be facing difficulties such as inadequate paid leaves, impractical job requirements, and others where you may be coming up short. Hence, identifying problems in the workplace helps employers take actions that can reduce employee turnover. Exit Interview Questions Ask the right questions that would help you understand if the business practices need to be changed. For example – What didn’t you like about the organization? Do you have suggestions for improvement? What could we have done to stop you from quitting? How is your new employer better than us? Did your supervisor treat you fairly? Would you let us know as you gain new skills and experience? Would you like us to contact you for future opportunities? Never retaliate for a good faith complaint in the exit interview. Focus on what should be improved in the workplace and understand the employee behavior from time to time. Employers can do this using a pulse survey and get real-time employee feedback. Also, never retaliate for a good faith complaint in the exit interview to maintain the reputation of your company and be respected. Have something you would like to share with us about exit interviews? Let us know in the comment section below. Author Bio: Bhavika Sharma is a survey designer at SurveySparrow, where she designs surveys that work by making them more conversational and engaging, fetching 40% more responses. When she isn’t designing killer surveys, she loves to travel in search of adventure and to meet new people. Her travel experiences have taught her the importance of conversation and that is what she brings to the table while creating surveys or content for her readers.

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