Developing an Effective Sexual Harassment Corporate Training Video

Several Supreme Court rulings state that unless employers take steps to prevent harassment, they may be held liable if sexual harassment issues arise.

Corporate companies must offer sexual harassment training to their employees, but they must also have the appropriate steps and programs in place to help address any sexual harassment that occurs. 

In the real world, but in the corporate world especially, ignorance is not an excuse to allow sexual harassment to go unpunished. 

To help prevent any incidents or issues, a company should:

• Establish a clear sexual harassment policy
• Create an effective and comprehensive sexual harassment training program
• Train employees how to report and handle harassing behavior in the workplace

A clear policy and training program can help: 

• Teach, or reinforce, the types of behavior that are both appropriate and inappropriate in a work environment
• Establish a culture of respect
• Prevent any indecents or exchanges that may promote a toxic workplace  

With a strong sexual harassment policy in place, any inappropriate behavior can be dealt with quickly and concretely, helping protect both the employee and the company as a whole. 

Knowing your company needs a sexual harassment corporate training video and finding the right one are two very different things. 

There’s a reason there isn’t one blanket PTO policy for all corporate companies — each company is different and fosters its own unique work environment. 

Before your HR department purchases the first sexual harassment corporate training video they find online, consider these reasons why creating your own training program may be more effective for your employees.  

While purchasing a pre-made sexual harassment corporate training video may seem like a viable tool in creating a concrete policy and training program, it can actually backfire.

It’s important to realize that yes, the training can help protect your company from scandal and negative publicity should a sexual harassment claim be filed, but more importantly, providing sexual harassment training should help create a safe, positive workplace for employees. 

While legally, you are meeting the requirements by incorporating a generic sexual harassment training video, is it actually effective at educating your employees?

Most public sexual harassment corporate training videos showcase an office setting. 

But your business may be totally different, i.e. a construction or landscaping company where many of your employees work outdoors.

By making your own sexual harassment training video and program, you’re able to tailor it more to your company’s culture.

For example, maybe… 

• A strict, clear cut, by-the-book environment for your training video; or
• A more approachable, relatable style of training 

…is more aligned with your company culture. 

Addressing sexual harassment policies will work better if you make them more accessible to your staff.

The reality is, sexual harassment in the workplace isn’t always black and white; it can be complicated and confusing.

Commonly, free online sexual harassment corporate training videos will feature unrealistic or easy-to-spot behavior. 

In an actual workplace, sexual harassment may not be as easy to spot. For example, a person may be behaving in a way that they deem appropriate, but the recipient of their actions is uncomfortable and feels the behavior is inappropriate. 

Now that we’ve established that online corporate training videos may not be the most effective tool to add to your company’s sexual harassment training, let’s explore what components must be included. 

As you tailor or create your own sexual harassment corporate training video, you’ll want to ensure it is:

• Tailored to your corporate company’s specific sexual harassment policy
• Inclusive of realistic scenario-based examples
• Of high quality

Most companies will have the same basic policies, but there may be some things that are unique to your organization that need to be addressed.

A comprehensive training video should cover legal requirements, including physical and verbal harassment. 

Make sure the training video clearly defines sexual harassment and that language used is specific and easy to understand.

The average attention span lasts 60-90 seconds before a change of scene is needed. 

Having a narrator share your corporate company’s sexual harassment policy while depicting a related scenario in the background is a great way to give examples of what is and is not sexual harassment.

Not only does this keep the viewer engaged, but it also offers them realistic scenarios to which they can apply the information. 

While there are, no doubt, more obvious forms of sexual harassment — ie. when a supervisor requests sexual favors in exchange for a promotion — many harassment claims may be more subtle, like:

• Inappropriate jokes or noises; or 
• Repeated, unwelcome requests for alone time spent outside the office 

Just be sure to acknowledge that spotting sexual harassment in the workplace can be complicated. Provide ample resources for your employees to turn to if they ever feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unwanted behavior from colleagues. 

It won’t matter how effective or tailored to your business your training video or series is if they look and sound terrible. 

Poor quality and production value can distract and take away from the information shared. 

Moreover, unrealistic sexual harassment corporate training videos can actually reduce the seriousness with which employees view the training program and create a culture where harassment may go unreported because employees don’t comprehend the gravity of it. 

Creating an engaging and informational sexual harassment corporate training video is difficult. 

But, with the right help, you can create a program that adds value to your team and helps them to understand how to report and spot inappropriate behavior in the workplace.

Here at Houston Video, we know how to create a solid training video, or set of videos, that can help foster a safe environment at your corporate company.

We want to help you teach, prepare, and empower your employees. 

With our unique approach and experience with corporate companies, we are equipped to help you create a sexual harassment corporate training video perfectly suited to your company’s needs.