Click to Participate
The POSH laws mandate every employer to train his employees about workplace sexual harassment by conducting awareness programmes and workshops so that employees are sensitised about boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and instances of unwelcome conduct are minimised.
Several reasons make it impossible to conduct PoSH training offline. These reasons could include multiple offices under the organisation, requirement of resources (time & money), continous entry (i.e. joining) and exit (i.e. resigning) of employees , language barriers between employees and employers, etc.
To tackle this problem effectively, we have come up with online POSH training modules. Here are some of the easiest ways to develop an effective online POSH training programme:
-
Introduce POSH through a video of the Senior Management of the organization
To help employees understand the importance of POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) training, we can create a video of a senior manager talking about why employees should take this training. Using such videos will show the employees that the management is committed and serious towards the training. Also, the involvement of the senior manager would create a positive impact on the organization on the employees as they feel that the management cares about their safe working environment.
-
Conduct a pre-test that includes various questions on Sexual Harassment
After telling employees the importance of POSH training, it is now time to test their current knowledge. Conduct an online pre-test that includes several questions related to sexual harassment and what kind of behavior leads to sexual harassment. Based on the result, you can identify areas the learners need to be trained on. For instance, we can include questions such as “What is Sexual Harassment?”, “Whom should you approach if you are being harassed at the workplace?” etc.
-
Create engaging infographics to introduce laws on Sexual Harassment
There are multiple laws against sexual harassment at workplace, violating them would lead to severe punishment. All these laws must be introduced to the employees effectively. The information related to laws is usually heavy and employees feel bored consuming such content. To create interest in the course and engage learners, we can use infographics. They are the best way to depict such information as they help learners remember things for a long time. For example, we can use a timeline infographic to depict how the POSH law evolved in India from 1997 to 2013.
-
Introduce types of harassment using outlines
Once the learner is aware of the laws related to sexual harassment, he should be taught about the types of harassment (e.g., Quid-Pro-Quo, Hostile Environment). Since the content is very sensitive, using real images might distract the learner from the course. Outlines come to the rescue in such situations. These outlines of images, usually filled in black help the learner concentrate more on the content.
-
Have a series of scenarios where the learner takes decisions
In the end, we can test the learner’s understanding by creating a series of scenarios related to sexual harassment. In every scenario, we present a situation that takes place at the workplace and ask the learner to decide whether the behavior leads to sexual harassment or not. Based on his response, we can provide the feedback on why he/she is correct when the right answer is selected or why he/she is incorrect when a wrong answer is selected.
Why it is Important for you to become POSH Compliant?
Although since its inception in 2013, the POSH Act has placed a mandate on every organisation with over 10 employees to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act, its enforcement over the past decade has not been up to the mark. It is for this reason that the Supreme Court in its recent 2023 judgement has taken note of these severe lapses in enforcement and has directed all state governments, regulatory bodies, authorities etc., to ensure that the Act is strictly followed and enforced. After this 2023 order of the Supreme Court, it is expected that the enforcement of the Act will get stricter and non-compliance will not be taken lightly.
It is also important to note that the Act provides penalty for non-compliance which can vary from imposition of hefty monetary fines to revocations of licenses of business practice etc. Therefore, it is now all the more important to avail specialised services to ensure all employees are seamlessly trained online and sensitised towards the PoSH training, thereby securing your business/organisation from coming under the radar.
