Virtual Sexual Harassment Training: Getting Started
Essential elements of online sexual harassment training
Posted on 08-29-2019, Read Time: Min
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Sexual harassment training is a great fit for virtual courses. While online training may seem overwhelming, it’s often easier to plan and execute than live courses. Here is how you can create virtual sexual harassment training courses for your employees.
Should I Create a Virtual Sexual Harassment Course?
Sexual harassment training is mandated by many companies. There are also federal and state laws requiring sexual harassment training. Virtual training is an excellent way to meet these requirements because it's easier to administer and manage compared to live courses.
• Works for Any Size Organization
One of the biggest advantages of using an online course for deploying workplace sexual harassment training is that it works for organizations of all types and sizes. All you need is a learning management system (LMS) to create, share, and track your online courses from a single platform.
• Eliminates Costly In-Person Training
Arranging a physical venue, maintaining training infrastructure, and travel for both instructors and learners can add up quickly. For many small and mid-market businesses, online training with the help of a virtual classroom software is a great way to cut down on training costs.
• Makes It Easy to Track Participation
Another advantage of using online courses for sexual harassment compliance training is they are easy to track. Some of the cloud-based LMSs today come integrated with an advanced real-time tracking feature that enables you to track course participation, completed and pending courses, and course compliance.
• Compliance with State Harassment Laws
In California, a new law requires organizations with five or more employees to provide mandatory sexual harassment training to all employees within six months of hiring and every two years thereafter. Other states such as Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and New York have similar requirements. Staying compliant with such mandatory state laws becomes easy with online courses that users can access anytime, anywhere. Employers have a ready record of who took the course when they took it, and a record of certificates issued - all in one place.
• Works for Any Size Organization
One of the biggest advantages of using an online course for deploying workplace sexual harassment training is that it works for organizations of all types and sizes. All you need is a learning management system (LMS) to create, share, and track your online courses from a single platform.
• Eliminates Costly In-Person Training
Arranging a physical venue, maintaining training infrastructure, and travel for both instructors and learners can add up quickly. For many small and mid-market businesses, online training with the help of a virtual classroom software is a great way to cut down on training costs.
• Makes It Easy to Track Participation
Another advantage of using online courses for sexual harassment compliance training is they are easy to track. Some of the cloud-based LMSs today come integrated with an advanced real-time tracking feature that enables you to track course participation, completed and pending courses, and course compliance.
• Compliance with State Harassment Laws
In California, a new law requires organizations with five or more employees to provide mandatory sexual harassment training to all employees within six months of hiring and every two years thereafter. Other states such as Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and New York have similar requirements. Staying compliant with such mandatory state laws becomes easy with online courses that users can access anytime, anywhere. Employers have a ready record of who took the course when they took it, and a record of certificates issued - all in one place.
What Needs to be Included in a Virtual Sexual Harassment Course?
When it comes to the essential elements of online sexual harassment training for employees, the sky is the limit. You can include literally any information that can assist learners in gaining knowledge on the topic. The standard components are:
1. Introduction to sexual harassment: An introductory chapter will act as an ice-breaker and orient learners to what they will learn by the end of the course.
2. What is and what is not sexual harassment: Generally, people don't understand the broad nature of sexual harassment. At times, employees do things that constitute sexual harassment without realizing it. The purpose of this section is to clearly define which types of behavior count as sexual harassment and which ones do not.
3. How to identify and report cases of sexual harassment: This section discusses the ways in which a victim can identify unacceptable behaviors, and is made aware of the process in place for reporting cases.
4. Remedies for sexual harassment victims: This chapter mentions all the remedies available to victims of workplace sexual harassment under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including compensatory damages.
5. Preventive measures: Prevention of sexual harassment cases is always less damaging and less expensive than managing their impacts on the workplace. This section will list all the measures to prevent harassment in the workplace.
6. Real-life scenarios - case laws, news reports, and more: You may also include real examples to help illustrate sexual harassment in the workplace and the seriousness of harassment cases.
7. Hypothetical workplace scenarios: This part of the course will demonstrate certain workplace harassment scenarios so that employees are better able to recognize them.
1. Introduction to sexual harassment: An introductory chapter will act as an ice-breaker and orient learners to what they will learn by the end of the course.
2. What is and what is not sexual harassment: Generally, people don't understand the broad nature of sexual harassment. At times, employees do things that constitute sexual harassment without realizing it. The purpose of this section is to clearly define which types of behavior count as sexual harassment and which ones do not.
3. How to identify and report cases of sexual harassment: This section discusses the ways in which a victim can identify unacceptable behaviors, and is made aware of the process in place for reporting cases.
4. Remedies for sexual harassment victims: This chapter mentions all the remedies available to victims of workplace sexual harassment under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including compensatory damages.
5. Preventive measures: Prevention of sexual harassment cases is always less damaging and less expensive than managing their impacts on the workplace. This section will list all the measures to prevent harassment in the workplace.
6. Real-life scenarios - case laws, news reports, and more: You may also include real examples to help illustrate sexual harassment in the workplace and the seriousness of harassment cases.
7. Hypothetical workplace scenarios: This part of the course will demonstrate certain workplace harassment scenarios so that employees are better able to recognize them.
How to Create an Online Course
Ready to develop your first online training course? First, you need to research online software. A quality online course is contingent not only on the expertise of the instructor but also the tool they use to create, share, and administer the course.
There are many options available. Making the right choice when selecting online training software can make a huge impact on your training program. Look for the following features:
• Easy to use - users of all skill levels should be able to use the tool without any problem.
• Tablet/mobile-friendly - today, a majority of learners use mobile devices. So, you want to make sure your course is mobile-friendly.
• Includes classroom/LMS features - an online classroom together with powerful features such as tracking and reporting gives you a central platform where you can securely manage all training activities.
Once you have decided on the software you will use, it’s time to create an outline to structure your course. Here are some guidelines as you build your course outline:
• Incorporate federal/state requirements - Federal and state laws form the basis of every compliance training. It is essential to comply with them to protect your employees, safeguard business reputation, avoid loss of productivity, keep away from hefty legal fines, and most importantly, keep your employees safe.
• Plan chapters - Arrange course chapters in a logical manner, for instance, from simple to advanced concepts or according to the difficulty level.
• Plan pages - Decide how many pages your course will have to provide sufficient knowledge transfer.
• Plan media (e.g. videos, images, PDFs) - Make learning engaging by adding images, videos, presentations and more to your course.
• Plan quizzes and assessments - You should embed quizzes and assessments in the course to make training evaluation easy.
There are many options available. Making the right choice when selecting online training software can make a huge impact on your training program. Look for the following features:
• Easy to use - users of all skill levels should be able to use the tool without any problem.
• Tablet/mobile-friendly - today, a majority of learners use mobile devices. So, you want to make sure your course is mobile-friendly.
• Includes classroom/LMS features - an online classroom together with powerful features such as tracking and reporting gives you a central platform where you can securely manage all training activities.
Once you have decided on the software you will use, it’s time to create an outline to structure your course. Here are some guidelines as you build your course outline:
• Incorporate federal/state requirements - Federal and state laws form the basis of every compliance training. It is essential to comply with them to protect your employees, safeguard business reputation, avoid loss of productivity, keep away from hefty legal fines, and most importantly, keep your employees safe.
• Plan chapters - Arrange course chapters in a logical manner, for instance, from simple to advanced concepts or according to the difficulty level.
• Plan pages - Decide how many pages your course will have to provide sufficient knowledge transfer.
• Plan media (e.g. videos, images, PDFs) - Make learning engaging by adding images, videos, presentations and more to your course.
• Plan quizzes and assessments - You should embed quizzes and assessments in the course to make training evaluation easy.
Pros and Cons of Videos in Online Sexual Harassment Training
Adding videos to your virtual sexual harassment training course is a great way to increase engagement. However, there are some drawbacks. Consider the pros and cons to make the best decision for your organization.
Adding videos to your course adds a lot of energy to your course. The powerful effect of audio and visual on the human mind is well-established. They have been shown to improve knowledge retention and recollection.
Videos also make courses more engaging for learners. People are 75% more likely to watch a video than they are to read documents. Unlike scrolling down endless pages of text content, videos help simplify the ideas that you are presenting to your learners. They break down complicated concepts using simple language and easy-to-understand visuals. Learners also get the freedom to pause, resume, or revisit training videos as needed.
On the other hand, videos can be expensive to plan and produce. Producing training videos of any length is an expensive process. You need equipment and expertise. Getting the equipment demands time, money, and effort. Hiring a professional to record the videos can also be expensive.
Also, planning a script can be harder than just writing down the information. If you don’t have experience writing video scripts, then this can be a challenge. Most of us have experience creating written training materials, but less experience planning a video script.
Weigh the pros and cons and decide what makes the most sense for you. Videos are a great addition to any course. However, if you can't add them to your first training course, you can always go back and add them later.
Adding videos to your course adds a lot of energy to your course. The powerful effect of audio and visual on the human mind is well-established. They have been shown to improve knowledge retention and recollection.
Videos also make courses more engaging for learners. People are 75% more likely to watch a video than they are to read documents. Unlike scrolling down endless pages of text content, videos help simplify the ideas that you are presenting to your learners. They break down complicated concepts using simple language and easy-to-understand visuals. Learners also get the freedom to pause, resume, or revisit training videos as needed.
On the other hand, videos can be expensive to plan and produce. Producing training videos of any length is an expensive process. You need equipment and expertise. Getting the equipment demands time, money, and effort. Hiring a professional to record the videos can also be expensive.
Also, planning a script can be harder than just writing down the information. If you don’t have experience writing video scripts, then this can be a challenge. Most of us have experience creating written training materials, but less experience planning a video script.
Weigh the pros and cons and decide what makes the most sense for you. Videos are a great addition to any course. However, if you can't add them to your first training course, you can always go back and add them later.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Let’s look at some of the common mistakes you should avoid while developing your online sexual harassment training course.
• Not using the right software. An eLearning authoring tool or an LMS is the starting point of building effective training courses. You may have all the training ideas and some of the best instructors in the industry, but unless you deploy the right tool, your courses will be hard to administer and monitor.
• Not having a good outline. Not having a layout or roadmap of your training program can waste a lot of time. Get clear about what you want to cover in your training and how to achieve your L&D goals.
• Not adding quizzes and assessments. Training should be measurable, especially in compliance training. Look for a knowledge management tool that allows you to embed quizzes and assessments.
• Not tracking the completion of course. When you don’t track learning milestones, course participation, and course completion, you risk not being in compliance. That defeats the purpose of compliance training such as sexual harassment.
• Not adding videos to your course. Last but not least, if you can, add videos to your course. They are more engaging and lead to higher learner retention.
• Not using the right software. An eLearning authoring tool or an LMS is the starting point of building effective training courses. You may have all the training ideas and some of the best instructors in the industry, but unless you deploy the right tool, your courses will be hard to administer and monitor.
• Not having a good outline. Not having a layout or roadmap of your training program can waste a lot of time. Get clear about what you want to cover in your training and how to achieve your L&D goals.
• Not adding quizzes and assessments. Training should be measurable, especially in compliance training. Look for a knowledge management tool that allows you to embed quizzes and assessments.
• Not tracking the completion of course. When you don’t track learning milestones, course participation, and course completion, you risk not being in compliance. That defeats the purpose of compliance training such as sexual harassment.
• Not adding videos to your course. Last but not least, if you can, add videos to your course. They are more engaging and lead to higher learner retention.
Train Your Employees Online
Virtual training will simplify, streamline, and standardize your sexual harassment training. Online training courses have many advantages, and, with the right software, they are easy to create and administer. When you combine the power of online training software and well-crafted courses, the results can be amazing.
Author Bio
| Kamy Anderson is a Market Researcher and a Technical Writer. He is an e-Learning advocate who has a passion for writing on innovative and emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. Connect Kamy Anderson Follow @kamyanderson |
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