Page 209 - Becoming a Successful Manager

200 BUILDING ON YOUR FOUNDATION

answers but for collecting the information. Inform your supervisor
of the situation and then conduct or cooperate in any subsequent
investigation that may take place.
If you observe what may be harassment, ask the employee who
was the target of the potential harasser if the behavior was indeed
offensive to him or her. If the answer is no, no further action
is required on your part. If the answer is yes, explain that such
behavior need not be tolerated. Conduct an investigation to deter-
mine additional facts. Since you thought the behavior might have
been offensive, you would be well advised to inform the employee
responsible that there might be risks associated with the observed
behavior. Do this in a friendly and matter-of-fact manner, not
one that would seem to be corrective and accusatory, because the
offending employee might not have been aware of the potential
reaction to the behavior. An appropriate comment from you at this
point could prevent an unpleasant situation in the future. Also, if
it involves the Internet, don’t make assumptions about employees’
Internet activities. Verify.
When you see or hear a behavior that you are certain is harass-
ment, it is your responsibility to stop it right away. Your acknowl-
edgment of the situation and confrontation of the offender may be
enough to end the behavior, but you may have to initiate appropri-
ate corrective action to prevent it from happening again. This may
include reassigning the offender to another department or shift
or, eventually, termination. In any event, you should immediately
report the encounter to your supervisor.

Keep a Tight Ship

Regardless of the form it takes, harassment is always about failing
to respect others. To recognize these behaviors, be attentive to all