Why I love this government agency

by Oct 19, 2016

In 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – the organization who enforces federal harassment and discrimination laws – put together a task force made up of academics, psychologists, lawyers, trainers and others. Their mission: to understand harassment and prevention better.

The task force released their report in June of 2016, and it serves as a kind of “state of the union” of harassment in the U.S.

The report is depressing.

For example, only 1 in 4 people file a formal complaint; the other 75% fear retaliation and therefore prefer to endure the harassment instead.

The EEOC recovers approximately $165 million for workers annually, but acknowledged the actual costs of harassment due to lost productivity, turnover and more is far greater.

Also, complaints have only gone up, not down, in the last 20 years.

Obviously something has to change because our current system isn’t working.

And while I may have overstated my feelings for the EEOC in my subject line, the report’s conclusions are interesting… because I agree with them!

I was happy to see the report point out that leadership is key – that effective prevention efforts and culture intolerant of harassment starts at the top. Yes, the EEOC is finally talking about culture!

I was also happy to see the task force acknowledge that training isn’t working because it’s focused on the wrong thing: compliance. Finally… FINALLY… the EEOC acknowledged that the focus of training should be on creating a positive workplace.

So I have some good news.

Given that the federal government is finally talking about what I’ve been talking about for years – solving harassment and bullying with a positive workplace instead of with anti-harassment initiatives, I’ve decided to open my doors and teach others my methodology.

Typically, I come in as a consultant and do this process alongside my clients.

This is different.

For the first time, I’m offering a “train the trainer” program to teach qualified HR professionals everything I know, so that you can take the reins in your own organization to end bullying and replace it with a positive workplace.

I’ll be sharing tools I’ve been crafting and testing for years, and proving to get results.

I’m going to teach you everything I know about how to solve workplace bullying so that you can repeat the process in your own organization.

If you’re interested, click here to fill out an application. I will follow up with a phone call.

The course will take place in beautiful downtown San Diego, CA, on December 5 and 6, 2016.

Oh, and because this is the first time I am doing something like this, I am only accepting 10 attendees. So claim your spot ASAP by filling out the application.

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Civility Partners
Your partner in building a positive workplace so your employees can thrive
www.CivilityPartners.com

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

 

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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