Strong claims of bullying and harassment in professional English cricket could not have come at a more pertinent time, given many of them came out during last week’s Anti-Bullying Week. To mark the campaign, we look at best practice strategies put in place by Activate Learning across its seven FE colleges to prevent, recognise and resolve any such issues in the workplace - strategies designed to underline the sector’s traditional holistic duty of care to all its staff and students.
The nature of bullying and harassment has moved on in the past 20 years, says Activate’s head of HR, Natalie Elliott. A newcomer to FE this year after spending most of her career in industry, Natalie says her recent update of Activate’s anti-harassment policy suggests staff be given greater insight into how to recognise, prevent and resolve not only stereotypical ‘direct’ behaviours but also many more subtle examples.
“Bullying is not always obvious - there may be things you are not aware of. As a society, we rationalise bullying in terms of what’s deemed as visible conduct or stress. We now have to work differently as we understand other forms and their impact.”
The need for this change in approach struck home with Natalie last term when she took part in a formal hearing after a staff member reported being harassed, bullied and discriminated against. “The allegation was not upheld, and I agreed with the decision; procedures were followed but, importantly, we were able to call on our newly hired diversity and inclusion resource to bridge awareness gaps.
“The complainant clearly felt something, but it wasn’t sufficient to be termed bullying. Based on our awareness of the subtleties of bullying, the two parties engaged in a programme that sought to remind each of the impact a person’s behaviour can have on a recipient if the message is misinterpreted.
“It could be about things you are not aware of, like the way you speak, jokes you might tell, differences in culture, how we exchange dialogue with people - that can affect someone else without you realising.”
Natalie says the approach worked for both parties, who accepted the additional step in awareness building.
Activate encourages a culture of learning and development in soft skills for employees and managers, providing them with the resources (including free coaching courses) to spot if things are not going well and offering easy access to their relevant vice-principal (VP) and third-party counselling.
What sort of college support should staffers expect if they feel bullied themselves? “We cite our free employee assistance programme (EAP), which is available to employees, and our policies on anti-bullying and the disciplinary process – which are there to protect and treat both parties fairly,” says Natalie. “The EAP programme is a counselling service that is confidential and free to any staff who wishes to use it. In addition, line managers with the support of HR will support the employee with any reasonable adjustments or changes required as we progress allegations of bullying.”
“Every case is different, and our aim is not to prejudge the person accused of alleged bullying or harassment, but to apply a fair approach that communicates and clarifies every step of the way to avoid further stress and disruption.”
As someone fresh from many years working in industry, Natalie says she expected a people-centred FE institution to have all the right anti-bullying measures in place and she’s not been disappointed. Investigations are carried out by impartial investigating officers, and executive members chair all serious allegations and, typically, only cases outside their specific remit.
Activate follows a strict zero-tolerance policy on bullying, which is in line with the sector’s reputation for a caring and compassionate approach to staff and students.
Like many FE institutions, Activate ‘buddies up’ each new staff member with another colleague on-site or online. “When I joined, my buddy walked me through my three-week induction programme gave me tips on navigating our systems and checked in on me at the end of each week. At the six-week point, a request for feedback on my ‘onboarding’ progress was requested by Activate’s Talent Team, which I thought was a good addition to the new starter experience.”
One-to-one meetings are actively encouraged, says Natalie. Staff working through their probationary period have two key catch-up review meetings and then a final review. In fact, personal development is a high priority at Activate. “How people feel on a given day and, in their job, seems to be a comfortable question for managers to ask.”
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