Intervening, Assessing, and Remediating C-Suite and Executive Level Sexual Harassment/Discrimination Claims

Very often in the #MeToo era, organizations face two starkly contrasting choices: deny that any problems exist, or immediately fire or otherwise disengage with an individual accused of wrongdoing. Nuance, subtlety, and shades of grey are lost.

Seeking Integrity, through our Business Integrity community, offers an alternative. We believe that in many cases an individual can change his or her behavior, make amends, and find redemption—all while remaining a valued and productive member of an organization.

Our intervention, assessment, and remediation of sexual harassment and discrimination claims—especially as they involve C-Suite, Board, and other executive-level employees—is a two-pronged process. First, we assess and address traditional legal issues. Next, we assess and address, from a clinical standpoint, individual belief systems and cultural misconceptions that facilitate and foster sexual harassment and discrimination. To our knowledge, we are the only organization offering this integrated approach to addressing and redressing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination claims.

We believe that establishing and distributing policies and procedures is important, as it protects both individuals and organizations against liability (to a certain extent). But we also know that policies and procedures do not actually prevent harassment, abuse, and discrimination in the workplace. It is one thing to be aware of and upset by a pervasive problem, and to remediate that problem. It’s quite another to view that problem holistically and to address it in ways that change the underlying thinking that fosters and facilitates it. One tactic is retroactive; the other is proactive. We advocate the proactive approach.

To this end, we not only help our clients resolve the immediate crisis, we assess and evaluate the ways in which disruption is likely to continue without personal and cultural change. Based on this, we recommend both individual and organizational action steps as needed. Typically, these efforts include both individual and Board/C-Suite level trainings designed to educate and empower leadership in ways that facilitate a healthier organizational culture. It is only through these extended, holistically integrated efforts that the lived experience of individuals within an organization can begin to more accurately reflect the organization’s overall values.

To learn more about our sexual harassment and abuse programming, please visit our Business Integrity community or Contact Us with a request for more information.