management-training

Management training to mitigate risk

Author: BLR

How well are YOU managing Risks?

Effective training enables your organization to comply with all legal requirements, thereby avoiding costly lawsuits, audits, and fines. Training also enables your employees to make the most of their organization’s investments by:

  • Developing knowledge and skills that make them more productive and efficient
  • Learning to use equipment and technology properly and effectively
  • Learning to work in ways that avoid accidents, lawsuits, and government fines
  • Developing communication, teamwork, and other skills that enhance their contributions to the organization

Managers and supervisors, your organization’s front line, play a particularly critical role in the training process. They must:

  • Understand what training is required by law.
  • Be familiar and comfortable with organizational policies and with employment-related laws.
  • Adhere carefully to proper and legal practices and ensure that their employees do the same.
  • Recognize that the situations to which the laws apply aren’t always clear-cut.
  • Identify training needs and topics and decide who needs training.
  • Know what training resources are available to their employees.
  • Understand why training is important in employee motivation and development as well as organizational growth and productivity.
  • Make sure that each individual receives fair and respectful treatment.
  • Be committed to protecting both the employees’ and the employer’s rights.

Supervisors, as the employer’s representatives, must fully understand employees’ rights so that they can avoid violations, respond appropriately to complaints and concerns, and resolve issues before they turn into lawsuits.

If employees do file charges, the efforts to comply with the applicable laws become even more critical. When courts examine discrimination, retaliation, and other employment claims, they look closely not just at employer policies, but also at how those policies were communicated and implemented in the workplace. If they exist on paper only, the employer is in a weak position. Supervisors need ongoing training to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence for handling HR-related issues on a daily basis.

Have you trained your managers and supervisors about these legal land mines regarding their management responsibilities? Are you confident that they understand and follow the principles and that risks to your workplace are minimized?