It's Not Okay.

In one of our usual team catch-ups a few months ago, our Head of Employer Brand and Communications had a question. “Are we sure that we’ve empowered our people enough, so they stand up against any form of unacceptable behavior at work?” she asked.

We had no doubts. Each of our Group Companies had visible and very active Internal Committees (erstwhile Internal Complaint Committees, ICCs) towards Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH), and there is constant communication flowing inside the organization about what we must do, why and how we must report any incident of this nature. Every organization within the RPG Group complies in letter and spirit, to the asks of the POSH Act. We have stood up since ever I know, against any form of harassment at the workplace.

“Is that enough?” she asked. And that set us thinking.

A good number of research done in this area suggested that upwards of 70% of women employees globally, went through some form of harassment during their career. No wonder why, every organization of repute around the world have reaffirmed their commitment to this, and stringent penal actions are taken on any such proven incident.?

Strangely, that’s only part of the story and half the truth.?

Research also suggests that?when anyone faces an incident of this nature, the person goes through a multitude of emotions, including trauma, fear, or even stigma and embarrassment. Also, the process of reporting can sometimes be complex, with involvement of maybe known individuals, where biases might set in. As a result of which, in many cases, a victim of harassment actually recoils, or even quits the organization, leading to only negligible such instances actually brought to light.?

Creating physically and psychologically safe spaces for our people and keeping our workplaces free from any form of harassment, have always been our highest priority. As we delved further, it was becoming abundantly clear that we now had to take our commitment to the next level. “Fewer complaints doesn’t mean fewer incidents”, our Chairperson had commented during one of our earlier reviews with him on the subject, as he had plainly dismissed the lower number of complaints that we received.?

There had to be a way, different from what we usually do. So, the protagonist in this story who asked the original question, teamed up with our equally passionate HR Digital Lead and they came up with the following:

1. It had to be instant. Right at the time when an incident occurs. Writing an email later, or walking up to a leader’s office to narrate the instance the next day, mostly doesn’t work. There is always an additional power in the Now.?
2. It had to be free from any potential bias. At a time when someone is at one’s lowest, thinking about who should be spoken with, what would the reactions be, or even checking out who sits at the Internal Committee, these are not very empowering thoughts.
3. Harassment is actually gender agnostic and goes beyond sexual, you know!?Beyond sexual harassment of women, for which there is POSH Act / Principles / Guidelines, we had to strengthen our existing model that addresses all other forms of harassments with equal commitment, including non-binary gender harassment, physical or psychological, whether emboldened by power or position, consistent bullying, body shaming, ageism, racism, ethnicity, types of disability etc.
4. An aligned organization is key to building a culture of standing up and claiming your safe space. For an organization with a colossal headcount of full time and contracted employees in factories, branch offices, and impermanent project sites across the world, we needed to ensure last mile connectivity to every person. Every communication had to be crisp. Every leader needed to take the mantle. Everybody needed to know that as an organization, we will not accept any behaviour which is not okay. And?everybody needed to know what is not okay.

The team drew up a blueprint that we all debated on. We had to get it right.?

A few months later, we launched?R-Shield, our?24x7 Harassment Prevention Helpline, that?will provide all our employees with a voice to express themselves freely and fearlessly without embarrassment, fear, stigma, or biases.?I am not sure if anyone else has done this in the industry, but for us, it was a very gratifying experience.

We partnered with an external organization of legal experts and psychologists after extensive due diligence, who will be the first point of contact, 24x7, to receive any calls, missed calls, text messages or WhatsApp messages, and?provide immediate psychological support for the trauma that the caller would most likely be in. This counsellor will then help the individual with all necessary information about the redressal process and encourage the person to file a formal complaint. This will then merge seamlessly with our internal harassment prevention committees and processes, with a digital dashboard that marks every incoming call.

As Phase One of this initiative, R-Shield will be available with immediate effect to all employees at all locations in India, including factories, project sites and/or branch offices. An upwards of 50,000 full time and contract employees in India will benefit from this initiative at this time. We intend to take this initiative to all our employees globally in phases thereafter.

Facts:

• We all need just one simple question sometimes, that enables us change our status quo.
• Perhaps then worthwhile creating an environment where our people ask more questions.
• Couple it with their passion, and watch the magical process of transformation. Alchemy, yes!

The launch of R-Shield featured in the Economic Times, read here:?https://tinyurl.com/2nff6rfk