Women have confidently come out of their shell and started working in organizations and have grown to a level where they hold the key position in some organizations. In general, still some women face harassment in the workplace.It may be abuse of authority,unconcious or concious bias, sexual harassment and personal harassment.

The POSH Act

To protect women from harassment at workplace, the POSH act-Sexual harassment of women at workplace (Prevention,Prohibition and Redressal) 2013 was passed in the parliament and became a law in December 2013.

This acts protects women from sexual harassment.It gives them an opportunity to address their complaints and every organization establishes an Internal complaint committee(ICC) to handle the complaints.

The main objective of the POSH act is to create a safe workplace for Women Professionals.

In this blog, let’s discuss why employees of an organization need POSH Awareness Training.

What is POSH Awareness​​ Training?

Posh stands for prevention of sexual harassment at workplace.Posh Awareness Training is educating the employee and employer about the prohibition , prevention of sexual harassment and the redressal if any violation occurs.

It is important for the women employees to recognize the types of sexual harassment and the ways to prevent or address it.They should know their rights as an employee and their responsibility when they face harassment or witness harassment of other women in the organization.

This awareness empowers the vulnerable victims to realize their rights and responsibilities in an organization.

Benefits of POSH Training in an organization: 

POSH Awareness Training is important in an organization because:-

• Posh awareness training helps to boost the morale of the employee.Well disciplined employees can take the organization to great heights.
• There is job satisfaction in an organization that protects its employees.
• Job satisfaction leads to employee retention which promotes a positive work culture.
• It boosts the reputation of the organization.An organization with POSH Awareness and legal compliance can be the safe place to work in and its reputation will spread via word of mouth enhancing its credibility and increase its loyal customers
• Creates a safe place for women to work.When there is no fear or distraction in a workplace ,the productivity and efficiency of the employee will be maximum.
• Empowers the vulnerable.It helps the weak employee to learn to stand for themselves and address any concern confidently.
• While POSH helps women from sexual harassment ,it also protects men from false accusation.It is also the right of the men to claim guilty free.This law also takes action against false accusations.

Essential Elements of Effective POSH Training

The POSH Training should consist of modules that explain what the POSH act is,why it was passed and what are the benefits of it in every organization, to create an awareness among the employees.

The training should involve real life scenarios and case studies for the employees to understand better.It could include – what are the different types of harassment that women face, How to recognize harassment, how to face it and how to prevent it.

The training should not be a class room training with boring lectures but it should be interactive where employees are encouraged to ask their queries and engage them to make them understand respectful work culture and employee morale.

Role of Leadership in POSH Compliance

The management should take leadership to create the Internal Complaints Committee and ensure strict rules for a respectful and harassment free workplace.

Roles and responsibilities of ICC

The role of ICC is to 

• Receive complaints from the victim
• Conduct inquiries based on the complaints.
• Collect evidence and submit it to the employer
• Recommends appropriate action taken against the guilty.
• Maintaining confidentiality throughout the process
• Creating awareness through training programs about sexual harassment and how to prevent it.

 An organization that strives to make the workplace safe and      respectful for its employees will gain credibility and accountability from its employees.This will lead to job satisfaction and employee retention which will impact the growth of the organization.

Steps to Implement POSH Awareness Training

• Conduct interactive sessions to assess the current level of awareness among the employees.
• Find the best Corporate trainer or Training company to provide customized POSH training Programs.
• The management can conduct regular sessions and courses on sexual harassment.
• These training could be monitored to assess their impact on the employee and the outcome which is to make the workplace a harassment free ,safe working place.

Online vs. Offline POSH Training: What Works Best?

Both online and offline training have their pros and cons.Posh training being a sensitive topic may need more privacy and attention so online training works best for it.Also offline in person training is more expensive than online training.Online Training is cost effective.

However , the interaction and engagement of the employees may lack during online training.Also they may arise a technical issue during online training.

So a combination of both can be used to train the employees.

Common Challenges in POSH Training and How to Overcome Them

POSH Training needs a skilled trainer or training company to be handled.Since it is a sensitive topic it should be dealt with care and professionalism.

Another challenge that every organization faces during POSH training is the attitude of employees towards it.It might become difficult to align them towards the goal of the organization to make a secure workplace for women.

The participation and engagement of the employees is important for POSH training because the impact and the outcome comes with the employee changing and working towards the goal of the organization.They should not only change offices to a safe place but also protect the women to work with them within the organization in all possible ways.

Real-Life Success Stories:

It is important for the training to include real life success stories of how organizations have changed after the training sessions.It will give a hope to the women employees and build trust and confidence in them to face difficult situations like harassment within the office as well as in the outside world.

Also, it increases the credibility of the organization and brings a hope that the management will not be biased and it will take appropriate action against harassment of women.

The ICC committee should be strict and unbiased. It should be supported directly by the management.The members should be chosen and instructed to abide by the law and the principles of the organization.

The ICC should be an equitable committee that stands with truth and recommends appropriate redressal.

Why choose Eclatmax for POSH Training?

Eclatmax Training Solutions is a corporate training Company led by a Harvard alumnus -John Poulose and Global Vice President -Jack Pinto.

Features of our Training

• Our Team of experienced trainers provide customized POSH training programs.
• Our POSH training involves awareness,education and policy creation.We train your professionals from recognizing sexual harassment to addressing the complaints.We educate the employees about the procedures involved and finally educate them about preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
• We help your organization to be equipped with the necessary tools and all employees with the knowledge to prevent sexual harassment and transform the workplace into a safe and peaceful environment.

Our expertise and commitment towards training your employees will make us your trusted training partner.

Schedule your POSH Training Today!

Conclusion:

Effective POSH Training will empower women employees to face harassment confidently and encourage them to complain against it.It will transform the organization into a safe place and boost job satisfaction and employee retention.

Every organization should establish a safe environment for its employees to work in and provide necessary training to educate them and encourage them to stand against sexual harassment and exploitation.