Dear HR, 
I want to take some precautions in our workplace to prevent harassment but I don’t have the budget to hire a trainer. Any suggestions?
HR Answer:
You are right to be proactive and take preventative steps. Fortunately, there are several free and low-cost options to train supervisors and employees. It’s critical to also be sure that you have the proper policy in place and that you know how to respond to a claim, should an incident occur.
CARDINAL SERVICES HARASSMENT POLICY GUIDANCE
If you operate under the Cardinal Services Employee Handbook, your employees have received our policy that prohibits sexual harassment and other unlawful harassment based upon characteristics prohibited by law. It is a 3-paragraph policy that describes harassment, encourages reporting and warns of disciplinary actions. Review this section of the handbook with your employees.
If you have your own employee handbook, Cardinal Services can help you create a Harassment-Free Workplace policy or review your current policy for accuracy. Remember that laws may differ from state to state and federal laws may differ from state laws.
TRAINING GUIDES/PRESENTATIONS:
FREE: A slide presentation for small business owners is available online from the National Federation of Independent Business (nfib.com) and a guide for facilitating your own training to employees can be found at FitSmallBusiness.com. Helpful information can be found at the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission website, EEOC.gov, as well as the US Department of Labor, DOL.gov.
LOW COST: Low cost training can be found online or purchased at a variety of vendor sites but be sure you are shopping reputable training providers with expertise in HR-related training. For example, you can purchase a DVD and train all your employees for less than $200; you can also sign up for webinars that charge per session, around $20 or less per employee; some will have a quiz and may provide a certificate of completion.
For more guidance on this critical topic, contact Cardinal Services at 800.342.4742 and ask to speak to a Cardinal HR Specialist.