April/May 1999: HR MANAGER Its a Conundrum
It's early on a Friday morning and Steve Wilson, a department manager,
is working on a difficult project in his office. The project was due
yesterday and he is desperately trying to complete it by the end of the
day. Suddenly, Alice Chao, one of his project specialists, bursts into
his office. Alice is visibly upset as she tells Steve that she has just
discovered racist graffiti scrawled on the walls of the women's bathroom.
She expresses to Steve that she is afraid for the safety of herself and
of her colleagues. She doesn't know what to do, but she thought that
Steve would want to know right away.
In the brief pause before Steve responds, he considers what to do. He
knows that prejudice and intolerance affect the safety, productivity
and morale of everyone in the work place. He feels that as a manager,
he is responsible for doing what he can to prevent these activities from
occurring. Now that an incident has happened, he wants to respond quickly
and decisively.
What can Steve do to respond to the needs of Alice and his staff as a
result of this incident?
The Discussion:
Immediate Response
One of the first things that Steve will want to do is go see the graffiti
first hand. Being sensitive to the fact that Alice may not want to experience
seeing the graffiti again, he asks her if she wants to escort him into
the bathroom. Alice decides to wait in his office until his returns.
Once Steve sees the graffiti, he understands why Alice is frightened.
The scrawled words communicate racist hatred and violence. Steve decides
that his first step of action is to contact the police. Back in his office,
he phones the police and asks them to bring a camera to take a photograph
of the graffiti.
Contacting the police is important to do for two reasons. First, threatening
words which target a particular individual or group may be considered
a hate crime. By calling the police, they may be able to find out who
is responsible for the incident through their investigative process.
In this case, taking a photograph of the graffiti allows them to keep
a record of what was written before it is washed off or painted over.
In other kinds of situations, such as an offensive voice mail message,
Steve will want to save the message for the police to make a copy. In
the case of an anonymous note or letter, the original should be given
to the police and a copy kept in the manager's files.
Second, having the police come to take a report also allows the opportunity
for them to talk with staff members about how to take precautions for
their safety. They will be able to inform the staff about whether this
incident is an isolated one or part of a series of hate activities on
campus.
While Steve is waiting for the police to arrive, he thinks about what
else he could do to respond appropriately to this incident. He decides
to call the Office for Campus Diversity, AA/EEO to consult about what
to do. Making this contact will not only help to guide his steps through
this situation, but will also inform the campus leadership about this
incident. After he conversation with the Office for Campus Diversity,
he makes another call to the Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP).
He wants to seek their advice on what emotional impact this incident
may have on his staff and how he might handle it. The ASAP office coaches
Steve on how to facilitate a conversation with his staff and Alice, and
they offer their assistance in conducting the group discussions and providing
individual support.
When the police arrive, Steve asks Alice if she would like to jointly
make the report to the officers. Alice feels comfortable talking to the
police and agrees to join Steve in giving a statement to the police.
It appears that no other employees have seen the graffiti as yet. When
the police have finished taking the photograph of the graffiti, they
then meet with the staff. They ask questions of staff members to try
to determine when the graffiti might have been written. At Steve's request,
the police also discuss with the staff how to take precautions for their
safety. Steve suggests that the staff look out for one another and brainstorms
with them how they can help and support each other.
After the police leave the office, Steve invites the staff to share their
feelings with one another. From his conversation with the ASAP office,
he knows that this kind of discussion is necessary in order for the staff
to be able to support one another. Many feelings of fear, anger, alienation
and distrust are expressed as the staff comes to terms with what has
just happened to them. Steve doesn't try to talk them out of their feelings
nor smooth things over. He realizes the severity of this incident and
knows that it won't be easily forgotten. He also doesn't try to minimize
the situation. Instead, he emphasizes that this incident is unacceptable
in the work place and conveys his commitment to ensuring that the office
is a safe and respectful place for everyone. He encourages the staff
to be supportive of one another, and to report any suspicious activity
that they may see in the future.
After the meeting, Steve takes steps to get the graffiti off of the walls.
He calls maintenance to request that the walls be painted immediately.
Then he determines what do to about the bathroom in the meantime. Since
there is another women's bathroom in the building, he decides to close
the bathroom with the graffiti until the walls are repainted. He doesn't
want the staff or guests to the building to have to see the hateful words.
Back in his office, the project Steve was working on is still awaiting
his attention. However, the events of the morning are still with him
and he pauses to reflect on what he has done thus far. First, he called
the police to report the incident. Second, he informed his staff about
this incident. Third, he allowed the staff to discuss their feelings
and offer support to one another. Fourth, he conveyed his commitment
to ensuring that the work place is respectful and safe. Finally, he took
steps to remove the graffiti. He considers if there is anything else
he might do. During his reflection, he remembers how Alice looked when
she came to see him after she discovered the graffiti. He realizes that
she may need some additional support.
Follow-up Action
Steve asks Alice if she would meet with him and they decide to meet later
in the day. Before they meet, Steve thinks about how to approach the
meeting. Most likely, Alice will be filled with many emotions. Steve
is not sure that he has the skills to be able to respond to Alice effectively,
but he knows from his conversation with the ASAP office that it is important
to do a lot of listening and not try to smooth things over too quickly.
Alice has just suffered a severe attack to the very essence of who she
is, and the incident won't be easily forgotten. Steve also realizes that
it is important for him to express his deepest regret about the situation
and to commit to doing everything he can to ensure that the office staff
know that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. He will be sure to ask
Alice if there are specific actions that she wants or doesn't want him
to do. While Steve may not be able to meet the full extent of her requests,
it is important that he doesn't cause further injury to her by acting
in a manner that adds further hurt.
When Steve meets with Alice, he is now prepared to listen and respond
effectively. Alice is certainly shaken by the circumstances of the day,
but she feels supported by Steve and her other office colleagues. Steve
reminds her that there are resources on campus, such as the ASAP office,
to assist her if she feels the need for more professional support.
After the meeting with Alice, Steve is reminded of his deadline, but
he has the feeling that there is still something more he can do. He remembers
his conversation with the Office for Campus Diversity earlier that morning
and how important it is that his staff know that this kind of behavior
is inappropriate. He is unsure whether the graffiti was done by someone
from the office or by others outside of the office. However, he wants
to be sure his staff knows that he has zero tolerance for this kind of
behavior. He decides to send a letter to his staff that articulates his
disgust over what happened and his clear expectations about the kind
of environment he wants for the staff. He also includes the Principles
of Community statement with his letter to remind everyone of the kind
of environment they each are responsible for fostering on the campus.
It's at this moment that Steve has a brilliant idea. What if he were
to make a plaque of the Principles of Community and invite each staff
member to sign it? Then the plaque could be hung in the lobby of his
office unit as a visible reminder of the department's commitment to community
and diversity. He decides to bring this up with the staff at their next
meeting together. Proceeding with his brainstorming, he also thinks it
would be a good idea to initiate some diversity education for his unit.
He found out that the Office for Campus Diversity can provide diversity
awareness programs and he believes that this would be a proactive step
he can take to ensure that his work environment remains safe, inclusive
and productive.
Steve drafts the letter to his staff and then remembers that the project
deadline still awaits his attention. Although his immediate and thorough
response to the graffiti was more important today and, in the long run,
will leave more of an impact with his staff than a missed deadline, he
must communicate to his supervisor about being late with the project.
He, then, realizes that it would be important to inform his supervisor
of this serious incident that transpired today. After he leaves a message
for his supervisor, Steve leaves the office late knowing that he did
his best to respond to an ugly situation, and showed his staff that his
commitment to diversity lies in his actions, not just his words.