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Professional services firm – Addressing banter to create a positive environment

Background and Objectives 

This global professional services firm had been considering a number of approaches to help drive a respectful inclusive culture, whilst also addressing the increased responsibility to prevent sexual harassment, through the introduction of the Worker Protection Act.  

Like so many organisations, the areas where people needed most help were in bringing clarity to when behaviour and humour cross a line – and to address this while maintaining the fun at work  

 

Our Solution 

Working closely with the Director of HR we designed and delivered an in-person interactive workshop for all staff and managers across a number of teams – Creating a Positive Working Environment    

The tailoring in these workshops is always really important. We particularly ensure that the scenarios we use resonate with people and help them to identify what they would actually do and say in a situation, where they or someone else feels uncomfortable  

Team members and managers are then  

  • much more likely to be aware of the impact of their own behaviour and ensure it doesn’t cross a line in the first place 
  • feel equipped to handle a situation or speak up for someone else when needed  

 

Outcomes 

We supported the firm to identify volunteers to form a Team Charter Working Group. Their role is to draw together suggestions and outputs from all the workshops to create a Team Charter – a clear and practical checklist of behaviours that everyone has contributed to and signs up to. This will then be used to embed the learning from the workshops and guide behaviour on an ongoing basis   

The HR Director commented “I am so pleased that we engaged with Focal Point.  From initial planning through to delivery, they were responsive, organised, and committed to achieving the best outcomes for our team. The sessions were carefully planned to include company specific information where necessary and were interactive, clear, and tailored to our team’s needs, ensuring that complex legal updates were easy to understand and directly applicable to our environment and work.  The Focal Point facilitator quickly connected with the team and demonstrated deep expertise in both cultural awareness and legal compliance, combining practical examples with up-to-date guidance that gave our team confidence in applying what they learned.   

I would highly recommend Focal Point to any organisation seeking reliable, insightful, and impactful training in workplace culture and associated legal updates. Their professionalism and expertise make them a valuable partner in supporting both organisational growth and compliance”.