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Individual Case Studies - Bullying and Harassement Training
Anonymous NHS Trust
An anonymous acute NHS Trust employing some 3300 staff, all of whom are exposed to heavy workloads and performance targets and the need for star ratings. Although the NHS has national guidelines on harassment and codes on openness and corporate governance, these do not make it immune to the problem of workplace bullying. Staff Surveys were disclosing a sense that bullying behaviour was on the increase, and it was decided to use a range of interventions to create an anti-bullying environment, and a non-bullying culture. Conflict Management Plus Ltd was commissioned to deliver awareness-raising seminars for large groups, as well as specialized training for Harassment Contact Officers and Investigators. A further group of Contact Officer and Investigators were trained and awareness-raising workshops for managers and staff rolled out across the Trust.
The stated aim of the initiative was "to end up with a policy and procedure which is of maximum value to managers and staff representatives when handling cases in this extraordinarily difficult area." (Director of Human Resources, February 1999).
Contact officers were volunteers (although a selection process was applied with person spec prepared and selection interviews), and there was full staff involvement across the organisation and across all staff groups. Key factors in the success of the initiative include commitment from the top, a clearly established policy and procedure, significant and ongoing awareness raising sessions such as training, focus groups, posters, newsletter articles, and a supporting infrastructure.
Papworth NHS Trust
Papworth NHS Trust was one of the first Trusts to embrace the need to tackle bullying and diversity issues. Although there is a strong NHS awareness and policy regarding bullying and harassment, feedback from a staff attitude survey showed that people felt they had experienced bullying and it hadn't been addressed, or the case had been reported and nothing was done. The Trust thought mediation offered a particularly helpful approach to dealing with issues involving the breakdown of working relationships, which are best addressed outside formal procedures if possible.
There has been a large culture change around the whole bullying and harassment issue and the Trust thought it would be useful to have sessions to get people more aware of what construes or could be construed as harassment and the potential consequences of bullying and harassment.
A number of study days were developed and delivered by Conflict Management Plus for staff, covering what bullying is, what impact it has, and what some of the organisational causes of bullying might be. The study days also helped people look at their own behaviour, and develop skills to handle situations when bullying may be occurring. As a result of the training, managers act more speedily than they otherwise might have; they act quickly and appropriately, and the Trust has seen a reduction in the use of the formal procedure.
Graham Jagger, Director of Corporate Development
Papworth Hospital NHS Trust
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