Nicole Smith

WorksafeNB, implemented new regulations in April 2019 that define harassment and require all employers to have an internal Harassment Code of Practice. Most employers have never dealt with harassment regulations and may feel lost about the terminology used in the definition, how to talk to employees about harassment, what these behaviours look like in real life, what the reasonable thresholds are for action and what to do when action is required. These are all topics that are covered in Understanding Workplace Harassment

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Explain the WorksafeNB harassment definition,

• Enumerate the NB Human Rights Act grounds of discrimination,

• Distinguish between personal harassment, sexual harassment, poisoned workplace and abuse of authority,

• Describe behaviours that could meet these categories of harassment,

• Illustrate how to talk to employees about workplace harassment,

• Recognize and react to an employee disclosure of harassment,

• Describe the WorksafeNB obligation to act on an employee disclosure of harassment,

• Identify appropriate action to take on an employee disclosure of harassment,

• Choose between an internal and external investigation, and

• Apply the steps set out in your own Harassment Code of Practice.

This workshop is for you if…

• you have never dealt with workplace harassment regulations before,

• you feel nervous about addressing harassment in the workplace,

• you are not sure how to react to an employee disclosure of harassment, or

• you are confused or worried about applying the WorksafeNB harassment regulations.

Customer service and client facing workplaces have always grappled with the question of how to de-escalate difficult situations. This has only become more true since the pandemic. In this session, participants will learn a simple model for de-escalation, the origins of our emotional reactions to escalation and the active listening skills that will help calm a situation down before resolving it. Participants will take away a plan for de-escalation, helpful language to use when speaking to escalated clients or customers, a script for dealing with verbally abusive people and strategies for handing threats and violence if de-escalation does not work.

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

• Define the CAR model for de-escalation

• Explain and manage their own reaction to an escalated situation

• Employ physical postures and listening skills for de-escalation

• Identify a list of effective phrases for de-escalating customers and clients

• Apply strategies for handling abuse or violence when de-escalation does not work

This workshop is for you if…

• you work in customer service

• you work in a client facing role

• you have to de-escalate client or customer situations in your workplace