Check any news outlet today, and you’re almost certain to hear about a new sexual misconduct scandal involving an executive, politician or entertainer. I don’t know about you, but I’ve lost count of the number of alleged harassers. The allegations are nothing short of shocking, ranging from offensive acts of sexual harassment to criminal acts of sexual assault. In response, a multitude of corporations and — in a surprise move — the House of Representatives are mandating sexual harassment training for all employees.

This surge of sexual misconduct allegations has, once again, put sexual harassment in the spotlight. But this time, the allegations are sparking conversations about organizational culture and values, which can be the root cause for promoting and tolerating harassment. In light of the media attention on sexual misconduct in the workplace, at a minimum, every employer ought to take stock of their sexual harassment policy and processes to safeguard their business from a surprise claim.

Sexual harassment is a prohibited form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This federal law is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and covers businesses with 15 or more employees in 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year. Even if your business is not covered by Title VII, it may be covered by a state, local or county anti-discrimination law that prohibits workplace harassment for smaller businesses.

Even before this surge of accusations that began with Harvey Weinstein, harassment was a big problem in workplaces. According to the EEOC, approximately one in four women (25 percent) have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. And, last year alone, the EEOC resolved 30,582 harassment cases, resulting in $125.5 million in monetary benefits to employees. This doesn’t tell the whole story though. Aside from court awards and monetary settlements, companies with claims face significant direct financial costs associated with legal representation and indirect costs associated with lower morale, decreased productivity, distractions, increased turnover and a negative public perception.

Sexual conduct becomes unlawful under employment regulations when it is unwelcome and severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment. The problem is, everyone defines “unwelcome” differently. Today, employees who refuse unwanted sexual advances, but who suffer no negative job consequences, can file discrimination complaints. In addition, an employer can be held liable for sexual harassment by a supervisor even if it had no knowledge of the supervisor’s misconduct. Gone are the days of “hear no evil, see no evil, know no evil” defenses. If your business receives a charge of sexual harassment discrimination from the EEOC or another fair employment practices agency and you can’t prove that you attempted to prevent harassment and that you adequately addressed the complaint, you’re considered guilty.

No question, the rules have changed. And let’s not forget the undeniable evidence of harassment that social media, recording devices on phones and hidden cameras provide. But, undeniable evidence of harassment is not required for a company to take employment action against an alleged harasser. What is required is an adequate investigation conducted by an unbiased party (usually not the alleged harasser’s boss) and, oftentimes, a credibility judgment call after the investigation is completed and all facts and information are considered. Making a credibility judgment can be uncomfortable for some employers, but at times, is necessary. According to the EEOC, the fact that there are no eye witnesses, no direct evidence of harassment, and/or no admission by the accused, does not necessarily defeat the complainant’s credibility. (For more information, see the chart, "Factors to consider when determining credibility.")

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these elements are necessary before acting. The probable cause standard adopted by law enforcement does not apply to employment decisions made by employers. And, by all means, don’t adopt a “three strikes and you’re out” philosophy when it comes to harassment. Permitting an alleged harasser to remain employed until there are three complaints against him or her is a potentially dangerous and costly approach to resolving workplace harassment complaints and one that should never be adopted. In essence, this practice sends a message that it takes three incidents of harassment before one is deemed to be credible. (As if the volume of complaints makes a difference in determining if they are credible!)

To reduce exposure to sexual harassment and to create an organizational culture that prevents harassment, every employer ought to adopt a three-prong approach:

First, develop, disseminate and vigorously enforce a comprehensive policy against harassment. Ensure your policy forbids harassment; provides multiple channels for making complaints known to management; commits to conducting a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation; ensures confidentiality to the extent possible; and prohibits retaliation.

Second, conduct periodic sexual harassment training at all levels. Allocate the necessary resources to harassment training. Consider it an investment. Include all company managers and executives in the training. Document attendance. Absent a state regulation that requires otherwise, sexual harassment training should be conducted annually at every business.

Third, take every complaint seriously and investigate immediately. It doesn’t matter if the complaint is lodged by a “habitual trouble-maker,” if it involves an allegation against a customer (employers have the same responsibility when the claim involves a customer), if it seems trivial, or if the complainant is unwilling to submit the complaint in writing. Investigate it immediately, using a well-trained, objective and neutral investigator. When necessary, hire a third-party, qualified consultant to conduct a comprehensive investigation. Then, take appropriate action based on the results. Enforce a culture of accountability when it comes to harassment.

Many sexual harassment incidents in the workplace can be avoided by simply ensuring professional communication in the workplace. Managers must “model the behavior desired and required.” Here are some other common sense tips for management:

• Avoid references to employees’ physical appearance and comments about sex.
• Develop and distribute an electronic systems policy prohibiting sexually related email messages, jokes and photos. Use software to block access to inappropriate websites.
• Avoid physical contact with employees — respect individuals’ personal space.
• Use professional settings when conducting meetings outside the workplace.
• Recommunicate your policy prohibiting harassment prior to holiday parties and social events.
• Be conscious that “no” means “no,” no matter how softly spoken.
• Keep in mind that workplace favoritism can lead to hostile environment claims.
• Be wary of workplace romances. They can be fertile ground for hostile work environment claims, even when they are initially consensual.
• Do not condone offensive terms, sexually degrading words or sexual jokes.
• Watch for signs and learn how to read people. People want to be accepted by their peers and may be reluctant to report harassment.

A single incident or isolated incidents of offensive sexual conduct or remarks generally do not create an abusive/hostile environment; however, a single, unusually severe incident of harassment (e.g., unwelcome, intentional touching of a person’s intimate body areas) may be sufficient to constitute a Title VII violation. The more severe the harassment, the less need to show a repetitive series of incidents, particularly when the harassment is physical.

When it comes to harassment, don’t assume that an employee’s initial acceptance of harassing conduct waives his or her right to complain later. Conduct that is initially welcomed may later be unwelcome. In addition, voluntary submission to sexual conduct does not necessarily defeat a claim if the victim’s conduct indicates that the alleged sexual advances are unwelcome. Finally, the “it was invited” defense doesn’t go too far with the EEOC. Their position is that participation in sexual conduct and provocative speech or dress do not necessarily show that sexual behavior was welcomed.

The best way to reduce exposure and limit liability is to take proactive measures to prevent harassment in the workplace, including proper and ongoing training of managers and supervisors. This type of training is a wise investment that can save your company countless dollars.

If you haven’t conducted or arranged for sexual harassment training within the last year, now is the time! Don’t wait until your company is trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons!

Jean is president of Seawright & Associates, a management consulting firm located in Winter Park, Florida. Since 1987, she has provided human resource management and compliance advice to employers across the country. She also consults with employer-members of trade associations, including, among others, The Garden Center Group. She can be contacted at 407-645-2433 or jseawright@seawright.com. Note: The information in this article is not legal advice. For legal advice, readers should consult with an attorney.

Photo courtesy of AmericanHort

While Republicans in Congress were writing and passing their tax reform legislation, AmericanHort senior vice president Craig Regelbrugge was on Capitol Hill talking to leaders, working to understand the overhaul of the tax code and advocating for aspects of the bill that matters for the horticulture industry.

“We devote a lot of time to developing and sustaining relationships,” Regelbrugge says. “We’re hearing and we’re talking to folks directly providing input getting feedback and then also through more traditional sources.”

Below, Regelbrugge answers questions about AmericanHort’s focus, what the new tax bill means for industry members and more.

Greenhouse Management: What did AmericanHort lobby for when Congress was debating the tax bill?

Craig Regelbrugge: We’ve been focused on a relatively narrow subset of provisions of things that were in the bill that we were hoping would stay in the bill. Trying to keep them [on], or to keep them off the table. For our industry, and particularly for the grower community in our industry, though not exclusively growers, the ability or the right to choose to use the cash method of accounting as opposed to accrual accounting is very important and particularly so for nursery growers or people who are producing crops that have a multiyear production cycle. The ability to use cash accounting basically means that the growing inventory in the nursery is not considered to have any value for IRS purposes until it’s ready to be sold.

Another example of something that we were paying attention to and working to preserve and improve on is the ability to expense investments in equipment. We were focused on every aspect of the bill, but we were paying very close attention to the things that matter the most to us.

GM: How does the estate tax — a tax on the transfer of a deceased person's estate — fit into AmericanHort’s goals for the tax bill?

CR: We’ve long supported a full repeal of the estate tax. I think where we ended up, the doubling of the estate tax exemption [Editor’s note: An individual can now leave up to $11.2 million in a will without it being taxed.] is a significant margin of protection to many of our businesses that are trying to pass along high-value assets.

GM: The corporate tax rate dropping to 21 percent is also something that has been at the forefront of debate surrounding the bill. Its proponents say will spur growth in the U.S. Do you have a read on how that will affect the horticulture industry specifically?

CR: First of all, on the tax issues, I’m playing second fiddle here. Our primary staff who met on with leaders on tax issues was [director of government affairs] Tal Coley. who joined our staff back in August. But we also must be smart about where we focus finite resources. We’ve chosen the tax base to affiliate with a broader group called Farmers for Tax Fairness, which is focused particularly on some of the agricultural aspects of tax reform, and we buddied up with the coalition to have more bandwidth and more access. I’m not comfortable speaking as to how individual companies’ bottom lines are going to be affected. We do have entities in the industry that are organized as corporations. For topline businesses, there’s rate reduction and some people may benefit. The alternative minimum tax is probably a significant factor on the corporate side.

GM: AmericanHort worked to get people involved at Impact Washington, and since then, on the various issues affecting the horticulture industry. Have you found those efforts to be successful?

CR: It’s an ongoing challenge. The reality we face is that a limited subset of folks in the industry, time and again, are the ones who understand that every decision that our government makes yields a winner and a loser. And if you’re not on the playing field making your case, you’re probably going to lose. Too few people in the industry are focused on what they’re doing, and they’re not taking the time when there’s a crisis. It’s easy. [Regarding] labor, we’ve got an active grassroots campaign going on right now to bring support for H-2B cap relief. We’re getting a lot of traction and we’ve amplified our own voice as AmericanHort with our membership because of the partnership we have with all the state organizations in the industry.

We’ve been able to sort of leverage a broader voice and we’re getting [a] very good response, I think, on the tax thing. On one hand, I think a lot of folks are cynical that their voice doesn’t make a difference and they are shrugging their shoulders saying, “I’m just one person. How can I affect change?” On the other hand, we had 100 people in town for a legislative summit back in September and we spent a good deal of time doing House and Senate office visits and [on] the tax issue. The tax bill was high on the list, and preserving a grower’s right to use cash accounting was our No. 1 talking point. And I really believe that those hundred people did a world of good because they visited several hundred offices and made the case as to what a change in policy on a cash economy would ultimately do to our industry. And there’s nothing more effective than that personal direct engagement by folks who are real world, running businesses, making payroll [and] paying taxes. So, hopefully when people see that some good came out of this, they’re going to pay a lot more attention next time.

This interview was edited for style and clarity.

Photo: Dreamstime

Statistics seem to be against the likelihood of even half of new businesses staying open to celebrate their fifth anniversary. According to Small Business Trends, “A bit more than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first four years.” This could be troublesome news to anyone with a dream of operating their own greenhouse company. However, you merely need to dive deeper into the statistics to realize that half of the businesses survived and continued to thrive. It is possible and it absolutely can be profitable to own your own greenhouse operation.

These are four keys to maintaining a successful business. Some require more immediate attention, and others must remain top-of-mind all of the time.

1 Systems – Protocols – Processes

These are words that are thrown around often when referring to the function or operation of a business. You often hear, “The business isn’t successful because there are no systems in place.” Or, “Not everyone is following the proper protocols.” Many times when speaking to employees, they state that they didn’t know that there was a protocol in place, or they weren’t trained on the rules.

Your systems determine how you want your business to run. The process is the step to get it done.

Creating a system of accountability means that each team member understands what the job is and who is responsible for making it happen.

It is recommended that each and every process be written down; it may seem overwhelming, yet it will be so helpful when training a new team member. The final thought on this step is to review your processes often. The world is ever-changing and so is your business.

Know your numbers

Know your business. What does it cost to open your doors? Is your payroll within normal limits for your industry? This may seem like a no-brainer. However, many of the businesses that failed did so because someone else had a better handle on their numbers than the owner.

What numbers are important? The obvious answer is your income and expenses. Looking a bit deeper, make sure you understand what is coming in and what is going out at all times. If there is something suspicious, ask and make sure that you are comfortable with the answer.

The tricky art of marketing

The purpose of marketing is to let people know that your doors are open. You have something that they need, that could make life easier, faster, better. It’s not enough to just open your doors and expect the masses will come flooding inside.

What is marketing? To put it simply, everything is marketing. There is internal and external marketing.

Internal marketing is customer service and office décor. It is often said that a client or customer loves the storeowner but can’t stand dealing with staff, or vice versa. The look of the office from the moment a customer gets out of their car, is marketing. Is there trash they have to step over? Or might there be a strange odor in the office? An interesting exercise is to walk through the office, with customer’s eyes, from the front door until a customer’s business is typically concluded.

What numbers are important? The obvious answer is your income and expenses. Looking a bit deeper, make sure you understand what is coming in and what is going out at all times. If there is something suspicious, ask and make sure that you are comfortable with the answer.

Here is an interesting exercise: Take a look at your office from the viewpoint of your customer.

External marketing is how you tell people about you throughout the community. Ads, website, billboards, Facebook and community events are all forms of external marketing. Customer attraction and retention must be a constant focus for the health of a business. You need to be aware of how you are getting your new customers based upon what you are doing and determine the return on investment for everything you do. At the same time, have a method for customers to let you know if their experience in your office did not meet their expectations. This would require a post-visit survey, suggestion box or even a follow up phone call.

What does your front door look like? Is there something that is unsightly enough to turn someone away? The marketing of your office is much more than magazine ads, website design or asking for referrals. It begins with the appearance of your office. You want to put your best foot forward from the very beginning and for some that may be driving by. Seeing the peeling sign or overgrown shrubbery, could be negative enough for them to decide to drive on, or worse, your competition down the street is attracting customers with their newly painted sign.

Communication

We all know how to talk, but do we all know how to communicate? Effective communication is much more than merely transferring information. It is not always easy due to the circumstances. Consider these two ways to communicate — verbal and written. Each is important and has their place in any business

Written communication includes not only formal contracts or return policies, yet also, offer letters for hiring, performance reviews and counseling memos. Additionally, the written processes mentioned above have a strong value in their ability to thwart any barriers from providing excellent customer service. Anything that is discussed outside of the normal business processes should be documented to protect the business owner and the employee or customer.

Verbal communication with employees can be directives that take place at team meetings. It is through these meetings that the team understands the vision of the business and what the owner expects of their participation as an employee. These team meetings are a fabulous way to review processes, to ensure that everyone is completing tasks the same way. Updates determined as a team, are then put into the processes book. This keeps everyone on the same page.

Communications with customers are just as important to document, to avoid a “he said, she said” type of event. If a promise is made, it should be written down.

The No. 1 frustration in most businesses is the lack of communication. This frustration can lead to good employees leaving or poor performance due to not understanding the role.

Owning a business is the dream of so many people, and it can continue to be a dream that is achieved on an ongoing basis. It is important to understand where your business stands and that the team in place has the owner’s vision with each ingrained in their actions.

Janice is the co-founder of Global Team Solutions (GTS), business consultant, and highly-regarded professional speaker.

Photo courtesy of Kube-Pak

Like crocuses bursting from the ground, the spring rush is coming and unstoppable. But instead of wringing your hands and worrying you might not be able to fill all the orders piling up on your desk, take a few tips from growers on how to slide through the season with less hassle.

1. Start preparing in the off-season.

“Being prepared is key,” says Kathy Donahue Nass, CFO and manager at Donahue’s Greenhouses in Faribault, Minnesota. “Think of any small or large thing you can get done in the off-season that will help you. One thing we do is go through all of our signs and get them updated. We sort them alphabetically so they are easy to find when we need them. This also requires us to update our price list for our plants ahead of time, a good thing to do.”

Bill Swanekamp, president of Kube-Pak in Allentown, N.J., believes proper time management in the spring is always “essential,” but not all growers are good time managers. “It is up to the executive management of the company to identify what tasks are not being managed efficiently by the growers and provide direction or more software tools to get things done in a timely fashion,” Swanekamp says.

He says there are software improvements available that can make the entire shipping process easier and more efficient. “Also, make sure you have enough carts and trucks to handle the busiest days,” he says.

Time management is also crucial for Donahue Nass’ business. “Setting goals for accomplishing tasks in the off-season is important,” she says. “It’s easy to put things off when it’s not crunch time. But by setting goals and completing them it really sets you up to be better prepared for the busy season.”

Photo courtesy of donahue's greenhouses

2. Use your staff wisely.

Wise use of your staff can also pay big dividends when things get hectic. Donahue Nass has found that when there are big projects that need to be completed, it’s helpful to get a big crew on the task rather than having just a few employees “struggle” to get it done.

“We also find that if we’re resetting some displays [in our retail department], it’s best to start and get these done before we open,” she says. “If you try to do this when the store is open, the many interruptions just stretch the process by hours.”

3. Automate as able.

Nola Wagner, president of Wagner Greenhouses and Garden Center in Minneapolis, believes automating some processes can certainly save time. “Automating is wise if there are funds to purchase equipment to manage tasks, such as seeding machines, a replug automatic conveyer, a moisture control unit with booms, a cutting belt conveyer, automatic computer systems for picking and shipping documents, and many more,” Wagner says.

Donahue Nass’ business has “automated” one process that was an “unbelievable time consumer”: putting boxes together. “We used to have to fold and staple the boxes. This required a person to work almost full time just making boxes for the month of May. We redesigned our boxes so they just fold and a tab holds it together. We now do not need one person dedicated to making boxes. Our clerks are able to make them when they are not busy. They like having something to do, and it frees up the box maker to work in the greenhouse.”

4. Value your workers.

Keeping employees happy during a stressful time is also paramount to a smooth operation. “Employees are generally happy when they are making good money,” Swanekamp says. “Even though it is not required, we pay time-and-a-half for all work done on the weekends throughout the year. This is especially valuable during the spring season, because the workers see the fruits of their hard work.”

Donahue Nass likes to create a “team atmosphere” on the weekends by serving lunch to all of the company’s employees. “As a family business, we feel this is great for our employees,” she says. At Donahue’s, staff unites for a simple 30-minute lunch that usually consists of sandwiches, chips, salad, cookies and the like. “They go back from that break refreshed and ready to work for another four to five hours,” Donahue Nass says. 

Swanekamp says it is smart to have a list of former part-time workers that can be called in as backup when needed (perhaps when one or more employees call out sick during crunch time). “We have a large group of part-time former employees that work only in the spring and are a tremendous asset to a successful spring season,” he says.

John Torsiello is a Torrington, Conn.-based writer.