There are so many legal requirements regarding workplace human rights and yet managers and supervisors are often at a loss to deal with them effectively. While reducing legal liability is important, the real payoff comes from creating a workplace where basic human rights are respected with simple, understandable and agreed-upon practices. In this customized session your supervisors and managers will get a chance to discuss their concerns and fears about tackling what is often seen as a sensitive issue. Using thought-provoking and fun exercises, they will learn that workplace human rights issues aren’t as complex as they seem. They will find out what must be done, to avoid costly liability, employee turn-over and employee/customer dissatisfaction. At the end of the session, your workplace leaders will feel more confident to address issues as they arise, instead of waiting until they become unmanageable, or very costly.

Workplace leaders. Everyone who supervises people needs to know their legal obligations, on behalf of their employer. If they don’t, they risk an internal or external workplace human rights complaint. Of course, there is also the risk of bad publicity and bad customer relations. Human rights legislation deems most supervisors to represent management – even those with limited authority. Your workplace leaders will benefit from a better understanding of the issues, and they will feel more confident to tackle most issues before they become a big, messy and expensive, deal. For those with more complexity, they will know to seek advice from within their workplace instead of letting things get worse.

You were able to bring our management group up to speed on important issues that they otherwise might not have considered and you did so in a way that caught people’s attention. Our managers went back to their respective workplaces better informed and better prepared. I also appreciate the method of your presentations. Your examples were very current and you were able to utilize the electronic response system we were using to get their direct feedback. It was very informative and worked well with our group. I also appreciate that you are able to use humour and also able to get your message across without “preaching”. Your style and manner in addressing the issues within the room were very effective and we felt much more prepared to understand and be mindful of the risks in these extremely important areas of our business after your presentation.

Peter Blake, C.A. Chief Executive Officer Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated

Stephen Hammond, B.A., LL.B., CSP, is a lawyer turned workplace and community human rights speaker and educator. His Bachelor of Arts in political studies is from the University of Manitoba and his Bachelor of Laws degree is from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. Stephen is the author of Managing Human Rights at Work: 101 practical tips to prevent human rights disasters and Steps in the Rights Direction: 365 human rights celebrations and tragedies that inspired Canada and the world. Stephen is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and the International Federation for Professional Speakers. In 2008 Stephen was one of only 5 Canadians to receive the designation of CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) which is the “most prestigious earned designation for platform excellence” by the International Federation. Fewer than 10% of the Federation members hold this designation including just 43 Canadians.

Stephen Hammond's other Training Sessions include:

For an article on Harassment Prevention in the Workplace: