Thought of the Day
HR will never be effective enough against harassment as long as it reports directly to the CEO/C-Suite. Companies that can afford to do – as a competitive advantage – should design an external body to respond to these complaints, much like a public editor responds to reader complaints. A select group of employees could independently oversee this function. Only an impartial organ can truly feel approachable by the entire workforce.
ONTO THE NEWS
In the secretive world of watches, Zenith decides to share (NYT)
Why it matters: Businesses are studying the effects of the sharing economy and looking for ways to diversify their income streams. IP and platforms can provide a steady stream of income that can buffer against poor sales quarters.
Google’s first step in air-travel dominance—stop sharing intel with competitors (Fast Company)
Why it matters: Google courts scrutiny with every move it makes because of its size and the breadth of services it provides. Some services are quasi-utilities – usually from previous acquisitions – that helps the company guard against anti-trust questions. But, individually, they make decisions to eliminate sharing of information from these utility-like products in order to bolster their own business. And this brings on the scrutiny and questions of whether they are choking competition. Rinse and repeat.
Why Your HR Department Can’t Stop Sexual Harassment (Bloomberg)
Why it matters: There have been far too few deep investigations into how and why HR departments fail employees when it comes to any type of harassment. HR is often a thankless job, and it is sometimes seen as an extension of the C-suite (which sometimes is the domain of the harasser(s)) and a defender of a company. This article offers some helpful advice, paramount of which is the suggestion that harassment reporting protocol be mentioned in open meetings, so employees have a frame of reference and an invitation to talk about what has happened to them or someone with whom they work.