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Improving sexual harassment and sexual assault training effectiveness by aligning training efforts with business strategy

In their focal article on how industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists can extend the conversation on sexual harassment and sexual assault via workplace training, Medeiros and Griffith (2019) discuss important considerations for designing the training programs to promote transfer and improve evaluation of key outcomes. The authors briefly discuss needs assessment and its associated components—organization analysis, task analysis, and person analysis—noting a range of issues that may be revealed at any of the three stages of analysis. We agree with all of the elements discussed in that section; however, we think that one particularly important component of the organization analysis—link to strategy—was not explicitly discussed. Here, we argue that linking organizational learning and training efforts to business strategy is well positioned to play a very critical role in the overall effectiveness of sexual harassment and assault training. A thorough needs assessment is crucial to ensuring training effectiveness and efficiency (Brown, 2002), and organization analysis is a vital piece to that assessment: “Organization analysis involves determining the appropriateness of training given the organization’s strategic goals, environment, resources, and characteristics” (Brown, 2017, p. 1647). As this definition indicates, the organization’s strategic goals should guide planning for and carrying out necessary employee training. For training to be effective, it must support organizational strategy, ensuring that training objectives are directly aligned. Everything from the type of training needed to ensuring that resources are in place to meet training needs to securing buy-in from members of the organization and management are dependent on the overall strategic goals of the company. Ultimately, the aim is to provide employee training that will help execute company strategy (Smith, 2008). Establishing the link between sexual harassment training and organizational goals—such as improving workplace climate, higher productivity, or improved organizational reputation— provides a number of notable benefits both for those wishing to implement the training (i.e., I-O psychologists, HR professionals, training personnel) and for the organization and its members. As indicated above, strategic alignment of training not only ensures that training supports the organization’s mission and facilitates the attainment of organizational goals (e.g., Arthur, Bennett, Edens, & Bell, 2003; Reed & Vakola, 2006) but also helps to secure management support and corresponding resources, which are crucial in the training design process and in ensuring the success of training. At the onset of training, in particular, the importance of organizational buy-in and garnering adequate resources cannot be overstated (Noe, 2017). Not only do senior leaders have the authority to institute training policies and practices, but meta-analytic results demonstrate that organizational buy-in established during organization analysis, and management support in particular, enhance trainees’ motivation to learn and to apply learned skills on the job (Colquitt,