Having a policy and providing training are excellent steps, but there’s more companies can do to prevent harassment, says employment law attorney Fiona Ong.

Companies can assess their workplace and industry to determine if they are at a particularly high risk of workplace harassment, such as in certain industries that are male-dominated (like construction), utilize teenage workers (like fast food service), or immigrant workers (like agriculture).

There may be ways to minimize the risk, such as working in teams or additional targeted training. In addition, company leadership must set the tone from the top and must hold their managers accountable for addressing and preventing any harassment that they become aware of – whether it’s through a complaint directly to them, or they see something inappropriate happening (even if no one complains), or they hear about it indirectly. The managers need to alert Human Resources of any possible harassment situations and get guidance on the next steps. And companies need to respond promptly and effectively to any harassment situations.

The EEOC says that you can prevent harassment by: “Informing employees that harassment is prohibited; Identifying who employees should contact to discuss harassment questions or concerns; Assuring employees that they will not be punished for asking questions or sharing their concerns; Responding to harassment questions or concerns and investigating harassment complaints promptly and effectively; and ensuring that managers understand their responsibility to stop, address and prevent harassment,” Senior Director of HR Mary Morris points out.

In addition, companies should create a positive and respectful workplace culture and ensure a safe environment. Companies must address unwanted or offensive behavior early, take complaints seriously and protect informants against retaliation.

Another updated method is to use analytics to identify and resolve problem areas. Make staff welfare a priority by including it in review meetings and appraisals.

First, make sure you are consistent in messaging at all levels of the organization, advises Dan Oakland. That requires C-suite and front-line managers and supervisors to all be consistent in creating and promoting a workplace of respect and professional behavior.

Second, be proactive in seeking feedback from all people within the organization. Don’t just provide an avenue to report problems, but also ask at review times or during one-on-ones whether the individual is aware of any discrimination, harassment or other inappropriate behavior directed towards them or anyone else in the organization. Don’t wait for complaints; ask if there are problems that need to be addressed.

The more education and support you can provide to employees, the better, says Recruiter Carmela Bozulich.

You can’t control what people do. You can only try to get in front of it and make sure that employees know that you take harassment very seriously and that there are serious consequences should it occur. I would also add DEIB training to the roster of mandatory training that all employees must complete on a regular basis.