POSH Training for Employees: Harassment

PoSH commonly stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment. The term is often associated with workplace training, policies, complaint processes, and employer responsibilities intended to prevent sexual harassment. Its specific legal meaning and requirements can vary by jurisdiction. In U.S. workplaces, organizations should align training and related policies with applicable federal, state, and local employment requirements and their own reporting procedures.

The main purpose of PoSH is to help prevent sexual harassment and promote a workplace where people understand respectful conduct, reporting options, and organizational expectations. Effective training is not simply a completion exercise; it helps employees recognize concerning behavior, understand how to raise issues, and know that workplace concerns should be handled appropriately, consistently, and with care.

Employee harassment training should explain the organization’s conduct standards, examples of prohibited behavior, reporting channels, anti-retaliation expectations, and available support. It should also clarify that concerns may arise in person, remotely, during work travel, or through digital communications. Manager-focused training should address how to receive concerns, document them appropriately, and escalate them according to company procedures.

Training frequency should reflect applicable legal requirements, workforce changes, and the organization’s risk-management approach. Many employers provide training during onboarding and repeat it on a regular schedule, with additional sessions when policies change or concerns reveal knowledge gaps. Using a learning management system helps assign the right course, track completion, and retain organized training records for internal review.

Yes. Online learning can make training more accessible for distributed teams, different schedules, and ongoing onboarding. A strong digital program should include clear, relevant content, assigned learning paths, completion tracking, and a way for employees to access current policies or ask follow-up questions. Some organizations also pair online instruction with facilitated discussions for managers or leadership teams.

Managers often receive workplace concerns first, so they need a clear understanding of their responsibilities. Manager-specific training can cover active listening, avoiding promises of confidentiality they cannot keep, documenting facts, preventing retaliation, and promptly connecting the concern with the appropriate HR resource. This preparation supports a more consistent response and helps leaders model the workplace culture expected of all employees.

Employers can document completion through a learning management system that records assigned courses, completion dates, learner progress, acknowledgments, and certifications where applicable. Records should be maintained alongside the relevant course version and policy materials, so the organization can show what employees received. Consistent documentation also helps HR identify overdue training and plan refreshers for new or changing workforce needs.

Konnect can support organizations through centralized learning in KonnectED, including assigned learning paths, progress tracking, reporting, certifications, and on-demand content. Its broader HR services and KonnectER resource portal can also help organizations access HR expertise, organize compliance documents, request policy updates, and receive employment-law and best-practice notifications. This connects learning with the policies and HR support behind it.