5 stages of POSH journey

In this edition of #todayinposh, I want to share an article on DEI Maturity. This articles talks about the 5 stages of DEI maturity, which is aware, compliant, tactical, integrated and sustainable.

Even though the article focuses on the DEI journey, in this edition, I will discuss the same with regards to the POSH journey in an organisation. 

• The first stage is the Awareness stage. I see many organisations in this stage where they only start thinking about POSH after a wake up call - most likely that there has been an incident, which either resulted in a lawsuit or it was outed out on social media. In both scenarios, the fall out is the brand's reputation. 
• The second stage is the Compliance stage. Majority of the organisations fall in this category. Under the POSH Act, certain compliances have been mandated, most organisations are ensuring that they tick all the boxes. If you are just starting out in your POSH journey, this is a good start. But just because a company is compliant, it doesn’t mean its POSH initiatives are mature or will result in safe and inclusive workplaces.
• The third stage is the Tactical stage. Organisations that are in this stage have moved beyond the compliances and are executing some other initiatives to ensure that more and more employees are aware of their rights. Some of these initiatives include conducting POSH workshops not just for employees but also for their support staff. Further, POSH workshop is not just a once a year affair but a regular part of their training calendar. They are also investing in regular skill building workshops for their internal committee members. In this stage, the organisations are going beyond having just a POSH policy but integrating it with other organisational policies, such as contracts, code of conduct, grievance redressal policies etc. 
• The fourth stage is the Integrated stage. This is a stage where the organisation has a clear defined POSH strategy by taking a closer look at the impact of sexual harassment on its employees and seek to address those challenges. In this stage, some of the strategies include conducting regular anonymous employee surveys to understand POSH awareness level among them as well as their confidence in the IC and the organisation to address incidents of sexual harassment. This is also a stage where organisations are expanding the scope of their POSH policy to include all employees (regardless of the gender) as well as translating their policies in Hindi as well as vernacular languages. Most importantly, the organisation recognises that sexual harassment is real and has far reaching consequences on the mental and emotional well being of the employees and that it is not just a tick box activity. In my experience, very few organisations have been able to reach this stage. 
• The last stage is the Sustainable stage. Organisations whose POSH efforts are deeply embedded in their DNA have entered the sustainable stage. Their efforts pass stress tests such as changes in leadership, and their leaders have a mindset of continuous improvement. True commitment to POSH requires continuous improvement by reassessing strategies and initiatives as the organisation grows and as the world changes. 

So, which stage are you currently at and where you would like to go?