HR professionals note that placing all the focus on their departments, as has happened in some cases amid the #MeToo fallout from sexual harassment allegations, is a big mistake.
Companies rather need to examine the existing culture, and realize there is only so much HR can do to create real change. "[#MeToo] is all our issue, it's society's issue," says Patty McCord, former chief talent officer at Netflix. "Particularly, it's management's issue."
McCord stresses that employees should feel comfortable approaching anyone in management and expect that they would show the same concern as HR. "That's not an HR problem, that's a cultural problem," McCord said. "You either tolerate that s- - -t or you don't. Period. End of story."
Denise Young Smith, Apple's former head of global human resources, echoes McCord and says employees should feel as comfortable approaching the CEO as they do HR. Smith now is executive-in-residence at Cornell Tech.
"Everyone owns the responsibility for a culture that is intolerant of these kinds of behavior," Smith said. "You must implement processes, and levers and a culture of trust."