"I am now able to guide my clients through an investigation process and help them come up with creative solutions when there is a conflict at their place of business.” - Alexa Posliff, SCS learner.
Alexa Posliff has always been interested in employment law. A lawyer, who opened her own firm with two partners in 2021, she decided that one of the things she would like to be able help her clients with was resolving workplace harassment complaints through an effective response including complaint management and investigation.
Geared towards lawyers, human resource professionals and business owners, the School of Continuing Studies Specialized Certificate in Managing, Investigating and Resolving Workplace Harassment Complaints gave her the ability to do just that.
“One of the areas that I practice in is labour and employment law,” Alexa explains. “Through speaking with my clients and other lawyers, I have learned harassment complaints are often handled internally without much guidance as to best practices in the industry (or even without consideration that there is an industry focused on workplace investigations). I am now able to guide my clients through an investigation process and help them come up with creative solutions when there is a conflict at their place of business.”
Having been in the workforce for several years, this was Alexa’s first time returning to the classroom as an adult and she was glad to find that her course instructors were very understanding of the fact that she and her classmates were balancing school with full-time work and full schedules.
“For me, the most challenging part of taking this course was time management. As I was starting my own firm at the same time, I felt sometimes I was pulled in a lot of different directions. The instructors were very understanding about that and were supportive when I advised them what I was doing in my professional career,” she says.
“It was also clear that everyone in the class actually wanted to be there because we all were interested in the subject matter.”
Alexa says that the safe learning environment fostered by the instructors was key to tackling sensitive subjects in class.
“I felt my instructors were completely free of judgment. Some of the topics we discussed in class were personal and, at times, sensitive; knowing that my instructors were not going to judge us for how a situation was handled or how we would react in hypothetical situations made class a fun and safe learning environment,” she explains.
This was a vital aspect of the courses as it allowed Alexa to learn about the experiences of her classmates across different industries. “The dialogue in class was productive and thought-provoking.” She says. “My peers had a lot of unique professional experiences, and learning about how things are done in their own industries was incredibly interesting.”
Alexa says one of her most valuable takeaways from the Specialized Certificate in Managing, Investigating and Resolving Workplace Harassment Complaints was that being creative and listening to all parties involved in a conflict is key to coming up with an effective solution, and adds:
“My advice for students taking this course would be to keep an open mind and stay curious. Asking questions and actively participating in course discussions made my experience a happy and fruitful one. I felt like I got a lot out of the course because I was genuinely open to all ideas presented, even though they might not be consistent with my own professional experiences.”