While there was certainly a lot of ugliness in the Don Imus incident was there anything good that came out of it? One good thing is that it pushed the Anna Nichole Smith story off the never ending 24-hour news circus. Another outcome, and something certainly more worthwhile, is that it has spurred thought and dialogue regarding racism, sexism, civility, and a long list of significant issues. But since we’re talking about HR here, does the Imus mess have any lessons for us?

While one hopes that such conversation doesn’t occur in the workplace, we all know that similar things are said, at least in some environments every day. The issue becomes what do you do about it? While Don Imus may or may not have changed his conversation patterns in the last few decades, it’s pretty obvious to those of use in the workplace that the world has changed. Everybody needs a good EEO/anti-discrimination policy, which is well disseminated, and regularly communicated. Managers, supervisors, and employees need ongoing training as well. But don’t forget the senior managers. Their understanding of their responsibilities is critical. That was certainly obvious with Imus. But what about actions or communications that may be mean, crude, offensive, or demeaning but aren’t illegal? Imus made a lot of comments like that, including these. Your policies and practices must address these as well. Workplace bullying is an issue that we are hearing more and more about. Some states are pursuing legislation to address it.

Commentators discussing the Imus situation discussed the need for a timely response, whether the punishment fit the crime, whether this was part of a pattern of behavior, whether some form of progressive discipline is appropriate (suspension first? then termination?), and what type of message needs to be communicated from top management? Those of us in HR face those issues regularly. We just had an opportunity to observe corrective action and termination on TV.