External Member of ICC- moving to an Expert Advisor role in Companies

Finding an appropriately qualified individual to fulfill the role of the external member in the Internal Complaints Committee is one particular task that poses quite a few difficulties for organisations. The ambiguity and vagueness in the guidelines for the same, as is the case with a majority of laws, also leads to a majority of employers being uncertain about who exactly they ought to bring in for a particular post. The same also holds true for organisations when they search for appropriate persons to conduct their employee sensitization programs.

Unfortunately, a majority of organisations conduct this search for a qualified individual separately in both cases. A convenient and effective alternative in this case, which is ordinarily ignored by employers, is for the employee sensitization to be conducted by the external member of the ICC. At the outset, finding people who are experts in the field of sexual harassment, and have a working understanding of the law regarding the same, is quite an arduous task, considering that there are very few individuals who could fulfill these criteria.

When added to the fact that organisations need to find one external member for their ICC, as well as a person to conduct their employee sensitization sessions, one can clearly see that finding appropriate individuals for either post is no easy task.

The obvious and most efficient solution in such a case would be for the organisations to have their employee sensitization be conducted by the external member of the ICC.

There are certain obvious benefits from following such an approach. Primarily, it saves the organisation from an unnecessary consumption of resources by having to find a separate person to fill the second post as well. Apart from this, the external member would already have prior knowledge and understanding of the environment in the organisation. This would play a telling role in the employee sensitization as they would also know which issues require to be given more stress and which do not.

Perception of the Act is one of the most important aspects relating to employee sensitization and the role of the external member cannot be understated in such a case.

While employees would ordinarily be reluctant in voicing their concerns and complaints to people who are part of the organisation, an external member would be able to gain the trust and confidence of the employees. On the other side, the management would prefer having a person who is already informed about the manner in which the organisation works, to be the one conducting the employee sensitization sessions.

As the external member of the ICC is already a member of one of the bodies in the organisation, the management would view him to be internal and a part of the organisation. Hence, the perception towards the external member is favourable on both ends, as he/she is seen as external by the employees and internal by the management.

The additional role that could be played by the external member is not restricted solely to the conducting of sensitization sessions. The external member has the potential to be an expert on such issues within the organisation. He/she would play a vital role in monitoring the working of the organisation and addressing issues that would need to be dealt with. This would help the organisation in being able to pre-empt potential complaints of sexual harassment and take the necessary steps to deal with the same.

The role played by the external member in the above scenario is different, compared to that which they ordinarily play as a part of the ICC. While the function performed in the latter case is largely reactive, as they seek to dispose of complaints that have previously arisen, their role is more preventive in the former case.

By monitoring the working of the organisation, the external members would be able to offer the organisation with appropriate advice regarding steps that could be taken in order to minimise such cases arising in the future.

Every employer is also required to ensure that the ICC at his/her workplace is adequately trained and has a certain level of understanding with regard to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013. The expertise of the external member would be vital in such a case, as he/she would already have a working understanding of issues relating to sexual harassment as well as the specific needs of the organisation. Thus, the external member would be indispensable to the process of ICC capacity building.

Finally, it is also vital for the management of the organisation to get on board and understand the importance of compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace guidelines. The external member, on whom the management would have a certain level of trust, would thus, be able to explain the importance of compliance and ensure that the management works in alliance with the ICC. The external member would also play a significant role in changing the perception of the management towards such issues from being reactive to being preventive.

Written By: Team Conduct

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