COMMENT:Katie Page, the CEO of Harvey Norman and the wife of Chairman Gerry Harvey, who has no qualms telling investors in his retailing business to f*#k off when he gets tough questions at his AGM, loves telling people how they should run their lives, but it appears that this does not apply to fixing up the culture problems at her own retail operation.
Glenn Gregory franchisee Technology Harvey Norman Balgowlah NSW.
Yesterday we revealed how another former Harvey Norman executive, Glen Greggory, who late last year was supposedly sacked by Harvey Norman after an incident at a vendor function involving a female from another major retailer, has suddenly popped up as the franchisee at one of their top 20 stores, Balgowlah, in NSW.
Rutland Smorth former franchisee at Harvey Norman Bundall QLD.
This is similar to what happened when Rutland Smith, the former franchisee at another top 20 store, Bundle on the Queensland Gold Coast, was sacked after claims of female harassment – only to be reappointed months later at another Brisbane-based store as a franchisee.
The question I have, is why would Harvey Norman, whose CEO has a responsibility to ensure that the management in their stores act in a responsible manner, especially when they have to work with and manage both male and female staff, terminate senior executives one minute and then allow them to be reemployed as a franchisee running a major store in the Harvey Norman retail network?
As a CEO of a media Company, I handled my first sexual-harassment case in the 1980s. A female sale executive hit on by a married sales director.
So, what has changed since then?
You could say a lot has changed. And you could say nothing has changed at Harvey Norman where the board also has a responsibility to ensure that a safe working environment exists.
I am not saying that Katie Page has done anything wrong, but she is the CEO of a business that everyone in the industry knowns is a boys’ club, dominated by male executives.
An example is the Harvey Norman board that has little, if any, independent directors, and is predominantly male.
Since the 1980s, we have experienced explosive growth in the HR profession, the employment law profession and HR consulting. At the same time, we have experienced explosive growth in employment litigation or the threat of litigation.
Management at Harvey Norman have an obligation to ensure a harassment-free workplace.
Allowing two former senior head office executives, who both worked in the Technology area of the business to be engaged as franchisees, raises serious questions as to how the business is being run when it comes to HR.
Harvey Norman executives, who are often invited by brands to overseas events or trade shows, are known for their wild drinking, drug taking and, in some cases, harassment.
I remember one year at CES when in a bar at the New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas, a senior Harvey Norman executive under the influence of alcohol pinched the backside of a female – only to find out that she was with two marines.
The rest is history, and it was not pretty.
The behaviour fell far short of acceptable.
When it comes to any form of harassment the responsibility starts and stays at the top.
And CEOs like Katie Page must embrace that responsibility—not because they want to successfully defend lawsuits and prevent claims, but because they are committed to every human being at their organisation being treated at all times with civility, professionalism, respect, and being allow to feel safe.
Reemploying people who have on one hand been terminated and then rehired to manage a business and people speaks volumes as to the real culture at Harvey Norman, irrelevant of whether the business is run by a female CEO.
I also suspect that the business that is the biggest buyer of advertising in Australia, is punting on mass media not writing about incidents at Harvey Norman for fear of upsetting the big retailers.
As a lawyer once wrote, the question is not “Was the behavior sexual?” It’s “Was the behavior professional?”
The question is not “Was the behavior unwelcome?” It’s “Was the behavior respectful?”
And the question is not “Does the behavior meet the legal harassment test?”
It’s “Does this behavior support our commitment to a respectful, safe and secure work environment for all?”
Where does Harvey Norman management, in particular their HR management, stand when this litmus test is applied to the behavior of their executives?
Sarah Butcher is the General Manager – Human Resources at Harvey Norman, so what did she have to say about the engagement of Glen Greggory or Rutland Smith as franchisees? Maybe, she had no say.
HR’s job is to make the CEO’s commitment a reality.
If you get this CEO-HR alignment right, the results will be astounding.
At Harvey Norman, the buck does stop at the top.
Harassment is a nonstarter, and people who engage in that behavior will be terminated.
And, that people who come forward, whether it be victims or bystanders will be supported, not handed a payout to keep quiet.
