The Iowa Restaurant Association, which represents more than 10,000 eateries and other hospitality-related workplaces, reported recently it plans to offer this summer online training for preventing harassment for free to any interested Iowa outlet. This caught our attention as this issue has certainly been making headlines in the last year in various industries. We caught up with association chief Jessica Dunker by email to get a little more information.

No workplace is free of harassment, but does the association hear from Iowa’s hospitality businesses that this is an issue? Or is this an effort to get ahead of potential harassment?
Dunker: The heart of the hospitality industry is ensuring that people feel welcome. It’s friendly and it’s fun, but that also makes it an environment ripe for misunderstanding. We must get ahead of the curve and ensure that everyone knows where to draw the lines for interaction with guests, co-workers and supervisors. This training is a great step.

Have there been other efforts like this for harassment or other workplace issues?
Dunker: The National Restaurant Association has had workplace harassment training available for years. This updated training is more comprehensive and addresses a broader set of safe workspace issues. If we’re going to make our customers comfortable in our establishments, we have to ensure our employees feel safe first.

What’s the expected participation?
Dunker: We hope to have broad participation by owners and operators, as well as with employees. This training is a great reminder for everyone. We are thrilled that it is available at no cost throughout the summer.