FAQ
Overview
What is People First?
People First is a software platform for reporting and resolving workplace conflict. The platform allows anyone to create a report detailing their experience and guides all parties toward a mutual agreed upon resolution.
What can I submit a report about?
Anything that you’ve experienced or witnessed in the workplace. Issues can range from: subtle bias, discrimination, harassment, bullying or culture issues.
How does it work?
Our reporting process asks you a few critical questions to explain what you’ve experienced. Once you submit the report, it is routed throughout the company for resolution. At all times, you will have complete transparency on who is working on your report, how long it will take and next steps.
Is People First a person?
No. People First is a software platform. The only people seeing your reports are you and the assigned people to your report. People First has access to your basic information. To learn more see our data policy section.
How can I access People First?
You can download People First via the Apple or Google stores. If your company is a customer, you should have received an email to create an account with your work email address.
Is People First free to use?
Yes. People First is always free for employees. Employers can access our company pricing options here.
Is People First for me?
Can I use People First if I’m not sure what I experienced is discrimination or harassment?
Yes. If what you experienced felt inappropriate, use People First. For an overview of US discrimination and harassment, visit the US Employment Opportunities Commision (EEOC) website here.
Can I use People First if I witness inappropriate behavior?
Yes. You can use People First if you witnessed someone else being harassed or discriminated against.
How long do I have to submit a report?
We recommend you begin using People First as soon as you experience any type of workplace conflict. Based on EEOC regulations, you have up to 365 days to report an incident from the date it occurred. People First will never close your report.
How does it work?
How do I start and submit a report?
To start a report, you must have a People First account. If your employer is an existing customer, simply login in with your company email address. If your employer is not an existing customer, download the app and create an account. People First will contact you once we have authenticated your account.
Once you are in the app, you can start a report by pressing the “Create a new report” button. Follow the easy steps to complete your report. Your report will not be submitted until you’ve reviewed your report information and pressed the “Submit” button.
If I believe I may have witnessed harassment, should I report it?
Yes. Even if you are unsure if the activity you witnessed was harassment, you can still submit a report. Witnesses can also choose to submit anonymously and attach any evidence to their reports. Since you are a witness, your report will not go to HR/company first. It will go to the person you designated for verification. If that person did not experience what is detailed in the report or confirm the content, the report will be marked as closed . If the person agrees that the incident occurred, the report will then be escalated for resolution.
How does automatic escalation work?
If your company is an existing customer, a designated escalation path has already been defined. To view your company’s escalation path, simply go to the menu in your People First app and click on Resources. You will see the name of each person on your company’s escalation path and the number of days each person has to resolve your issue. If the issue remains unresolved for the designated number of days, the report automatically escalates to a more senior member on the escalation path. You will receive email and push notifications when your report escalates along with real-time status updates on your home screen. The CEO is always the last internal person on the escalation path.
What happens if the person I am reporting is on the escalation path? Can I still file a report?
Yes! No one on the escalation path is above investigation. Filing a report naming any member of the escalation path will not keep your report from being seen by other members of the path. Your report will simply skip the person you filed against.
I received a notification that a report needs my attention, what do I do?
If a report needs your attention, you will be notified via alerts and email. People First involves employees in the report resolution workflow, so reports will require some action from you. To view the reports that need your attention, simply login to the app and you will find all of the reports that need your attention on the top of your home screen under, “My Reports”.
How does my report get resolved?
Your company has adopted People First because it is the first software solution that gives you a voice. Your company wants to work with you to stop even minor harassment so you can feel safe and productive.
After your report is submitted, they will conduct their investigation and take the appropriate steps according to their policies to handle your report. Once they have reached an appropriate solution for the harassment, they will mark the report as “Resolved”. The software will automatically send you a notification to ask you if you agree that the matter has been “Resolved”. Remember that a report is not considered resolved unless you click the button in your app to confirm.
What is retaliation and how does People First protect me against retaliation?
Retaliation occurs when an employer or fellow employee punishes someone for reporting a protected action. The person carrying out the retaliation could be someone named as an aggressor, a co-worker, human resources, a direct supervisor or an arm of the company. Retaliation is illegal.
What is the process to report retaliation?
If you experience retaliation after resolving a report, simply follow these steps to report the retaliation. NOTE: You should file a report for each incident of retaliation like you do with each incident of harassment.
- Open a new report
- When prompted with the question, “Has this happened before?”, answer yes.
- Finish the report
- When People First follows up with a retaliation email, sent 10 days, 30 days and then 60 days after resolution, answer the email with your account and confirm that you have filed a new report.
- Allow the chance for the retaliation report to go up the escalation path. It will give the company a chance to remedy the retaliation.
- If the company cannot provide a reasonable resolution to the retaliation, do not agree to “Resolve” and allow the report to escalate to the government agency.
I have additional questions, who do I contact?
You can contact us at any time at contact@peoplefirstrh.com