Traliant Sparks

Traliant Sparks are short, engaging videos designed to raise awareness, spark conversations and motivate employees to speak up before potential problems become serious workplace issues. Only 2-3 minutes long, each Spark takes on a relevant topic in an informal style that breaks down barriers, making employees feel more comfortable asking questions and talking about their concerns with colleagues, managers or HR.

Easy to deploy on any LMS, Traliant Sparks is an innovative way to complement your annual training, reinforce your policies and send a strong message that when it comes to stopping bad behavior and creating a respectful, harassment-free workplace, we’re all in this together.

7 Reasons You’ll Love Traliant Sparks

• Keeps workplace-conduct issues top-of-mind year-round, without inundating employees with more training
• Engaging, informal style designed to raise awareness and spark conversations
• High quality, bite-sized videos fit into unpredictable schedules
• Can be customized with your policies and messages to fit your culture
• Mobile-optimized for smartphones and tablets, providing flexibility and convenience
• Available on any LMS for easy deployment throughout your organization
• Automatic engagement reports display usage rates to measure success

Traliant Sparks are offered on a variety of topics that we add to regularly. 

Bystander Intervention

“We’re In This Together” – When a manager makes an offensive comment about a team member during a meeting, no one says anything, even though the manager is clearly out of line. Chloe dispels the bystanders’ excuses for not getting involved, and explains why it’s important to say or do something. She then challenges viewers to think about how they would respond.

Consensual Relationships

“Love Happens” – Chloe discovers a coworker is dating their new boss, which brings up a lot of questions about how the relationship can affect the work dynamic. Chloe wonders what the company dating policy is and decides to review it.

Same-Sex Harassment

“A Little Help from a Friend” – A coworker confides that he’s dealing with same-sex harassment and doesn’t know what to do. Empathizing with his difficult situation, Chloe reminds viewers that sometimes all it takes is support from a coworker before an individual feels comfortable reporting sexual harassment.  

Protection from Retaliation

“Doing the Right Thing” – Chloe discusses her conversation with a coworker, who fears getting fired for sharing information about a harassment incident. She explains that people who report misconduct or participate in investigations are protected from retaliation and encourages viewers to speak up if they see or hear about inappropriate behavior.

Dating @ Work

“Only Ask Once” – This episode deals with a persistent employee, who keeps asking out a coworker despite being turned down repeatedly. Chloe shares some of the increasingly hilarious excuses he gets, along with a workplace dating tip: You get to ask someone out once. If the answer isn’t yes, don’t ask again.

Social-Media Behavior

“Bad Influencer” – An employee mocks a co-worker’s accent and national origin on social media, sparking a conversation about what is appropriate social media conduct when it involves colleagues and the workplace.

Unwanted Touching

“The Lunch Rush” – Two employees discuss how uncomfortable it is working with someone who consistently gets “handsy” when he’s in a hurry, sparking a conversation about how to keep the workplace respectful, even in a crowded, hectic environment.

Pregnancy Discrimination 

“Misguided Decision” – In this episode, a manager rejects a job applicant outright just because she is pregnant, sparking a conversation about pregnancy discrimination and the importance of following fair employment practices when recruiting, interviewing and hiring.

Personal Liability

“Crossing Lines” – Chloe describes what happened to a supervisor, who didn’t heed her advice that his comments and jokes might be making people uncomfortable. While it’s good to enjoy a laugh with co-workers, creating a hostile work environment is no joke.

Civility in the Workplace

“It’s Elementary” – Chloe shares some practical tips on keeping calm when situations heat up at work. Sure things can get tense sometimes, but attacking a co-worker’s idea, making rude remarks and yelling can create a toxic work culture and take a toll on employee health.

Being an Ally

“A Tough Transition” – Chloe shares her thoughts on being an ally to a good friend at work, who is transitioning from male to female. While it is the role of HR and management to provide guidance on how to address work-issues related to the transition, everyone can step up to be an ally by showing respect and compassion.

Unconscious Bias

“Superstar Search” – When a supervisor has trouble hiring a replacement for a “superstar” who left the company, Chloe notices a pattern. The supervisor is only interviewing candidates with the same background as the superstar. Unconscious bias is something we all have, however, if we aren’t aware of our personal biases, they can pose a problem when they interfere with decisions at work.

Cliques

“Circle Expansion” – Cliques are not just a high school thing. In this episode, Chloe shares her elevator encounter with a co-worker, who confesses she’s caught in a clique trap, all because she wanted to be part of the group. Wanting to fit in is fine, but cliques are not. They can hurt morale, teamwork and productivity. Chloe suggests that, instead of keeping people out, employees can expand their circle at work by thinking and acting inclusively.

Inappropriate Jokes

“Off Limits” – When a co-worker starts crossing the line from funny to offensive, Dan discusses why certain jokes are inappropriate — even within a “tight” group. Dan devises a plan for helping his co-worker tone things down… and sparks a conversation about handling similar situations.

Inclusion

“The Table” – When Sparks host notices the array of food on the break room table, they are reminded of how diverse the organization is. A talk on inclusion follows, sparking a conversation about  involving people from different backgrounds to make a team stronger, and a workplace more engaging.

Respectful Communications

“Breathe” – Sparks host talks about a stressful situation spurred  some improper behavior at work. They offer tips for ensuring spoken and electronic interactions remain civil, even in heated situations, and the value of respectful communications.

Appropriate Behavior for Work Parties

“Party Time” – When a colleague has the wrong idea about the nature of an upcoming work party, Sarah decides to bring her up to date. She explains that while the atmosphere may be different from the usual work setting, the expectations of respectful behavior remain the same.

Political Discussions at Work

“Civics & Civility” – Sarah discusses a recent barrage of political messages and its negative impact on the work environment.  Sarah reminds viewers that while it’s okay to be politically active on their own time, they should refrain from discussing politics and other divisive topics in the workplace.

Business Courtesies

“The Game Plan” – When a vendor makes a last-minute change to the game plan, John realizes that the new circumstances may have turned a legitimate business courtesy into something different — and possibly inappropriate.  After reviewing his organization’s policy, he decides to get guidance.

Facilitation Payments

“What’s the Holdup?” – When John receives a visit from an inspector, he is tempted by an offer to speed up the approval process for his project. But upon doing some research and looking at his organization’s policy, he realizes it’s a risky situation.  Rather than take the offer, he seeks guidance.

Protecting Customer Information

“No Compromises” – John is disappointed that, despite a recent workshop on data security, several colleagues are still being careless with customer credit card information.  John gives a brief refresher of credit card no-nos, and explains why it’s important to take precautions, even if it means extra work.

Socializing with Coworkers

“Busy Season” – Chloe describes some unusual behavior occurring at work, and how it escalated when the team went out for drinks together. Chloe worries about the effect some inappropriate behavior from a manager will have on a co-worker and the workplace.

The Importance of Reporting Misconduct

“Surprise Party” – Chloe recounts some surprising behavior that took place at a work party. She explains that it’s important to report inappropriate behavior whether it happens onsite or offsite — and regardless of the job title of the person engaging in the behavior.

Microaggressions

“Mindful Speaking” – After participating in a training session on microaggressions, Chloe ponders some hurtful comments that have been made in her workplace. She explains that microaggression training isn’t designed to make people feel bad, but rather to encourage people to be more mindful about what they say and do. She then challenges viewers to think about some of their past comments that may have been microaggressions.

Staying Safe and Respectful in the Field

“Find a Job You Love” – Chloe shares how much she enjoys her job in the field, and acknowledges that at times it’s easy to forget about workplace policies. She stresses the importance of acting professionally and following conduct and safety guidelines even when work doesn’t feel like work.

Rumors and Gossip

“Gossip, Gossip, Gossip!” – After a co-worker tried to engage her in gossip, Chloe explains that gossip and rumors are bad for the work environment. She points out that avoiding these behaviors is not enough, and then encourages viewers to go out of their comfort zone to help shut down any workplace gossip or rumors they hear.

An Intergenerational Workforce

“The Blender” – After one co-worker made an inappropriate comment pertaining to another’s age, Chloe discusses the dynamics of an intergenerational workforce. She explains that when people from different age groups are respectful and open-minded, in addition to fostering a pleasant work environment, they also create opportunities to blend their strengths together and accomplish even more as a team.

Avoiding Covid-19 Bias

“Slowing the Spread…of Rumors” – Chloe observes co-workers spreading rumors based on some false assumptions about another co-worker’s COVID-19 situation. She explains that people should show empathy rather than allow fear-based bias to impact the way they treat others.

Keeping Political Discourse Civil

“Double Foul” – When a conversation between co-workers turns political, and becomes uncivil, Chloe steps in to change the mood. She explains that sharing differing opinions and ideas, with empathy and in a respectful manner, can lead to problem solving.

Social Issues and Social Media

“Empathy Check” – When Chloe observes that a co-worker is feeling down, she finds out that a current social issue is having an impact close to home. Chloe explains how charged content on social media can lead to people feeling excluded, and she encourages people to take an empathy check before posting.

Avoiding Personal Choice Bias

“Math Superhero” – Chloe shares a story of how her work team almost passed on a great contributor — because of bias against the individual’s personal choice. Chloe explains how such bias can lead to misguided assumptions and gives insight on how to avoid this.

Psychological Safety

“Stinky Fish” – Stephen talks about her experience working on a team where trust, candor and inclusivity elevate performance and commitment.

Showing Appreciation

“Maria’s Cupcake” – Stephen talks about being inspired to make an extra effort to show kindness and gratitude – and how that effort creates a more positive workplace.

Staying Connected

“Reply All Welcome” – Stephen talks about why making a special effort to connect to new and existing employees can make an important difference in how people feel about their coworkers and work.

Racism Awareness

“Special Report” – Racial identity and racism has a tremendous influence on our individual life experiences.  This special report explains how race and social identities shape our lives, the different forms racism can take and how to be an ally.