It’s nice to see NOLA Media Group breaking big news again:
John Besh restaurants fostered culture of sexual harassment, 25 women say ~ Brett Anderson
I like the way Anderson framed the story with the missing HR Department being front and center. In my day job as a CPA I often see small businesses that think things like HR are luxuries that only “big companies” can afford when the fact is Human Resources and Compliance are as much a part of the business environment as are core operations. While it is true from the article that Besh did not have a problem hiring female managers, he sure did treat them badly by treating some as sex objects. What a complete waste.
From reading the article Saturday it became very clear that Mr. Besh likely needs a good criminal defense lawyer to go with the legions of civil labor lawyers Besh Restaurant Group will need to unravel the mess.
John Besh has taken responsibility for his actions in a statement he released to NOLA Media Group and that is a very important first step. That said I’m not sure even the best crisis managers in PR can salvage the Besh Restaurant Group, even with today’s news that Besh stepped down from day to day operations to focus 100% on salvaging his marriage and family. Harrah’s banned Besh Restaurant this morning and business at his free standing eateries will certainly suffer. In that respect all 1,200 employees of the Besh restaurant Group are paying the price for upper management’s recklessly bad behavior and that is the biggest shame of all.
Finally, a reminder to the guys that the lady working next to you is someone’s daughter, wife etc. Treat them like you’d have others treat your family members and you’ll never go wrong. I imagine this will dominate the local news cycle for a while.
