In the Silverwood Chronicles, “Interference” is a codename introduced in the cast of characters. The description was straightforward: someone who disrupts what might otherwise be a proper process or procedure. Think pass interference. Or a signal that cannot get through.
To save space in these character posts, I’m moving the standard Silverwood Chronicles disclaimer to a pop-up. The same context still applies; click here to read the disclaimer.
The Ground Zero post began with the epicenter. It ended with questions about the roles other people played—and a preview of Isaiah’s account of an action well outside the HR process. That is where this part of the story picks up.
Interference: Outside the HR Process
Silverwood’s publicly available employee handbooks describe how harassment reports are to be handled. The 2021 handbook states:
All complaints will be taken seriously and investigated. If the complaint is found to have merit, corrective action will be taken.
2021 Employee Handbook, Sexual Harassment Policy, p. 6
As a part of Silverwood Theme Park’s policy concerning sexual harassment and hostile work environment, it is management’s responsibility to obtain sufficient information to understand the nature of the complaint and determine the proper course of action. Only after a thorough review will action be taken regarding the complaint.
2021 Employee Handbook, Sexual Harassment Policy, p. 7
The 2023 handbook states:
Cast Members who experience or witness harassment are encouraged to immediately report the incident to a supervisor or HR representative. All reports will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken, up to and including termination of employment. Cast Members who engage in harassment will be held accountable for their actions and face consequences, including but not limited to discipline and termination of employment. Silverwood Theme Park is committed to creating a safe and respectful work environment for all Cast Members.
2023 Seasonal Cast Member Handbook, Harassment Policy, p. 9
Interference was (and is) a member of Silverwood’s senior management, with responsibilities spanning the park. This was someone positioned to help ensure concerns reached the proper channels and received a serious review…per the policies of the handbook.
Isaiah described the following in a message last summer:
I wanted to say, that [Interference] was someone who went to [Ground Zero] directly and told him that I had filed an HR complaint on him.
In a follow-up message less than a minute later, he added:
He basically told [Ground Zero] not to trust me.
Handbook copies: 2021 Silverwood Employee Handbook (PDF) · 2023 Silverwood Seasonal Cast Member Handbook (PDF)
Questions for Silverwood
What process should have applied to the situation Isaiah describes? Who had authority to act, what action was taken, and what record exists of the decision? What opportunity did Isaiah have to have his concerns heard through the appropriate channels?
And how did the actions of Interference fit into the policy, or make the environment in any way better?
A policy on paper is a starting point. What matters to the person bringing a concern forward is what happens next. The wording also changed between the two handbooks: the 2021 version specifically assigns management responsibility for gathering sufficient information and conducting a thorough review before acting; the 2023 version broadens the harassment policy but describes the response more generally—all reports will be investigated and appropriate action taken. What prompted those changes? Were they routine revisions, or did they reflect concerns or experiences within the working environment? The handbooks alone cannot answer that. But Isaiah’s account raises a related question: how did the response he described measure up to the commitments in either version? And whom did those responses protect—was it the cast/staff, the Silverwood name and reputation…or the person whose conduct prompted the HR complaint?
In this post, we looked at a decision and an action that seemed to conflict directly with Silverwood’s stated processes and procedures. But what happens when the opposite takes place—when management knows about the issues, yet chooses to ignore them and turn a blind eye? That’s next week’s post in the Silverwood Chronicles: Hear No Evil, See No Evil.
–S.
PS As always, my contact info is at the bottom left of each page in the About section in case you have information to potentially add, or if you are from Herschend proper.
