Following the Radio 4 Women's Hour Programme about bullying, I had a meeting with Charlotte Rayner, Karen McIver and Anita Houghton. We met to discuss the state of current research on bullying, what organisations were doing and how coaching can help.

One of the most important things that came from that discussion was about getting the focus in the right place, both from an organisational and an individual point of view.

Too often organisations get stuck at the policy stage (we're all agreed you need a good policy, by the way).

Too often individuals get stuck on definitions of what is bullying (we agree that everyone needs to have a basic understanding of what bullying is).

Where organisations and individuals both get stuck is in wrangling about whether there is a grievance, a case to answer, whether the organisation can admit that bullying has occurred and what they want to do about it. Of course these things are highly important, but it is already too late.

None of these things prevent bullying from happening in the first place. Focussing on these areas will not help you to sort out bullying.

Prevention is key, but is the least focussed on area. Acting early to mitigate against risks where there are pockets of suspect management practice is critical. If you can do this before  you get alarming indicators (long-term sick leave for stress, higher than normal turnover, poor morale, complaints, reduced productivity) you can overcome the problem and get the best possible outcome for all concerned.

In health and safety, there is a model of working to avoid risk that needs to be applied to bullying. I welcome any contact with Health and Safety Managers and those involved with risk assessments. HR and department heads should increase the priority of what they do to prevent bullying following the Green and Majrowski cases.

If you are not sure what to do, call me, Lorenza Clifford: 01264 334897.