In this dynamic and engaging 90-minute presentation, we address the realities of workplace violence, what to expect from first responders, and introduce our strategies for prevention, mitigation, and response to acts of violence. The session consists of a 70-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute round of Q&A.
The awareness Presentation is divided into several sections, with each section categorically relaying an intended message.
PREVENTION
We know that workplace violence is a possibility and not a probability. Though the law mandates training and drills for fire safety, stats prove that the likelihood of death or injury by an act of violence is greater than death or injury by fire or explosion. Yet, there is no regular situational awareness training for workplace violence.
THE PROCESS OF OUR PREVENTION STRATEGY
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We help organizations refine their Anti-Harassment Policy to incorporate an Affirmative Reporting Requirement. This includes training employees to identify and report the behavioral patterns that deviate from the established baseline toward potentially violent behavior.
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Within the organization, a group or body should be tasked with investigating and documenting behavior-based safety.
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We believe that these investigations and their result should not be a punitive process.
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Such employees should be provided the required resources for remediation through an employee assistance program as a productive part of the organization.
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PREPARATION
The critical element of our preparation strategy for such events is TIME. In the short window between the commencement of an event of workplace violence and the arrival of the first responders, the victims are on their own. Thus, people should be empowered to make decisions to improve their survivability.
ORIENTATION
While time is crucial, pertinent safety decisions can be made once people are correctly oriented toward the event. It can take seconds to minutes for people to process the information and orient themselves to the fact that a violent event is occurring. This delay can be the difference in surviving such an event. The sooner they orient themselves to what is occurring, the faster they can make informed decisions for their safety and act on them.
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REACTION
We take a different approach to reactive strategies for workplace violence and use the acronym ABC to describe our response campaign.
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A - AVOID
B- BARRICADE
C- CONFRONT
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We feel that ABC is a more straightforward term to recall under stressful situations!
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ABC EXPLAINED:
AVOID
It means to make calculated and tactical life-saving decisions to avoid the perpetrator instead of a panicked response. To avoid the perpetrator, it is essential to take stock of their activities ( what they are doing) and their location( where they are). Once armed with this information, we can make informed decisions to save our lives and the lives of others.
BARRICADE
This implies utilizing a previously identified secure location to barricade oneself or quickly identifying one that can be secured instead of the passive act of hiding. There is a substantial precedent that actors engaged in workplace violence, upon encountering a barricaded door, will move on to the easier targets. Therefore, playing the game of hide & seek can be treacherous.
CONFRONT
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We believe that unrestrained confrontation with improvised weapons should be used as a last resort only if a potential victim has no means to resort to the tactics of Avoid or Barricade: Confronting the attacker should always be the final recourse.
Who is this for?
We recommend the presentation for all new clients looking to provide their work groups with the basics of behavior-based safety, prevention, preparation, and response to acts of violence. We also recommend the presentation as the first step for all new clients looking to develop an ongoing training program for harassment at workplace.
How to get started?
Send us an email or call us to get the conversation started.
