Business Security & Risk Management: 7 Steps to Prevent ...

Employers and employees frequently want to know what basic steps they can incorporate in their daily routine to help prevent workplace violence. The Department of Justice reports more than 2 million incidents of violence in the workplace, with 600 to 1,000 fatalities annually.

So what happens in the cases that capture our attention when people are killed at work? What goes wrong in cases that lead to an active shooter situation, such as the case in Oakland CA last week where a former student, One L. Goh (Alameda Sherriff's photo, left), came to school and fatally shot 7 students and faculty execution-style?

One of the key problems is that people often don?t connect early warning signs with an escalation of aggressive or unusual behaviors.

The warning signs are often missed, overlooked completely, or people are worried but do not alert someone higher in the organization. In some situations a witness to inappropriate aggressive behavior will come forward, but their warnings are not reviewed by threat assessment professionals, or a manager within the organization does not know what action to take and nothing happens to prevent the impending violence.

What should you do? Take all threats seriously; remember there are always warning signs in cases of workplace violence.

Create a Workplace Violence policy in your organization and include the following items as a minimum:

1. State that the company or organization maintains a zero tolerance policy for violent or aggressive behaviors in the workplace, including: threats of violence, intimidation or any type of harassment.?
2. Show that the company is committed to workplace safety. Senior managers need to support this approach so that the company environment an culture support zero tolerance for violence and aggression.?
3. Describe company procedures that should be followed if violent behavior is observed by anyone in the organization.?
1. Show specifically how to report violence, threats, intimidating, or aggressive behavior
2. Provide a description of concerns, supported by observations, fact, and if evidence is available (including email or voicemail evidence of threats or overly aggressive demands), this should also be included.?
3. If threats are made: show the threat language as closely as possible to what was actually said (verbatim if possible).?
4. Show what disciplinary measures may be followed, up to and including termination of employment.?
5. Include the policy in employee handbooks so that all employees have access to this information and know what to do and more importantly who they need to inform if a co-worker or manager exhibits this type of behavior.?
6. Train employees annually to recognize the warning signs for violence.?
7. Work with a threat assessment professional to evaluate the level of threat before it becomes more serious. Threat assessment professionals can often help to diffuse the potential for violence.?

If workplace violence is a current concern: a manager should contact your company?s legal counsel to discuss obtaining a Company or Personal TRO.

Make it easier for employees to alert the right person in your organization of their concerns, and take action to follow up immediately if any warning signs are evident.

To read more on 25 Warning Signs of Violence read here.

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