No organization is insured against workplace violence. The cost of such incidents to organizations is astounding. It is impossible to overestimate workforce safety because a single incident can have far-reaching consequences: the loss of life or physical or psychological impact felt by the victim and the victim’s family, friends, and coworkers; the decrease of productivity and morale that spans through an organization after an incident; and the damage to a business’s reputation once the news is released to the public. Workplace violence affects other aspects as well. The pervasive impact on organizations and individuals is wide-ranging and can include:

• Temporary/permanent absence of a skilled employee
• Psychological damage
• Property damage
• Productivity hindrances
• Increased security costs
• Increased workers’ compensation costs

There are many theories about the causes of workplace violence. However, one needs to be very cautious when profiling or stereotyping individuals or organizations. The presence of any of the factors does not warrant a violent act. Nevertheless, an incident can be the result of any or a combination of these factors. Remember – violence or threats of violence in any form is unacceptable workplace behavior. It should not be tolerated and must be addressed immediately. Implementing strategies and step-by-step plans will ensure that your company is as prepared as possible. You need to take a look at the possible threats that could affect your staff, then make plans to eradicate them. See below for several suggestions on integrating things such as disaster planning, workplace safety, and emergency preparedness at your organization.

What Is the Purpose of National Preparedness Month?

Since 2004, September has been deemed National Preparedness Month across the U.S. It’s a time that people promote workplace safety and planning for the direst of circumstances. By dedicating an entire month to preparedness, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is trying to drive the point home of how quickly things can turn. In those moments, it’s important to have a plan of action. Be sure to take this month of September seriously and put in several different plans for any emergency situation.

How to Promote Workforce Safety

It can be overwhelming to think of all the different scenarios that you need to prepare your organization for. The best way to prevent a workplace incident is to maintain a professional, healthy, and caring work environment with no place for negative feelings such as isolation, anger, and hostility among employees. Leaders should promote sincere, open, and timely communication among managers and employees and offer professional development opportunities.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Department of Labor Workplace Violence Program’s goal is to promote a healthy work environment in which violent or potentially violent situations are proactively addressed and prevented. Employee awareness and understanding is key to the success of such a program. Based on the aspects of the incident and the available resources, certain departmental experts may be asked to provide technical assistance in their particular field to help assess, investigate, and respond to emergency situations. Employees (including managers and supervisors) are responsible for:

• Their own behavior by communicating responsibility with coworkers, leaders, and clients
• Being familiar with company policy regarding workplace violence
• Promptly sharing any potential acts of violence with appropriate authorities
• Cooperating in investigations and assessments of allegations of workplace violence
• Informing appropriate personnel about restraining or protective court orders related to domestic situations

The following steps for preparedness are integral to your workforce safety and your business’s reputation.

Secure a Recovery Site or Alternative Workspace

When the safety of your workplace has been compromised, having access to an alternative workspace will ensure continuity of operations while protecting the safety of your workforce. Short and long-term alternative workspace should allow for all critical functions, which is why it’s critical to have your alternative workspace secured beforehand. Waiting for an interruption to occur could result in significant delays in getting your recovery site fully functional to meet your recovery time objective. If your team will recover remotely, consider a mobile power and secure connectivity solution that will allow them to safely work from anywhere without the threat of interruption. While it may be tempting to equip remote workers with a standard hotspot, beware of the cybersecurity challenges that come along with an unsecured network – especially given the sharp increase in cyberattacks on remote workers since 2020.

Implement an Emergency Communications Plan

One of the most critical aspects of your emergency preparedness is how you’ll update your workforce that it’s time to take action. For these situations, an emergency notification system will allow you to communicate with everyone involved. Emergency notification software can be helpful when urgent instructions or guidance are being shared. when possible, utilize a system that offers emergency notifications. It’s a key part of ensuring that you can communicate with your staff as soon as a critical situation is identified.

Organize Your Plan Step by Step

The emergency plan that you put in place should be detailed and task oriented. Its organization is key in determining how successfully your business handles emergencies. Start by thinking through the different steps of your plan. This can include items like evacuation plans for each department, emergency messages, how to report the emergency, shutdown procedures, and identifying possible emergencies. As you plan each step, think of how it applies to your business. Where is the safest place to go for each different type of emergency? What’s the next step after being notified of the emergency?

Train Your Employees

Designing a plan is not a strategy. You also need to train your staff on what to do when an emergency occurs. Go over the basics of your emergency training and ensure that they’re familiar with all of your best practices for each situation. Whether you’re training tenants or employees, there’s a likelihood that they don’t process all of the critical information that you’re giving them. For that reason, it’s critical to train them more frequently. The more training sessions you have, the more information they will process over time. They’ll have a few takeaways from each session, helping them retain the instructions that you’ve given them. You might also brainstorm different ways that you can make your training more interactive. Tabletop exercises are a great way to involve all essential employees who need to rehearse their plan of action during an emergency.

Identifying a Disgruntled Employee

To prevent an incident from happening, one must recognize the signs indicative of anger or hostility. If an employee demonstrates open aggression, owns weapons, or talks about resorting to violence as a solution, they may be a disgruntled employee. Although, the most prominent sign and the most dangerous type of disgruntled employee is one with criminal activity, especially when it pertains to violence.

Addressing Disgruntled Employees

You might think it will never happen to your business. However, in 2020 alone, workplace violence caused more than 20,000 injuries and nearly 400 fatalities. Disgruntled employees in your workplace should not be taken lightly. In fact, many workforce emergencies occur because the disgruntled employee didn’t receive the help they needed. Having a plan for workplace violence doesn’t indicate that you don’t trust your employees and coworkers. It means that your business cares about your colleagues’ well-being and wants to protect them by implementing plans that will keep them safe in the worst-case scenarios.

Getting Ready for National Preparedness Month the Right Way

Take back control of any unforeseen situation with the right continuity and recovery strategy in place. Be sure to read this article for more information on how to identify a disgruntled employee in your workplace. For more information about how to restore operations following a disruption, contact us or please visit our resources page today.

What does shelter in place really mean?

In certain emergency situations, including a severe weather alert, a pandemic, an environmental hazard (e.g., chemical release), or a local emergency (e.g., active shooter), the public is told to “shelter-in-place.” The purpose of sheltering in place is to keep people safe while indoors during an emergency event. However, the phrase may be confusing to someone who is not well-versed in disaster preparedness, interpreting the instruction as staying where you currently are. That’s precisely the opposite of what you need to do.

Steps

Different threats require slightly different sheltering recommendations. The following steps describe how to effectively take shelter in place in your office, or at home, and ensure everyone is safe during a crisis.

• If there are any visitors in your office, make sure that they stay in your building and are instructed on shelter-in-place protocols for your office.
• Gather everyone in the designated shelter-in-place area, secured and with locks on the doors.

1. In a natural disaster or radiological release, the safest location is the room on the lowest level, or underground, and in the interior-most part of the building.
2. In the event of a chemical or biological disaster, the area should be an interior, windowless room on the highest floor of the building. Most hazardous agents are heavy enough to slowly settle to the ground.
3. In the situation of a pandemic, you’ll want to remain at home and only leave for essential items (food, supplies). If you do find yourself in a busy area, you’ll want to practice social distancing to give yourself the best chance of not becoming infected.

• If your office is in a mobile unit, a plan must be developed in advance specifying a nearby building to seek shelter in. Strong winds will turn over a trailer or a mobile unit, making it an unsafe location during many types of disasters.
• Shut off all HVAC systems and fans. If there is no other room other than the one with windows, cover or block them.
• Encourage everyone to reach out to their emergency contact and let them know of their location.
• Have essential emergency kit accessible.

In any emergency situation, immediate and clear communication can provide a lifeline. Consider our Crisis Communication checklist as a part of your strategy.

Additional safety measures

It is beneficial to have a land-line phone along with a battery-operated radio and television in this safe room for efficient and reliable communication, as cellular towers may get overloaded. While using an emergency notification system in your company to alert employees to any threats in essential, consider subscribing to your local police department or local county government’s Reverse 9-1-1 system to get warnings about local threats in your area. To find this information online, search the phrase “emergency alert system” including your county and state. Exercising practice drills annually will help everyone in your workplace understand how to respond to a shelter-in-place situation, preventing any mistakes. Take your knowledge home to make sure that your family stays safe should a disaster occur. Shelter-in-place can be in response to a pandemic (ex: COVID-19). To learn more about preparing for a pandemic, download our Pandemic Tabletop Exercise. And to learn more about preparing for an active shooter, download our Active Shooter Tabletop Exercise.