| In the realm of human resources, no other issue poses | | | | doing what they set out to do. |
| as much of a threat to the life of your company, not to | | | | |
| mention the safety of your employees, as that of | | | | The fact that employees in these businesses cannot |
| workplace violence. In the past several years, one of | | | | carry weapons makes them the perfect targets for |
| the primary focuses of conscientious HR managers | | | | those who choose to use them. Think about it. When |
| and CEOs has been toward finding and creating | | | | do these attackers kill themselves? |
| training programs and procedures that will minimize the | | | | |
| impact of this threat to both the company and its | | | | Right! |
| lifeblood - the employees working for it. | | | | |
| | | | | When the cops - the guys with the guns - show up. |
| However, contrary to the popular trend among human | | | | |
| resource managers and the companies they represent | | | | Looking at this logic from another perspective, how |
| to lean towards programs that focus solely on | | | | often do you hear of police officers attacking each |
| interpersonal communications and stress-management, | | | | other? |
| your focus should be on expanding your employee | | | | |
| training to include programs that teach your people | | | | Right! |
| what to do when these passive tactics fail. Ask any | | | | |
| expert who knows how to effectively handle danger | | | | Never! |
| in its most raw form and they will all tell you... | | | | |
| | | | | And why is that? |
| ...only those capable of handling the worst of situations | | | | |
| can easily handle lesser problems effectively. | | | | Right, again! |
| | | | | |
| I know how that sounds. It can certainly be argued that | | | | They are all either armed or capable of stopping the |
| non-aggressive people can be taught negotiation, and | | | | violence long before it has a chance to escalate. |
| other such skills in handling and diffusing a potentially | | | | |
| violent situation. And... | | | | You certainly don't have to arm your employees, and |
| | | | | I'm not suggesting that you should. However, adding |
| ...I would agree. If... | | | | training to your workplace violence program that at the |
| | | | | very minimum teaches your employees how to avoid, |
| ...we weren't talking about the concern for the potential | | | | evade, and escape from an aggressor who is |
| on the part of one of the participants, for violence. | | | | attacking them with anything from punches and kicks, |
| | | | | to guns and knives is not only a good idea, but doing |
| As illogical as this sounds, the fear, or ignorance, of the | | | | so will likely decrease or eliminate your liability in a |
| potential for violence can actually cause a situation to | | | | post-attack aftermath, as-well-as providing other |
| escalate faster towards that end. | | | | benefits. |
| | | | | |
| Do you understand the implication of that statement? | | | | Even training to survive a terrorist attack is not outside |
| | | | | the scope of the well-crafted workplace violence plan. |
| It's so important that I'll say it again... | | | | The attack on the World Trade Center and the |
| | | | | Pentagon on September 11th, 2001 is a prime example |
| "The fear, or ignorance, of the potential for violence | | | | of a situation that, to many, "doesn't happen here." |
| can actually cause a situation to escalate faster | | | | |
| towards that end." | | | | And, you know what? |
| | | | | |
| Earlier, when I implied that "non-aggressive people" | | | | Watching the responses of literally hundreds of people |
| may actually cause a violent reaction, I was not saying | | | | who panicked and chose to jump from windows, run |
| that you should be training your people to be violent, in | | | | up to the rooftop of a burning building, or simply |
| order to counter violence. In fact, I wasn't talking about | | | | acquiesce and make "good-bye" phone calls to |
| the predisposition towards violence at all. | | | | loved-ones a full half hour or so before the end, to me, |
| | | | | was one of the most horrific sights I have ever |
| What I was talking about was aggressiveness in its | | | | witnessed. |
| positive state, as the willingness to take on challenges | | | | |
| and risk. The fact is that our modern society, with its | | | | And all because they had no idea what to do. |
| politically-correct sensitivities, has produced a significant | | | | |
| number of people who think they can reason and | | | | Had these people been trained to think under pressure, |
| "nice" their way through any situation or hardship. | | | | many more people would have survived the violence |
| These people have never had to deal with really scary | | | | and mayhem that day. |
| situations - like an attacker throwing raw, unadulterated, | | | | |
| hatred and violence in your direction. So, by the time | | | | Remember, the Enlightened leader sees beyond the |
| they realize that they can't reason with an employee | | | | obvious. He or she is capable of recognizing potential |
| with say a passive-aggressive personality disorder, or | | | | threats to their goal and takes steps to minimize the |
| a hostile customer, it will be too late. | | | | damage should the worst happen. And the key here |
| | | | | is... |
| Not to mention the fact that the target of the violence | | | | |
| will be totally unprepared at that point because they | | | | ...taking the action that's required. |
| have never learned how to effectively handle violence. | | | | |
| And THAT is the point. Your employees don't have to | | | | This leader also knows that, what sounds illogical when |
| be violent people to know how to effectively deal with | | | | you think about it - intellectually, is often the very thing |
| violence. | | | | that will produce greater results than ideas founded on |
| | | | | conventional wisdom. And, protecting your business |
| So, unless part of the prerequisites for employment | | | | from workplace violence is one such situation. |
| into any position in your company includes requiring that | | | | Empowering your employees by teaching them simple, |
| people are already trained in karate or some other | | | | but workable self-defense tactics IS the key to... |
| form of self-defense, the likelihood is that the majority | | | | |
| of your employee base - yourself included - will find | | | | |
| themselves on the "victim" section of the post-incident | | | | - Virtually eliminating the possibility of aggression due to |
| and police reports. | | | | superior advantage being in your favor - not the |
| | | | | assailant's |
| NOT where anyone wants to be! | | | | - Reducing fear-based stress on employees by |
| | | | | empowering them with skills that work |
| By now, my focus and logic should be clear. | | | | - Protecting your company from post-attack lawsuits |
| | | | | from employee-victims who were NOT trained to deal |
| Make sure that your workplace violence plan is | | | | with this type of problem |
| empowering your employees to do more than talk. | | | | |
| Believe it or not, the primary reason that postal | | | | But, you and I both know. It's your company, your |
| centers, schools, and other such buildings are the | | | | money, and your decision. |
| favored targets for the weak but violent person, is | | | | |
| that... | | | | And you and your employees must live, or not, with |
| | | | | what you decide. Literally! |
| ...the attacker will not meet with resistance before | | | | |