By Tyler Weston, CEO and Co-Founder of The Noble Group
The society we live in today is vastly different from even just a decade ago. We can no longer risk going to work each day oblivious to our surroundings, failing to be diligent, and ignoring the red flags of a potential threat.
Since 2019, the number of violent incidents in the workplace has been on the rise, reaching new record levels each year. According to recent data, more than two million workers in the U.S. face some form of workplace violence annually – and those are just the reported cases. Current estimates show that workplace violence costs U.S. companies around $56 billion annually. Yet, despite the risk-heightened environment, only about 30% of businesses have established safety and health programs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Recently, the courts have gotten involved, finding businesses negligent when a violent incident occurs if the company does not have established emergency response protocols or a workplace violence training and education program, or if the company is shown to have ineffective employment screening practices (a lack of due diligence). These businesses are being ordered to pay huge sums of money, in the tens of millions of dollars, in the aftermath of a workplace violence incident because of lawsuits or to pay for employee counseling and healthcare, increased insurance premiums or governmental fines. Further, these incidents result in reputational harm to employers who potentially go on to face significant loss of business and partnerships or have trouble hiring and retaining good people.
According to The Washington Post, the average workplace violence incident, where serious injury or death occurs will cost a business around $38.5 million in total loss. We know the majority of businesses in this country cannot withstand a loss of that magnitude. And, the company insurance policy will provide little help.
It is also important to realize that in our industry we are being blunted by local, state, and federal laws and regulations that are making effective pre-employment screening practices more and more a thing of the past. With states continuing to legalize drug use and putting up barriers to pre-employment drug screening, compounded with the “ban the box” campaign to suppress background checks, we must seek other ways to ensure that we can keep our employees safe and secure at work. The 2023 Verkada Workplace Survey showed that only 37% of workers feel safe in their workplace. So, think about that… only one in three employees who walk through your doors daily feels safe being there. I realize this is a national survey that doesn’t reflect the reality of many businesses, but the point is well taken. How can we change that view for our employees? How can we ensure that they feel safe at work? Not only do workers deserve to feel safe, but the research shows that a workplace that feels safe is more productive and workers who feel safe are more engaged and less likely to leave to seek alternative employment.
Preparation is key
Finally, I have some good news. There are ways that we can make our organizations safer and more prepared. First and foremost, a safety culture must be established. This will start at the top and employee buy-in is a must. As with any change initiative, organizational leaders are the key components, or champions, in establishing and grounding change. As stated earlier, we owe it to our employees to provide them with a safe working environment, and OSHA mandates it with its General Duty Clause. Below is a list of components that should be implemented to build a workplace safety culture:
1.Develop a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP). It is better to have a plan and not need it, than not have one and need it. Every organization should have a WVPP in place. WVPPs have been mandated for employers in California by law as of July 1, 2024, and there are many other states drafting legislators to enact laws requiring annual WVPP review and a minimum of one hour of active assailant response training for employees.
2. Initiate control measures aka “Target Hardening.” Address hazards and risks using access control, proper lighting, security cameras, placement of workstations, etc. Teach employees to challenge/question outsiders, who are not part of the organization, before allowing them to walk in the door.
3. Create an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) and make sure all employees know where to find it and how to access it.
4. Train and educate employees on topics such as active assailant response, critical incident management, situational awareness, continued behavioral observation, de-escalation and non-escalation techniques, ass well as threat assessment.
5. Create forms, protocols, and proper channels for incident reporting and recordkeeping. Ensure employees know how to report and when to report “red flags.”
6. Evaluate your entire safety program and practices annually. This is not a document or something that can be created one time and hidden away in a cabinet forever. It must constantly be reviewed and updated with current best practices.
7. Drill, drill, and drill some more! Schools do this all the time. Proper response in the event of a workplace violence incident requires continual functional conditioning drills to build muscle memory, making action second nature. Failure to drill will lead to complacency and unpreparedness should an incident occur.
8. Have a vulnerability study conducted to assess current security risks and potential insider and outsider threats.
9. Conduct regular testing of interoffice communication systems and conduct regular safety meetings.
Keep in mind that the list above is not exhaustive. It is a starting point. Building and maintaining a workplace safety culture takes time and effort. However, the reward for the effort you put in will be safer, happier, more engaged, and more enthusiastic employees. It is also worth noting that your efforts toward mitigating foreseeable risks will greatly help you in the event that an incident should occur in your organization. Insurance companies and the courts are drawing a line in the sand. At this point, you are either diligent or negligent. There is no in-between anymore. Remember, it is better to have a plan and not need it, than not have one and need it. Workplace violence is not going away. We owe it to ourselves to refuse victimization. The time is now to begin building workplace safety cultures through planning and preparation.
If you find yourself asking where to turn to for help, The Noble Group welcomes the opportunity to assist. We have built and recently launched our Safer with SCOUT program, an online Learning Management System (LMS), encompassing many training and education courses that discuss in-depth the components of a workplace safety culture mentioned above. Beyond that, we can conduct site security surveys/vulnerability studies, create emergency action plans, draft WVPPs, provide in-person functional conditioning drills, and general security/risk consulting. Please visit us at www.noblesix.us or www.saferwithscout.com for more information.