Workplace Violence: Train to Prevent a Tragedy

During violence prevention training, employees should learn how to:

• Recognize warning signs of violence
• Report such behaviors
• Defuse violent situations

Supervisors and managers should also be trained about these issues and additionally learn how to:

• Follow up before a potential problem escalates
• Communicate effectively with HR
• Use conflict resolution techniques
• Counsel employees and administer appropriate discipline in violence-related cases

Training for all employees at all levels should also address the details of the organization’s violence prevention policy, says Wayne Maxey, a senior consultant with Baron Center Inc., a San Diego—based consulting and training firm known for its expertise in violence intervention and prevention, threat assessment, and posttrauma response.

---

No time to write safety meeting materials? You don’t need to with the 50 prewritten safety meeting modules in BLR’s Safety Meeting Repros program. All meetings are ready to use, right out of the box. Try it completely at our expense! Get the details.

---

Problem Behaviors

Potentially problematic behaviors include anger, outbursts, physical assaults or intimidation, bullying, substance abuse, and mental health issues. Maxey says that employees should also report co-workers’ comments about getting even with supervisors or the company as well as comments about weapons, homicide, or suicide.

Similarly, if a co-worker is fixated on recent incidents of workplace violence reported in the news or makes disturbing comments about such incidents, this should be reported. It’s better to encourage employees to report and be wrong about it than not to report and face a full-blown violent incident like a shooting that kills several people.

---

Examine Safety Meeting Repros completely at our expense. Send no money. Take no risk. Get more info.

---

Training Requirements

Maxey says that employees should receive violence prevention training when hired and complete a refresher course at least every 2 years.

BLR can make that training easy for you with Safety Meeting Repros’ Violence in the Workplace training module. The module is presented in two parts. Part I focuses on prevention, understanding causes of workplace violence, and identifying security measures designed to prevent problems. Part II focuses on recognizing signs of potential violence and defusing violent situations.

Violence in the Workplace is just one of Safety Meeting Repros‘ 50 completely turnkey safety meeting modules, each responsive to a key OSHA regulation, with trainee materials in reproducible form. Just check items off the outline items as you proceed through the meeting and you won’t miss a single point of importance. Then follow up with the fully prepared quiz (with instantly available answers) and illustrated handouts that also come with each lesson. You’ve completed a full training cycle, with little more work than running a copier, at a cost equivalent of under $6 a session.

We don’t think you can appreciate how much this program can ease your training task without looking it over. We invite you to do so at no cost (we’ll even pay any return shipping) and no risk. Here’s how you can arrange a trial run, at our expense.

More Articles on Trainingn