Exec Life
OPINION
Safety and Security With threats and acts of violence on the rise, company leaders must make safety and security a top priority in the workplace. Archive, 2021 saw a total of 681 mass shooting incidents in the United States, 11.5 percent more than the previous year and 63 percent higher than 2019. In addition to threats of gun violence, pandemic-related pressures have led to a decline in civility — turning ordinary customer-to-employee and employee-to-employee interactions into potential hotbeds for verbal and physical altercations. As a result, it’s increasingly critical that business
SAFETY CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND PROPERTIES ...” Safety cannot exist without the protection of individuals, organizations, and properties against external threats that cause harm. For example, some employees are required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to help limit unintended accidents. While company leaders have made safety a priority by placing an emphasis on health and virus prevention resources, we aren’t seeing similar and appropriate investments in available security resources. The same security threats that existed before the outbreak of COVID-19 continue to exist and, in many cases, have increased. Workers in retail, restaurants, health care, airlines, and numerous other industries are facing increased violence at their workplaces. A 2021 study of Fortune 500 CEOs ranked workplace violence among the top three most pressing challenges for businesses today. Overall, security threats can result in up to a 50 percent decrease in productivity for an organization, 20 percent to 40 percent employee turnover, and an average of $500,000 in out-of-court settlements. Immeasurable damage may also be done to a company’s reputation. When evaluating risk, consider the probability or likelihood of a specific threat, how vulnerable the company is to that threat, and what the potential consequences could be. Often, enterprises only focus on the probability of an incident and fail to examine the full spectrum of risk. What’s more, the potential threats businesses face are evolving, evidenced by the increased number of acts of violence erupting without warning in unexpected places. According to the Gun Violence
leaders prepare their employees to recognize anomalous behavior, de-escalate situations when possible, and know how to respond to a threat. Active shooter and workplace violence preparedness and response training will give employees the tools and techniques needed to face potential threats, while reinforcing a company’s culture of safety and employee well-being. Leaders never want to imagine that a tragedy or act of violence can strike their employees or customers, but they must face the reality that it can, and does, happen. While employees may be trained to respond to an incident of sexual harassment or a fire, preparedness training across multiple threat scenarios should be commonplace. While there’s no perfect security plan that eliminates all risk, companies can manage potential dangers by prioritizing where the consequences of an incident are greatest. Many businesses conduct active shooter and workplace violence preparedness training. This may be in the form of a single-day training, an in-person demo, or the distribution of free resources from various security organizations. While all protection efforts are valuable in responding to the ever-increasing need for security, a more comprehensive and integrated active
shooter and workplace violence training program should be implemented. Such a plan will teach employees to have situational awareness, recognize potential threats, de-escalate tense situations, and how to respond if faced with violence. Preparedness training can help employees recognize when someone displays behaviors that may be a preliminary sign — known as the “pathway to violence” — and respond immediately. If these signs, or “behavioral indicators,” are noticed and acted upon quickly, workplace violence may be prevented. Sometimes, physical encounters are unavoidable. When violence does strike, preparedness training ensures that employees know how to react to protect themselves and their customers. In the crucial first seconds of an attack, responding quickly and decisively is essential to safety. If active shooter and workplace violence training programs are more commonplace in businesses today, it will better protect employees, clients, and the larger community. work Active shooter events and other acts of workplace violence can happen in any orga organization. But there’s no safety without secu security. If deci decision-makers act urgently and deliber deliberately, we may be able to pre prevent the next act of violence — and save lives in the process.
WILLIAM FLYNN
Flynn is co-founder of The Power of Preparedness, an e-learning provider of preparedness and security training in Ann Arbor. He previously served as the principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Infrastructure Protection.
THE POWER OF PREPAREDNESS
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s pandemic-related pressures continue to impact the country in everything from health concerns to economic uncertainty, political divisiveness, and social unrest, business practices and protocols must evolve to meet the ever-increasing safety and security needs of customers and employees. One aspect of the heightened risk environment that needs renewed focus is security.
BY WILLIAM FLYNN
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