Another workplace violence incident occurred in Cambridge, Mass., yesterday, reminding us yet again that this is something every employer needs to be prepared for. In yesterday’s incident, an employee who was let go from the company a few months prior returned with a gun and began firing at his former boss in the office parking lot. Fortunately, the victim was able to shield himself with his briefcase and only sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The gunman took his own life. Employees of the company told reporters that the shooter was not a person they would have suspected to be a threat. Additional known-details of the incident can be read here.

It has become increasingly apparent that workplace violence can happen anywhere, at any time, and in any industry. Since it is not possible to prevent all instances from occurring, being prepared is a must. While there isn’t a single strategy that can be effectively implemented for all businesses and organizations, we would like to take the opportunity to share some guidelines that can be customized to fit individual needs and help safeguard their employees.

  1. Keep an open dialogue – Whether from another employee, client, or patron, ensure that employees feel comfortable reporting strange behavior, and know that it will be treated by management as confidential and anonymous information. Even an offhand comment that seems out of character or concerning should be cause for further inquiry. In many cases, an offender has given “clues” to their intentions beforehand, but were not taken seriously or reported.
  2. Have a plan – We’ve covered the importance of having a workplace emergency protocol in place in a previous blog post, but simply cannot stress enough that when fear takes over in a crisis situation, having an established, and well-communicated plan can save the lives of your employees.
  3. Create an emergency awareness signal – Know exactly how employees are to be alerted that there is a potential incident at hand, and ensure that people understand the expectations, whether it be to call the authorities, evacuate, or shelter-in-place, for multiple scenarios.
  4. Review employee response options – There are three main response options that your employees can execute; evacuation, shelter-in-place, or take action. Review the situations in which each response would be appropriate as well as techniques for application. Ensure that employees are aware of multiple evacuation routes, ways to create barricades or initiate a lockdown, and as a last resort how to take action if absolutely necessary.
  5. Understand physical security – Ideally, have an access control system in place so that you know exactly who can get in and out of the building. Make sure that secondary entrances are kept locked, making it mandatory for visitors to enter through the main reception area. If applicable, create additional barriers to entry once within the building, that may mean requiring additional authentication credentials to access certain areas, or simply keeping hallway doors closed.
  6. Install an emergency notification system – Most workplace violence incidents conclude in a relatively short time frame. By installing an emergency notification system, you can greatly increase the speed in which help can get to your business or organization in a crisis. For example, a panic button that notifies employees and authorities that an emergency situation is occurring, prevents the need for employees to be in a safe location before they can signal distress. When every second counts, this could save multiple lives.

It is never easy to talk about the potential for workplace violence, but the best way to mitigate the damage, should the unthinkable occur, is to be prepared. If you would like to have a one-on-one consultation with one of our security professionals to assess potential risks at your business or organization, please contact Peter Reed, at peterr@norrisinc.com or 1-800-370-3473, ext. 1113.

 

 

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