It Never Hurts to Ask

One of the first steps you can take is to go to your HR or Risk department and ask if they have plans to implement a workplace violence program.  It is possible that with everything else they have their plates, this initiative simply hasn’t become a priority yet.  If one or more employees bring this request to their attention, you may find that that is all it takes to get the ball rolling on addressing safety within your organization.  For your question to have the best possible response, do some research on what companies should be doing to address workplace violence.  We suggest that you ask if they have, or plan to have the following:

• Emergency Operations Plan (sometimes referred to as Emergency Action Plan or Crisis Management Plan) that includes a Workplace Violence and Active Assailant section

• Policies on Domestic Violence, Workplace Violence, and Weapons 

• Training on Active Assailant response within the workplace (check out this article [HYPERLINK to last week’s blog] for more details on what a comprehensive training includes)

• Mass Notification System to enable easy communication to all employees in an emergency

• Any physical security measures added to the building

Be Your Own Hero

If these efforts are not successful, or it seems like it will take a long time for a new program to reach the employee level, take your safety in your own hands.  There is nothing stopping you from being prepared for an active assailant, even if your workplace is not.  There are multiple training options out there that you can choose from but do be aware that they are not all created equal.  There are no standards or requirements a company must meet to create and offer a training program, so you will find a wide variety of methods and quality available to the average consumer.  

Depending on where you are located, you may have a local company or your local police department that offers in-person sessions to the public.  While police departments are trying to provide a good service, we don’t often find that they are able to offer the depth of training that you should receive on this topic.  In the same way that you would go to a specialist rather than your general practitioner for brain surgery, companies that focus solely on safety training programs will generally be better suited to train you than a police department that is stretched thin with all their responsibilities.  One additional aspect to consider when looking at in-person training is whether that type of training is sustainable.  We all naturally forget information over the course of time, so we strongly advise that you find a training program that you will be able to retake on an annual basis so that you are routinely exposing yourself to this essential education.  That will greatly increase your chances of those survival skills being there for you when you need them.