Employee Involvement – Effective Workplace Violence Prevention Strategy

Archive for the ‘Active Shooter Hostile Intruder’ Category

Employee Involvement – Effective Workplace Violence Prevention Strategy

Posted on: March 10th, 2026

From a workplace violence prevention perspective, employee involvement is about building a better employee experience in their own workplace safety and security through education that focuses on situational awareness, accountability, responsibility and understanding consequences.

Employee Involvement in workplace violence prevention is crucial for accurately identifying hazards, enhancing the importance of reporting at-risk situations and individuals, fostering a culture of safety through new employee orientation, comprehensive employee training, and ensuring program sustainability. By engaging employees, organizations gain first-hand insight, improved incident reporting rates, and boost morale, resulting in a more effective, proactive security strategy that reduces the potential of threats, threatening at-risk situations and, eventual incidents.

Key benefits of employee involvement in this strategy include:

New Employee orientation – Setting the Safety/Security Foundation:

Onboarding is the first opportunity to define a “zero-tolerance” and “zero-incident culture” and empower employees to be active participants in their own workplace safety and security. https://www.mikecorwin.com/blog/effective-workplace-violence-prevention-mindset#:~:text=Employees%20who%20feel%20that%20their,purpose%20with%20your%20end%20goals.

Clear Policy Communication: Distribute a comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Plan that defines prohibited behaviors (e.g., verbal threats, physical aggression, harassment, and at-risk situations and/or conditions), and clear consequences for violations of the policy.
Improved hazard Identification: Employees often have the best knowledge of day-to-day, high-risk situations, allowing them to pinpoint potential dangers in physical security or daily procedures that managers might miss including environment triggers that contribute to conflict and altercations.
Proactive Reporting Culture: Active involvement encourages employees to report early warning signs of potential violence or at-risk-situations (e.g., behavioral changes, threats, concerning behavior) rather than ignoring them.
Program Ownership and Sustenance: Involving staff in the design and implementation of safety policies and plans increases their understanding, adoption, and long-term support for the program.
Enhanced Risk Assessment and Investigations: Workers provide critical insights during risk assessments and investigations, helping to refine policies, plans and program to prevent future incidents and reduce the potential of Unannounced OSHA Inspections that are often surprises to most organizations.
Quality Comprehensive Training: Deliver training that addresses the workplace violence prevention policy and plans but include highlights of other security and emergency management plans impacting workplace violence prevention. In addition to policy training should address mandatory sessions on what constitutes workplace violence, impact to people and the workplace, and consequences of failing to report, early warning signs and reporting as well as deescalation and risk mitigation techniques and emergency response protocols (e.g., basic active assailant tactics, evacuation, lockdown, shelter-in-place, and safe harbor room procedures).
Improved Morale and Trust: A collaborative approach fosters trust, builds confidence, and reduces feelings of isolation or hostility, reassuring employees that their employer is committed and invests in their safety, creating a more positive and secure work environment for all. https://compliancetraininggroup.com/2023/07/07/the-crucial-role-of-workplace-violence-prevention-training/
Compliance with Legal Standards: Employee Involvement in local laws and regulations such as those in California (California law requires most employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan under SB 553), require active employee participation in the process and maintaining violence prevention and workplace security plans.

By engaging workers in identifying, evaluating, and correcting known hazards, employers move from a reactive to a prevention safety stance.

Author:

Felix P. Nater, CSC is the President and Owner of Nater Associates Ltd., a Workplace Security Management Consulting firm specializing in Workplace Violence Prevention. He differentiates himself through a highly specialized, practitioner‑based “inside‑out” approach to security management, shaped by decades of direct, hands‑on experience. His consulting practice serves manufacturing, processing, production, utility companies, and public housing organizations seeking credible, practical, and sustainable prevention strategies.

A Certified Security Consultant and former U.S. Postal Inspector, Felix is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and coach. He stands apart from competitors by applying real-world investigative and security management experience to help organizations solve complex workplace violence and related security challenges. His work focuses on helping company leadership develop and manage proactive workplace violence prevention and human‑resources‑aligned security strategies that strengthen organizational readiness, reduce risk, and build workforce trust.

Contact: info@naterassociates.com

Website: www.naterassociates.com

Psychological Safety: Workplace Violence’s Worst Enemy

Posted on: August 17th, 2025

Introduction: To some workplace violence is often taken for granted as the proverbial disgruntled employee who decides to come into the workplace vigorously towards a co-worker or supervisor over some unknown reason. Therein lies the importance of the effectiveness of a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program supported by quality training that educates and informs. Employee perceptions, experiences and expectations are at the start of individual conflict and when left unabated escalate beyond control.

Felix: In this Blog, Guest Blogger Jesse Pudles of Spot Corp Events and I take on the reality and the fuel of how miscommunications lead to misunderstandings leading to verbal exchanges and emotional conflict. And, when left alone festers and alienates the parties involved polluting the work environment along divisive lines. From my experience as a workplace security advisor, this is a leadership problem complicated by poor communications skills. My recommendations have always been to view violence prevention as a proactive strategy requiring multiple intervention tactics and strategies.

Felix: Jesse Pudles my Guest Blogger, Founder & CEO of Spot Corp Events, offers unique intervention strategies that go to the heart of preventing conflict through effective communication techniques and tactics supervisors can employ and employees can learn in managing personal behavior, minimizing conflict, preventing escalation, and reducing tensions at work.

Felix: Jesse as we talk about appropriate intervention strategies, I thought I would ask you to process this true event through your psychological safety principle. How would it have prepared this supervisor to have been in a better position to not only anticipate a problem but managing the situation before losing control? What do you see happening here and how could it have been managed differently? Now, I will tell you that your invitation to be a Guest Blogger is seen as a valid and plausible training solution I consider as a valued intervention strategy. So, I am looking forward to reading how you would engage with the supervisor and managers in a training session to manage these types of issues proactively and when confronted.

The Scenario: One Friday afternoon, Manager Jane approaches Supervisor John to discuss the previous discussion around reorganization of the unit’s work environment that Manager Jane emphasized was already beyond her date of completion. Not having all employees present to discuss the urgency of his manager’s requirement, he comes in over the weekend with a few unit volunteer employees to begin the necessary changes his manager expects completed immediately.

Unfortunately, there is one employee on vacation who was not available on Friday nor familiar with the required physical realignment of the unit’s workspace that would affect him the most. Upon arrival at work on Monday his observations caught him by surprise since things are not the way he left them as emotions ran high. This was a concerning leadership decision because the absent employee, though known as a reliable and dependable, was also known as a “hot head”.

Instead of the supervisor waiting until Monday to discuss the requirement with the unit employees, the well-intended supervisor overreacted by not waiting until Monday. On the other hand, the vacationing employee who emotionalized the moment instead of calmly addressing his concerns, erupts into a verbal tirade creating a hostile environment. What seemed like an extremely easy situation to avoid in the first place escalates now into the adjudication of the explosive employee’s outburst as a violation of the workplace violence zero tolerance policy.

Jesse: Thank you so much for the scenario and these insightful questions and the challenge of being a part of your workplace violence prevention consultations, Felix. When looking at workplace violence prevention solutions, many are only looking at de-escalation solutions after the violence has started or conflict has begun instead of looking ar proactive intervention tactics and strategies. However, by focusing on psychological safety—which includes creating an environment where people are comfortable speaking up, sharing gaps in understanding and building enough trust that people feel comfortable taking risks, and making mistakes—workplace violence can not only be de-escalated, it can be stopped in its tracks altogether. With that understanding, this is how I would manage the scenario presented:

The first step when looking at any preventable issue is to explore the challenges that a leader exhibiting this kind of behavior might be facing. This starts with a conversation, in this case with the supervisor.

Based on the information you provided, my expectation is that the supervisor might feel like the team jumps to conclusions, that they do not listen to him, and that he may be unable to get his team to follow his leadership or direction. The key when it comes to leadership and psychological safety is listening between the lines. What is he saying?

What I am hearing is a communication breakdown. Something in the way the supervisor is communicating with the team is not coming through as intended. It is not clicking. I might ask further questions like:

“When you make a decision for the team, how do you usually go about it?”

“What kind of decisions do you make on your own?”

“What kind of decisions do you ask for the team’s opinion or have a conversation with the team first?”

Just based on this, I usually have enough information to start designing a session. From there, I identify the biggest challenges we can address immediately.

Based on what I am seeing in this scenario, the top three issues are:

Empathy – If the supervisor feels unheard, it is mutual. He does not feel listened to, which usually means his team does not feel like their perspectives, wants and needs are being heard either.

Support – Are people feeling valued? When people lash out or shut down, it is often because they do not feel supported by their coworkers or leadership. We need to explore and enhance that support.

Decision-Making – Are decisions being made democratically? A decision-making style that incorporates everyone’s voice can transform a team’s dynamics.

Now we have our blueprint. This is where things get interesting, and bear with me because we are about to go somewhere a bit unexpected.

All my team building and employee engagement work uses theater and storytelling as catalysts to shift thinking in a playful yet digestible way. This environment removes the usual resistance that always comes up when learning something new, especially when it is about us. As we laugh and share together, walls come down. The open sharing that results from our exercises gives customized insights into the challenges a specific team is confronting, providing solutions that will lead them to success, and it does all of this while bonding them closer together.

Additionally, for anyone still resistant to this unique type of intervention, we pair all our activities with research. As you begin to understand the purpose behind it, your resistance will also dissipate. We have seen this repeatedly.

The final reason for my approach is something called embodied cognition, a theory that shows we do not just learn with our brains but with our entire bodies. When learning is connected to movement, emotion, and experience, it activates multiple cognitive systems and becomes not just intellectually understood, but felt, which makes it more likely to be remembered.

Now that we understand the why behind this approach, and we understand the breakdown of this team, we are ready to build a session that not only prevents workplace violence, but builds towards improved retention, productivity, and morale for the whole team and eventually the whole company!

Felix: In conclusion, thank you, Jesse, for offering the value of psychological safety training as an example of multiple intervention strategies. Leaders should look for opportunities to hastily engage with situations in looking for swift solutions rather than doing things as usual. I think your psychological training exercises hit the proverbial prevention nail on the head for me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

About Felix P. Nater, CSC:

Felix is a certified security consultant (CSC) as awarded by the International Association of Professional Security Consultant IAPSC) and President & Chief Security Consultant at Nater Associate Ltd. He helps organizations implement and manage workplace security strategy with a focus on workplace violence prevention and the hostile intruder threat. He is a former federal law enforcement officer having worked as a United States Postal Inspector on a Workplace Violence Prevention Team and Major Crimes Team. He is a retired Army Reserve Sergeant Major having assignments from company first sergeant to command sergeant major at a major army reserve command.

What About Workplace Violence Prevention Policy Development, Can It Be Effective?

Posted on: June 13th, 2025

Before setting out to write the workplace violence prevention policy, we must understand what constitutes workplace violence and what we are trying to prevent. You should have an understanding about what you think would be necessary to consider in developing a violence prevention policy.

Workplace violence is a global public health problem that has already caused a serious threat to both the physical and mental health of everyone in organizations (Duan et al., 2019). Thus, preventing violence in the workplace is critically important, as suggested by the numerous books, articles, workshops, and seminars that have been available on the subject (Van Fleet & Van Fleet, 2022, 93-95).

However, all that advice has come from psychologists, physicians, and such. What has been lacking is advice from those who know and understand management and organizations — advice that would not only reduce the threat of workplace violence but advice that, if followed, would also enable organizations to develop potential competitive advantages in terms of their personnel and productivity. Look within your organization for such expertise, and if it is not available consider the value of retaining such services.

We must also consider the reality that prevention is not 100% preventable. In a perfect world, organizations would identify individuals who would potentially commit workplace violence during the hiring phase and never hire them. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and people change overtime anyway. However, organizations can inform and educate everyone, particularly those in management positions, to know when someone may be on the brink of committing a violent act.

In addition, when preparing to write operate under the premise that OHSA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) captures workplace violence under Four Types/Categories (#1 criminal intent; #2 client to worker; #3 worker to worker; and #4 domestic (personal relations) under Four OSHA Categories: General Industry, Construction, Maritime and Agriculture.

A workplace violence prevention policy and accompanying plans with procedures should demonstrate the organization’s commitment toward ensuring the safety of members of the organization as well as customers, clients, and suppliers. Both management commitment and employee involvement are necessary for the development and maintenance of an effective policy/plan. The continued success and appropriateness of intervention strategies outlined in the policy can be monitored and adjusted with data collected at least annually.

Without a demonstrated commitment of management at all levels, others will not follow; and if management does not lead and others do not follow, then company policies will not succeed, no matter how well composed the lines are and how expensive the paper on which they are printed—they will remain “lost in space” when violence comes knocking.

Workplace Violence Prevention should not be an independent initiative but an organizational investment in creating and maintaining safe work environments with senior management leading the initiative through employee engagement.

About the Author:

Felix P. Nater, CSC is a certified security management consultant helping small & mid-size manufacturing, process, production, and utility firms implement and manage workplace security strategy with a focus on workplace violence prevention, and violence response (hostile workplace intruder). Felix is a retired U.S. Postal Inspector who previously worked on a U. S. Postal Inspection Service Workplace Violence Prevention Team and Major Crimes Unit. During his time on the workplace violence prevention team, Felix worked with local postmasters, postal service managers and senior executives to promote a culture of workplace violence prevention delivering training as needed and responding to a variety of incidents rendering risk abatement and risk management recommendations, and testifying at various city, county, state and federal criminal and civil hearings. Over the past 23 years as president and owner of Nater Associates Ltd, Felix has worked with small, medium, and large businesses and government agencies. He applies his Nater Associates Violence Interdiction Methodology as a part of his consulting process LI3CE (Leadership, Integration, Collaborating, Coordinating, Communication and Execution) in maximizing business and organizational independent capability to initiate and manage their programs. Felix is the author of Combating Workplace Violence: Creating and Maintaining Safe Environments with David and Ella Van Fleet, is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant, advisor and coach. He appears on a variety of podcasts as well as local and national news networks. Felix is retired from the U.S. Army Reserves where he previously served as the command sergeant major of a major U. S. Army Reserve Command.

Workplace Violence Prevention: A leadership Responsibility

Posted on: May 7th, 2025

From My Blog: Workplace Violence Prevention can enjoy success when the effort is not perceived as an independent initiative left to subordinate leaders to administer and develop training objectives. Its success emanates from a senior management organizational commitment and investment wherein the C-Suite having understanding can support and influence decisions around creating & maintaining safe work environments.

Senior management leadership supporting workplace violence prevention as a program with employee involvement sets the example of commitment from the top down. For example, companies that engage their leaders to anticipate and address workplace violence through a proactive workplace culture of prevention gives evidence of alignment with the OSHA’s principle of workplace violence prevention. When OSHA conducts enforcement inspections and juries hear civil liability allegations of negligence having and organizational commitment and investment can reflect favorably as honorable intentions.

Leadership involvement is about “Creating a Culture of Safety and Security through strategy, process, and plans, accountability, responsibility, and recognition of consequences impacting people safety through worksite specific assessments and their commitment. Prevention strategy that focuses on swift resolution through five collaborative stages: (1) causation, (2) intervention, (3) risk management, (4) risk mitigation and (5) training give the initiative credibility. Training that is leader led reinforces the organizational commitment and appears in alignment with OSHA regulations and workplace violence prevention standards sends a positive message.

Violence prevention effectiveness grows from within organizations by leaders who recognize their responsibilities, enforce standards, set positive examples and positive leadership. It is not mandated, it is exemplified through policies, plans, and outcomes by engaged leadership. It is the workforce seeing the organization “walk the walk and talk the talk.” People caring about people and leaders who take time to know their people, taking their safety and security seriously.

Because workplace violence is a human reaction to perception of grievance, frustration, and hopelessness, retaliation becomes the response. Retaliation though mostly associated with the armed intruder is a frequent behavior manifested in various deviant forms of behavior. Leaders who enjoy the proper mindset take a proactive approach.

Leaders can benefit by understanding that security technology alone cannot prevent the active shooter from exacting their vengeance but can give employees critical time to apply risk mitigation immediate protective measures. Leaders that know their employees might be in a better position to recognize the disgruntled employee early on take swift intervention/interdiction steps to avert escalation. Several Client supervisors recently shared that their greatest reward comes when employees take them into their confidence about different experiences and situations in their personal lives.

Compassionate leaders typically take into consideration such factors in recognizing negative workplace practices. When trained to recognize the warning signs and contributing factors leaders begin to understand that the disgruntled employee transitions to mental thoughts of rationalization and justification to active shooter thoughts when left alone with their thoughts of justification and rationalization.

When training is practical, reflective of the employee’s work and work environment, earning employee trust and credibility is less difficult. It supports the workplace violence prevention policy and other workplace security plans and measures. Leaders that attend scheduled workplace violence prevention training and add to the training objective content show their employees that they care. They understand their roles must be the center of influence in supporting the company’s culture of safety and security.

The new employee workplace violence prevention orientation sets standards and expectations. Avoid the perception of fluff, educate and inform the employee on duties and responsibilities of reporting. In short be clear of mutual expectations. Leaders must protect against training being perceived as routine. Leader training must address contributing factors of workplace violence, cause and effect, responsibilities, impact and consequences, prevention and managing risks as well as active shooter organizational responsibilities.

Processes not a frequent inclusion in workplace violence prevention leadership training must be the gateway and the roadmap to prevent violence response. Process is a vital part of an organizational commitment that shows people how to maximize their collaborative value. Prevention tied to the active shooter phases in addressing transitional concerns from disgruntled to active shooter provides the leaders and workforce specific examples of how intervention can take place through coordination of effort and resources.

Leaders that know that Workplace Violence Prevention starts and cycles through processes gives prevention authority. It should not just be a document but an ongoing process involving multiple interventions. Once a leader becomes aware of a potential security risk immediate action must be authorized and allowed to be taken.

In conclusion – Leaders must Avoid assumptions. Avoid the inconvenience of taking action. Avoid the decision to take the easy road by being expedient rather than thoughtful and professional.

About the Author:

Felix Nater, former United States Postal Inspector is a Certified Security Consultant as awarded by the IAPSC (International Association of Professional Security Consultants) specializes in workplace violence prevention. He is the president and owner of Nater Associates Ltd a security management consultant specializing in helping CEOs in of midsize and small manufacturing, processing, production, and utility organizations implement and manage workplace security strategy with a focus on workplace violence prevention. He explains how to improve their current posture, develop their intent or go in a different direction. In the end, Felix works with organizations to help them achieve desired results and supports them along the way. Interested? Call: 704-784-0260. Visit www.naterassociates.com

A Paradigm Shift in Thinking and Philosophy of Workplace Violence Prevention is Needed…

Posted on: July 8th, 2024

Preventing the next Workplace tragedy requires a paradigm shift or a change in thinking how Workplace Violence Prevention is viewed by senior management, HR & Security. It is not caused because of mental health, it is caused by contributing factors left unabated, perceptions and lack luster leadership can provoke by its reluctance to intervene swiftly.

Organizations can benefit by organizing a prevention initiative around a process – leadership involvement, integrated, collaborated policy, plans and procedures, coordinated resources and effort and communicated & well executed prevention strategies organization wide. Process and strategy are essential (LIC3E)

Some think Active Shooter training is prevention. I do not! I see the active shooter incident as a failed prevention commitment. Preventing another tragedy requires an understanding of prevention as it relates to the organization and its culture.

Once an employee is allowed to transition to thoughts of rationalization and justification of retaliation the rationale projects the actions. In short, the Active Shooter is a failed prevention program or the lack of one.

California Workplace Violence Prevention law 553 is a huge step in the right direction. It aligns hand in glove with the Workplace Violence Prevention philosophy & Factors I have shared over the past 22 years.

My Consulting Strategy is LIC3E (Leadership, Integration, Collaboration, Coordination, Communication and Execution) and the Factors are ARC (Accountability, Responsibility and Consequences), ACE (Assumption, Convenience & Expedience) and PREP (Proactive, Responsive, Engagement & Practical thinking tied to violence prevention and violence response policy, plans and procedures.

Training alone is not the answer but it can make a huge difference when it is experience-centered and knowledge-based. Quality training in alignment with supporting plans, protocols and procedures is. It effectively institutionalizes the effort through management commitment and investment and employee involvement. https://bit.ly/3MKKN4a

#CEO #Compliance #Legal #HR#workplace #SHRM #HumanResources #RiskManagement #workplaceviolenceprevention #activeshooter #Security #Safety #EHS #PHADA #ATAP #SmallBusinesses

About the Author:

Felix P. Nater is a Certified Security Consultant (CSC) as awarded by the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IASPSC). He is a nationally recognized workplace violence prevention specialist and has co-authored his first book: Combating Workplace Violence: Creating and Maintaining Safe Work Environments. Felix enjoys helping organizations identify contributing factors that lead to violence before it escalates. He knows that achieving a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program takes supportive strategies, process, policy, plans and procedures and effective training that goes beyond the standard list of statistics, other people’s quotes, other organization’s practices in designing worksite and workforce specific training. Communication through quality training is essential in developing leaders who understand the philosophy and employees who are part of the solution. Felix knows that workplace violence prevention is an ongoing process involving multiple intervention strategies. https://naterassociates.com/testimonials/

10 Workplace Violence Prevention TIPs to Manage, Prevent, and Improve the Workplace Safety and Security Culture

Posted on: May 20th, 2024

Creating a Workplace Culture of Safety and Security grows from within by leaders who set the example. It is not mandated. It is exemplified. It reflects people seeing the organization as “walking the walk and talking the talk.” People care about people. This is when organizational leaders through supervisors and others, lead by example by showing, correcting, and educating before there’s the surprise attack. Now is a better time than ever to review your capability to combat the threat of workplace violence every day. Workplace Violence Prevention is an ongoing process involving multiple intervention strategies. The active shooter is a failed workplace violence prevention program.

Provide some level of assessment and evaluation of employee-reported incidents of violence to determine the need to conduct an official investigation. Ineffective responses to employee concerns and complaints erode trust, and confidence and disrupt workplace performance efficiencies. Such practices can lead to employees taking the “law” into their own hands. By that I mean if nothing is done about it, they will do what is necessary to protect themselves.

Establish a “Reporting Policy” and provide avenues and opportunities for employees to report safety and security concerns, observations, and victimization. Having a clearly defined, credible reporting, tracking, and monitoring system provides reassurances that their reports and complaints are taken seriously. In other words, not fallen on deaf ears. Organizations can reduce incidents and avoid civil liability allegations in cases of serious injuries or fatalities by engaging in proactive measures that promote accountability and responsibility.

Holding supervisors and managers responsible and accountable for responding, managing, and processing initial employee complaints can have an influence. There should not be any discretion at this level to promote an organizational commitment to workforce safety, security, and risk management.

Employers must lead from the front. They must ever be mindful that victims are reluctant to step forward if there is credibility in reporting concerns. Essential witnesses withhold their observations out of fear of retaliation. Such instances can become problematic. As problem employees they are identified as troublemakers and problem children, a term commonly used in schools. Students are commonly referred to as “problem children” becoming victims of student bullies and other forms of harassment. At work, however, adult workers are denied vacation choices, requested days off are also denied. Sudden changes in assignments including change of assigned area. Bullying of this nature is always a tool of the “rogue” supervisor-manager who feels the negative attention.

Prejudging and undermining employee reports place them at risk by failing to address the information promptly and thoroughly, contributing to perceptions of disparate treatment. Unfair prejudgment of employee disputes and situations results in long-term discord between coworkers and management.

Be sensitive to employee working conditions and the impact of established policies, plans, or procedures on employee perceptions of unfairness especially when the employee feels victimized. Learn to recognize and be alert to early warning signs of potential problems because of personnel changes, reorganizations, impending business decisions, mergers, and acquisitions.

Make employee encounters with management a dignified process, especially during the disciplinary and termination experiences. Giving employees the benefit of the doubt by treating them with dignity and respect diminishes stress. Know the impact of heavy-handedness. Giving detailed explanations and allowing room for feedback reduces anxiety and tension.

Consider the value of forming a workplace violence prevention team or the more formalized threat assessment team to serve as the company incident management teams in monitoring and tracking reports that de-escalate future problems. Create a team that is representative of key members of the organizational leadership team with authority to act.

Don’t be afraid to dig for root causes, conducting a root cause analysis or critical vulnerability assessment can yield interesting discoveries before arriving at culpability. The Zero Tolerance Policy should not be used as a “Termination” Weapon. Being ever mindful that acts of workplace violence tend to be emotional and reactionary to events to grievances and perceptions of unfairness. Keep clarity on reality. Stay focused on potential “Triggers” and avoid assumptions.

Bring the HR & Security department together as a human resource – security collaborative team in a way of sharing information that hastily mitigates risk and makes exigent decisions. There is no excuse for the disgruntled employee to transition into volatile thoughts of homicidal retaliation. This concept can be a value-added benefit during the initial assessment and evaluation phase of employee reports and complaints. If the police are called, be prepared to manage the support they provide. Avoid turning over the human resource-security matter to local police who might not offer the best advice in every situation. While coordination is recommended, having an Emergency Action Plan for these situations ensures an efficient hand-on in hostile emergency matters until the police are on location.

About Felix Nater, CSC President & Chief Security Consultant at Nater Associates Ltd. is a Certified Security Consultant, and trained Workplace Violence Prevention Consultant, Advisor and Coach to manufacturing, processing, production, and utility employers who helps them identify issues that lead to workplace violence. He helps organizations assess and evaluate their workplace violence prevention -security posture, implement and manage workplace security strategy with an emphasis on workplace violence prevention. He has been involved in this work for over 30 years as a Workplace Violence Prevention Specialist, starting out as a U.S. Postal Inspector having diversified expertise in criminal, security, administrative, training and program management experiences. He is the main author of the book with David Van Fleet & Ella Van Fleet entitled: Combating Workplace Violence: Creating & Maintaining Safe Work Environments. bit.ly/3odv3NA

Office: 7040784-0260

Workplace Violence is More Than Gun Violence

Posted on: February 8th, 2024

Whether you are a supervisor, production manager, operations manager, HR manager, facility manager, safety manager, security manager or CEO your understanding of what constitutes workplace violence is crucial. The lack of understanding can contribute to a misplaced focus.

Are you thinking that workplace violence is about the employee who threatens or conducts gun violence? What about the employee who is the victim of harassment, verbal abuse, bullying, dictatorial supervision or some other aggressive behavior that intimidates an employee? What about the employee who is the victim of shoving, pushing, kicking and jostling? Equally important are you of the opinion that workplace violence cannot be prevented?

The understandable focus on gun violence by management seems to overshadow employee concerns and expectations associated with every day psychological value. The 2023 Work in America Survey sheds light on the critical role workplaces play in psychological health and well-being. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/work-in-america/2023-workplace-health-well-being

OSHA Federal reports an average of 2 million reported incidents a year involving fights, threats, harassment, name calling, verbal abuse and sabotage. Should the data be an indicator of concern? What about your workplace violence prevention training and reporting? Are they credible? Perception is often reality. Would you feel comfortable representing your role during an OSHA Inspection or as a witness in a civil liability lawsuit? You may be surprised to discover that a company or employee that does the right thing without the right policy in place can become liable in lawsuits filed by other employees or even the perpetrator.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are a small, medium or large business or organization you should have a WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY AND PLAN supported by quality training”. The training must address what employees must do, why and how. Every Organization Needs to Address Workplace Violence so that employees can describe it and report it.

The plan at a minimum must explain the prohibited behaviors, reporting, accountabilities, responsibilities, consequences, protocols, and procedures. Small and midsize businesses must not dismiss the importance of having their plans thinking they are immune from workplace violence or not subject to an Unannounced OSHA Inspection. The risks are higher when it comes to recovery and business continuity from a workplace shooting incident, but other forms of workplace violence are toxic to productivity and teamwork.

HR Managers, facility and safety professionals at every workplace should develop a policy on violence prevention that includes:

Employee training and creating an emergency action plan.
Conducting simulation training exercises.
Engaging in interactive discussions.
Adopting and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence
Deploying safety technologies in reducing workplace violence.

https://www.nsc.org/work-safety/safety-topics/workplace-violence

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION should be comprehensive organizational initiative but not complicated based on the type of organization. Here are 10 practical workplace violence prevention tips that will energize your workplace prevention efforts.

Review and update the Workplace Violence Prevention and Harassment Polices annually.
Train supervisors in their role to evaluate, assess and document employee reports.
Review the incidents in a timely manner to identify patterns, repeat offenders and gaps in the policy.
Train employees in workplace violence prevention.
Inform employees that hasty reporting activates the organization’s workplace violence prevention protocols and procedures more efficiently.
Review visitor management and access control policy and procedures for vulnerabilities.
Review the domestic violence/intimate partner policy to ensure employees are familiar with the policy, services & resources available.
Train supervisors & managers on the leader’s role in maintaining safe workplaces.
Test your emergency evacuation plan and hostile intruder/active shooter threat procedures.
Conduct on site work-site specific assessments of employee work settings and operations.

Remember, Compliance is a good thing, but it is not prevention. Crisis Management is not prevention. Threat Assessment supports prevention. Think of Workplace Violence Prevention as your workplace security insurance blanket.

The workplace violence prevention mission can be a shared responsibility. Create a robust, agile, and proactive (RAP) process in managing aggression and at-risk situations. Integration and collaboration of limited resources can maximize effort.

About: Felix Nater, CSC Security Management Consultant helping organizations avoid mistakes that lead to workplace violence by implementing and managing workplace security strategy with a focus on workplace violence prevention. Felix is a recent published co-author of Combating Workplace Violence: Creating and Maintaining Safe Work Environments http://bit.ly/3odv3NA His website is https://naterassociates.com

Can Human Resources Play an Enhanced Role in Managing the Threat of Workplace Violence Through Supervisor Intervention?

Posted on: June 22nd, 2022

Human Behavior is a critical component of preventing workplace violence. So how can employers improve their capability to reduce the threat of violence before it escalates to the homicidal acts we have seen recently. ASK ALAN: How To STOP Workplace Violence? – (alan-adler.com)

May and June were a period of horrific workplace and public shootings. On May 14, 2022, there was the TOPS Market Mass Shooting in Buffalo, New York. Then at the start of the Memorial Day weekend there was the Robb Elementary School Shooting at Uvalde, Texas raising questions about the school’s lock down response plans and the police department’s violence response. On June 1st, there was a shooting at an Oklahoma Hospital involving a distraught patient complaining of back pain following the surgery a week earlier who killed the surgeon, and three others. Can poor communications a contributing factor?

Organizations may be waiting too long before intervening in preventing the escalation of potential problems because of confusion in not understanding the meaning of workplace violence and workplace violence prevention.

Workplace violence is not just the homicidal act of violence by the disgruntled current or former employee or the intimate partner violence spillover into the workplace. But it is the everyday variety of harassment, verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, pushing, shoving, kicking, and fighting, which OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) defines as nonfatal acts of workplace violence.

Does Human Resources (HR) have a role in training supervisors as a workplace violence prevention strategy?

If you view workplace violence prevention as an ongoing process involving multiple intervention strategies, then you agree employers must maximize their internal capabilities early on. It does not require a complex process, but it does require senior management commitment and investment that allows for training in the recognition of warning signs, risk factors and swift intervention.

So, can Human Resources play a role in making supervisors a workplace violence prevention strategy?

I think so! Supervisors can be an effective part of the workplace violence prevention strategy if HR can play a role in providing them training in how to manage the potentially hostile workplace on aspects of workplace violence, workplace violence prevention, technical expertise and consultation that helps them determine what course of administrative action is most appropriate in specific situations.

My position is that there is NEVER an excuse for a supervisor not knowing their workforce, or for failing to recognize their responsibility in providing a work environment that is RESPECTFUL, SAFE AND CONSISTENT in its handling of both good and poor performers as well as in managing and maintaining appropriate employee behaviors. Could this be asking too much when one considers whether the workforce trust supervisors and even considers them part of the problem?

It is my belief that HR can play an initiative-taking, constructive role in building trust and confidence in the workforce? They can improve the perception that HR overlooks the minor incidents that contribute to the daily victimization of employees reluctant to report in avoiding having a bullseye painted on their chest. Employees believe that HR waits for the escalation as proof of the premediated behavior and overlooks the psychological damage the day-to-day exposure has. Training supervisors in the role they can take to address such behaviors a strategy worth pursuing before it is too late.

Can supervisors be effective in creating positive communications between management and workforce by developing an empathetic leadership style that promotes trust and confidence in the hearts and minds of employees? Employees want to be a part of the solution but view supervisors as part of the problem.

While the questions are many does it make sense for HR to play a role in training supervisors to understand their resources in assessing, evaluating, and addressing the threat of workplace violence, including use of Alternatives to Discipline and use of Alternative Dispute Resolution process, and receiving advice, and counsel regarding personnel and labor law regulations? What do we have to lose now? Despair is not a solution.

The overriding goal of supervisor involvement is to make civility and decency in the workplace as critical as the paycheck. Shouldn’t the objective at this stage be the need to upgrade and humanize the way in which employers deal with all employees every day rather than just to focus narrowly on how to respond to the one who has made threats; is confrontational, disruptive or a disciplinary problem? So why cannot HR enhance supervisor prevention capability through their visibility by training supervisors to be the solution.

Long-term planning to improve employee morale pays in human terms. Studies have shown that companies with effective grievance redress, harassment procedures also reported lower rates of workplace violence and workplace conflict.

While the intention of the Zero Tolerance Policy is well known, how effective is it really when discipline is the perceived outcome. How does an employer motivate an employee to report observations of a co-worker who might be his friend or Godparent to their child if the outcome is discipline and/or separation?

Despite the perception problems, employers must pursue alternative prevention strategies if they are to stem the alarming rise of the homicidal act of workplace violence in recognizing the employer’s duty and responsibility to provide for a safe and secure workplace. A workforce that is convinced that working from home is not as risky as working from the office, plant, warehouse or being shot in the parking lot.

Are there any undocumented obstacles and hurdles? HR needs to be viewed as the Champion of workforce safety and security if they are to dismantle negative perceptions when it comes to workplace violence prevention and zero tolerance.

As an ongoing workplace violence prevention strategy HR can play a role by assisting, assessing, and investigating allegations of workplace violence in the initial stages to address root causes and contributing factors? Do you have an answer?

Workforce patience is already stretched enough. It might be time for Human Resources to step up as leaders in a unique way if not in this way. If supervisors are called upon to discipline those who cross the line of civility, why can’t they be called upon to serve as day-to-day mediators and observers. Workplace Violence Is Unfortunately On The Rise Felix Nater Discusses Best Practices Regarding Recent Office Shooting – EIN Presswire (einnews.com)

Supervisors can be trained to recognize dramatic changes in employees such as mood swings, changes in appearance, time and attendance problems, co-worker interactions, and work performance.

Felix P. Nater, CSC is a retired Postal Inspector and security management consultant who partners with organizations to help implement and manage workplace security with an emphasis on workplace violence prevention and active shooter and the workplace mindset. He has spent the last 20 years working with organizations interested in improving, changing or enhancing their internal capabilities. www.naterassociates.com

Guest Blogger Dawn Marie Westmoreland and Felix P. Nater Discuss the “WHY”, “WHAT” and “How” of Workplace Violence Prevention

Posted on: August 11th, 2021

This edition of News & Tips to Combat Workplace Violence – the Blog highlights Dawn Marie Westmoreland as the Guest Blogger discussing the “WHY”, “WHAT” and “HOW” of workplace violence and workplace violence prevention with Felix P. Nater, CSC, Nater Associates, Ltd. Dawn celebrates her one-year anniversary of her syndicated radio show, “The Empowered Whistleblower”. Dawn has featured yours truly on the “The Empowered Whistleblower” Show on previous occasions.

The interview focused on tragic workplace homicides specifically the April 15, 2021, shooting incident at the FedEx plant, Indianapolis, Indiana. This senseless incident resulted in the deaths of 8 coworkers and 5 injured totaling 13 victims who were innocently doing their respective jobs. Though this shooting incident was reported by the media and local police as an active shooter, this shooting was actually classified as a mass shooting.

What’s sad is that by April 2021, April was a deadly month of workplace homicides. There were about 26 victims of workplace shootings. Unfortunately, that’s not all. As of July 31, 411 mass shootings fitting the Mass Shooting Tracker project criterion, leaving 437 people dead and 1,688 injured, for a total of 2,125 total victims, some including the shooter(s). So I ask the question, WHY is there a penchant for violence?

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2021)

WHY? Most businesses do not report workplace violence that does not result in deaths or serious injuries. That’s due to lack of communication, fear of taking action, and of course, lack of awareness. But the numbers are hard to ignore regardless.

Dawn thought the message was appropriate and applicable in reminding our audience that as employees we all deserve to work in safe and respectful work environments and that proactive measures can be taken to reduce the threat and minimize the risks.

Dawn Marie Westmoreland, who has 30 years’ experience working in HR, is not new to workplace conflict and personnel security threats. So, this edition is ripe in presenting an important opportunity to bring up that while it was Fedex then, it could be any workplace or educational institution that could be victimized in similar fashion tomorrow.

No workplace or educational institution is immune from the threat of workplace violence. How prepared are you really? Is the workplace active shooter an organizational prevention response or an unfortunate reaction to an unforeseen event?

WHAT? OSHA reports that there are about 2 million reported incidents of workplace violence annually. By workplace violence we mean nonviolent acts (verbal abuse, name calling, harassment, bullying, intimidation, and threats) and violent acts (throwing objects with intent to injure, fist fights, sexual assault, lethal force such as armed robbery and active shooter, bomb threats, and terrorist acts).

Dawn’s objective during the radio show, which was also videotaped, was to bring out the value of workplace violence prevention in taking proactive measures that help an organization understand prevention as a philosophy, forging a mindset that understand the approach to take to resolve issues, reduce conflict, deescalate incidents, minimize risk and roll out hasty intervention measures.

We can reduce active shooting incidents and mass shooting fatalities and keep employees safe by taking workplace violence head on. HOW?

By assessing their worksites, employers can identify methods for reducing the likelihood of incidents occurring. OSHA believes that a well-written and implemented workplace violence prevention program, combined with engineering controls, administrative controls, and training can reduce the incidence of workplace violence in both the private sector and federal workplaces.

OSHA encourages employers to develop additional methods as necessary to protect employees in high-risk industries.” Source: https://lnkd.in/d9mWD38

Click the link to see and listen to Dawn Marie Westmoreland interview Felix P. Nater, CSC, Security Management Consultant. https://lnkd.in/dh4wr2q

#Covid-19 Return to Work Risk Mitigation Challenges and Opportunities

Posted on: May 13th, 2020

Management must not begin to view the “Covid-19 Return to Work” as a “new normal” yet, but, rather a “transition interim” towards a stabilized period where Employers and the Workforce can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In as much as Employers have a duty and responsibility to provide for a safe and secure workplace (OSHA Duty to Warn Clause) how it is achieved is not a mandate but a moral, ethical and legal obligation. Providing for a safe and secure workplace can be effectively implemented through organizational engagement and cultural support.

Whether your business or an organization is a small, midsize or large size one, Employers having a workplace violence prevention mindset will advance the thinking and aid the approach to managing #Covid-19 Return to Work Risk Mitigation Challenges and Opportunities during this “emergence phase”.

Because you may have a different understanding, emphasis and approach to workplace violence prevention you may not understand risk factors as important and may not find contributing factors as relevant as I may. However, both are important in prevention and mitigation. Managing risk during this “emergence phase” will be full of challenges and opportunities.

You are apt to find more frequent outbursts, verbal altercations and acts of defiance in preventing the feared surprise attacker (active shooter). Be prepared for the angry workforce as they return from periods of isolation and separations to encounter a workplace full of rules that seem more alienating and contributing to conflict.

Depending on what side of the issues you are on Covid-19 Return to Work Risk Mitigation may or may not present challenges or opportunities. Consider it a “neutral zone” full of opportunity to assess and evaluate what the “new normal” might look like. A time where rules are not clear and new approaches are required.

Will you anticipate the challenge in taking proactive measures in looking for a proper solution or will you have a reactive, dam the torpedoes, full steam ahead attitude and miss potential risk mitigation opportunities?

Is there room for changing old paradigms of thinking and operating while still providing for a safe and secure workplace and contending with other business-security expectations?

How the Covid-19 Return to Work Risk Mitigation challenges are handled and how opportunities are strategized will depend entirely on empathy, thoughtfulness and effective leadership. Building new approaches might dictate new ways of encountering business-security decisions, managing risks and preventing escalation of nonfatal acts of violence to more aggressive physical acts of violence.

Supervisors may be called upon to lead and give employees the benefit of the doubt. During this “emergence phase” “new normal” will task the Employer’s management and leadership responsibilities:

They will need to be responsible and accountable for their actions in not allowing situations to escalate.
Engaged supervision involved in anticipating problems, recognizing and responding to warning signs and understanding the impact of business issues on the workforce’s perception of the issues.
An organizational mindset may require understanding the significance of owning outcomes in minimizing risks by acknowledging unintentional consequences.

What if scenarios become more prevalent and relevant in forecasting impact on business decisions and actions. If you are in Human Resources you might see convenient opportunities in addressing adverse personnel decisions and personnel reduction actions not possible before Covid-19 but imaginable now. A shift in thinking may create new opportunities to improve approaches to discipline and refine the way you “terminate” or separate employees. You may find expedient solutions more practical today by the government mandated workplace closings that may include assumptions on downsizings, reorganization or not rehiring employees. Done correctly, employers might find workable solutions not available before the government mandated closings.

Employee perception of disparate treatment will drive the thinking and the behavior that fuels the emotional contagion, rationale and justification to exact their vengeance.

Supervisors and managers will need to be centers of influence and lead by example in being able to recognize the potentially volatile workplace environments and have the backing and ability to mitigate risks on the spot.

Success will be predicated on management’s commitment to empathetic leadership while providing for a safe workplace in addressing inappropriate conduct through root cause analysis. Treating employees with dignity and respect will take on a different meaning that shows sincerity, care and concern for their emotional and mental well-being.

If you are the safety or security manager you may find yourselves as “Ambassadors of Change and Influence”. You might view challenges as new duties and responsibilities in addressing social distancing relating to workforce, customer and vendor interactions; support management decisions in the removal of employee(s) who indicated positive during the infectious decease screening process; and enforcing violations of the workplace violence policy in response to nonviolent volatile acts of violence (verbal outburst, yelling, screaming) to name a few.

Until such time when “new normal” stability is gained, Covid-19 Return to Work may very well be the “new emerging threat”.

Workplace Violence Prevention will require a different mindset that engages with the workforce in finding amicable solutions rather than hasty swift actions to discipline and removal. Containment of emotional reactions will drive the need for management and workforce civility.

Enforcing the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy may take on a more compassionate approach in some incidents by addressing root causes and contributing factors before disciplinary action. In other words management may need to become more transparent in adjudicating workforce discipline so as to promote sensitivity and flexibility.

The “new normal” may require understanding of the unintentional consequences of new policy changes and personnel decisions affecting business and organizational reorganizations, consolidation and required learning of new functions. The transition from disgruntled to aggression may become more apparent and a frequent occurrence during these turbulent periods were VUCA concepts (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) may prevail and creating opportunities of their own.

Whereas prior to Covid-19, Employers might have been more inclined to act swiftly on the disciplinary and separation process in addressing misconduct and acts of violence, during the “emergence phase”, prevention and de-escalation may necessitate an empathetic response where appropriate before eventual administrative action is taken.

Because of the workplace turbulence and employee perceptions of unfair labor disparate treatment there will be a tendency for more frequent emotional outbursts. As such, there will be a need for supervisory training in aspects of workplace violence prevention that includes defusing conflict, de-escalation, warning signs, risk factors, contributing factors and issues around managing the potentially volatile workplace environment.

The real challenge awaiting Employers in this “new normal’ will be the employee perception of disparate unfair management decisions masked as Covid-19 Pandemic Return to Work Labor Management Employment actions. Being honest and above board could very well diminish anger and reduce frustrations.

The manifestation of frequent nonviolent acts of defiance and episodes of anger by employees will be more frequent in response to workforce reactions to disagreeable news. In short, increased tensions will become more apparent and frequent as management and workforce resolve perception issues during this “emergence period”.

How will you respond to the Covid-19 Return to Work ‘new normal”? Will you be proactive or reactive?

Felix P. Nater, CSC is a security management consultant who helps Employers implement and manage workplace security strategy and policy with an emphasis on workplace violence prevention. He believes that workplace violence prevention is an ongoing process involving multiple intervention strategies. He derived his experiences and consulting model while working as a Postal Inspector on U.S. Postal Inspection Services’ New York Division Violence Interdiction Team.

Contact Felix P. Nater at 1-877-valu101 or 1-877-825-8101. Visit his website www.naterassociates.com

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