The True Power of Self-Control in Conflict 

When things heat up—whether on the road, in the office, or at home—the one thing that fuels the flames more than any other is ego. The need to be right or to “win” doesn’t just escalate conflicts; it drives people to act irrationally, making bad situations worse.  

In today's evolving security landscape, organizations face increasing pressure to protect their employees from workplace violence. As standards and regulations continue to evolve, achieving Safe Workplace Certification (SWC) through CPPS has emerged as a leading best practice for organizations committed to comprehensive workplace safety.

The missile assaults by Iran into Israel during the Rosh Hashanah celebrations have caused shockwaves far beyond the Middle East. This escalation not only threatens a broader regional confrontation but also has direct implications for communities globally, especially those with strong cultural or religious ties to the region.

In any profession, one of the most dangerous threats doesn’t come from external obstacles but from within: complacency. This silent enemy often goes undetected, gradually eroding the attention and discipline vital for maintaining safety. The less likely a situation seems, the easier it becomes to relax and bypass protocols. No matter how skilled or experienced a team may be, when complacency sets in, even the best-laid plans can lose their effectiveness.

In today's workplace, ensuring the safety and security of employees is paramount. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need for robust workplace violence prevention and intervention programs (WVPI). However, simply having a program in place is not enough. It is essential to regularly assess the effectiveness of these programs to ensure they meet current standards and adequately protect employees. This blog will walk you through the key aspects of assessing your WVPI program, including the various types of assessments available and the steps to take to ensure your program is comprehensive and effective. 

In today's ever-changing and sometimes volatile environment, the safety and security of employees within the workplace is a top priority for organizations across all sectors. At CPPS, we specialize in workplace violence prevention, helping businesses build comprehensive plans that include strategies for handling extreme situations like active assailant incidents. A critical component of these strategies is developing and maintaining strong partnerships with law enforcement and other first responders. In this blog, we will delve into the importance of these partnerships, how they enhance workplace safety, and practical steps to establish and sustain these crucial relationships.

Ensuring compliance with California’s SB 553 is a critical task for many organizations. This legislation mandates that all employers develop comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans by July 1, 2024. At CPPS, we have been actively helping clients navigate this regulatory landscape, focusing on tailored solutions that address their unique needs. This blog explores our approach to compliance, highlighting a specific client case study to illustrate our methods.

If you’re familiar with our work here at CPPS, you know that instruction is a core part of our business model. Teaching individuals about workplace violence prevention is crucial, and today, I want to share some instructional techniques that you can use when teaching your team, whether they are frontline staff or leaders. These tips are particularly relevant for those pursuing our Workplace Violence Instructor Certification.

Understanding workplace violence and its various forms is crucial to creating a safe, healthy, and respectful work environment. In this blog, we will delve into the four types of workplace violence, helping you recognize and address each one effectively. By understanding these categories, you can better implement prevention strategies and foster a safer workplace for all employees.

For over three decades, I've trained for, experienced, and taught skills needed to survive in the most dangerous parts of the world. During my military career and as a Department of Defense contractor, I've trained countless military personnel from every branch and even some foreign forces to handle unthinkable situations. I've also educated civilians on how to identify and evade extreme threats. One core message is always the same: be aware of your surroundings, as it could be a matter of life and death. One crucial principle I've consistently emphasized is situational awareness (SA).

A toxic workplace environment can severely impact employees' well-being, productivity, and job satisfaction. Recognizing the subtle signs early can help prevent deeper issues, such as workplace violence or harassment, from escalating. In this article, we will explore the common symptoms of a toxic workplace, delve into the potential underlying problems, and discuss how to address these issues effectively.

Senate Bill 553 (SB-553) is a recently passed piece of legislation in California aimed at enhancing workplace safety by addressing workplace violence. Approved by the Governor on September 30, 2023, and set to take effect on July 1, 2024, this bill mandates that all employers establish, implement, and maintain a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan.

Employers hold a crucial responsibility for the safety and security of their employees that extends beyond the physical boundaries of the workplace. This includes the vicinity around the building or campus extending to areas your employees travel to for their commute. External safety consideration should be given not only for the potential legal obligations a company may have, but also as a moral and ethical duty to the safety and wellbeing of their employees. Contemplate the areas proximal to your workplace. How prevalent is crime in these areas? Are team members able to travel from their cars, buses, or trains without fearing for their safety?

Religion and politics are topics you’re often advised to avoid at dinner parties, not because they're unimportant but because they're incredibly personal. These subjects can quickly turn a light-hearted talk into a heated debate, as people tend to hold their beliefs close.

A key undergirding to this is the fervent desire individuals have to be heard and understood. And while empathy, when considered as a skill, is a key aspect to individuals feeling understood, listening precedes it. Listening may be one of the cheapest, most powerful concessions available during conversation, conflict, and the like. Simple as it may be, listening shows to be difficult for many—a study performed by Psychological Associates found that 75% of managers exhibit ineffective listening skills. Interestingly, employees that feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work .

People have an intrinsic desire to be heard and understood—to feel seen. Arguably, many conflicts and divisions currently being experienced in society are attributable to people not feeling heard and understood. When considering workplace violence, it’s common understanding that violence often begins from some kind of grievance or injustice, whether real or perceived. Some grievances are the result of not being heard and understood. While there are a host of things that need to be done to reverse the trend of increasing violence, empathy is a key ingredient.

In today's volatile landscape, the need for comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs has never been more critical. Security professionals are tasked with the monumental responsibility of safeguarding not just assets, but human lives. One of the most challenging aspects of this role is preparing for active assailant situations, events that are unpredictable, evolve quickly, and can result in severe consequences.

The topic of workplace safety has evolved significantly over the years, especially with increasing cases of active assailants. While most organizations focus on training employees to respond to active assailant scenarios, a critical, often overlooked aspect of this preparedness is domestic violence. Given that domestic issues can escalate and spill over into the workplace, leading to active assailant incidents, it is crucial for organizations to include domestic violence preparedness as part of their comprehensive safety measures.

Workplace violence training is the armor needed to protect today's workforce – that’s the easy part to identify. The challenging part is navigating who should receive training, the required content, and at what level it should take place to comply with industry standards and best practices.

Perhaps, like me, some of you are “old enough to remember” a time when there was little in the way of professional security codes of conduct, ethics, or standards available to security professionals. We were generally expected to conduct ourselves with integrity, and professionalism, to “Do the Right Thing” with little or no specific guidance as to how to perform our duties.