Adding Additional Training to Your Workplace Violence Program
Workplace violence is a significant concern for organizations worldwide, with potentially severe consequences for employee safety, morale, and overall business operations. To mitigate this risk, workplace violence programs have become increasingly important. However, while prevailing standards may provide a foundation for such programs, there are other training aspects, not outlined in these standards that often go overlooked: security awareness, safe termination, and insider threat training. This article explores the vital role that each of these training topics play in supporting workplace violence programs and why you should consider adding one or more of these into your organization’s training catalog.
Understanding Security Awareness Training
Security awareness training, sometimes called “security fundamentals”, is designed to educate personnel about the fundamentals of safety and security. It covers a range of topics, including physical security, information security, and personal safety measures. This includes addressing concepts like situational awareness, recognizing and reporting behaviors of concern, preparing for emergencies, and protecting intellectual property.
The purpose of security awareness training is to empower personnel to recognize potential threats, whether it’s to a person or property, and take appropriate action. This training educates employees about basic security best practices, enabling them to identify concerns and report them promptly. Security awareness instills a sense of responsibility and vigilance among employees. By fostering a security-conscious culture, organizations create an environment where employees actively participate in maintaining their own safety and that of their colleagues. This culture reinforces the importance of reporting security concerns and encourages open communication about potential threats; you can see how this would positively impact the workplace violence program.
Security awareness training equips employees with the knowledge and skills needed to respond effectively to emergencies, including violent incidents. Employees learn about evacuation procedures, lockdown protocols, and communication channels to follow during critical situations. This preparedness not only enhances personal safety but also supports the overall response capabilities of the organization.
What might be less obvious but is vitally important is using security awareness training to educate personnel on the importance of information security practices, such as secure data handling, password management, and recognizing social engineering tactics. By raising awareness about these threats, organizations can mitigate the risk of insider threats and protect valuable assets – more to come on this in the Insider Threat section below.
Many industries have specific security and safety regulations in place that might impact security awareness training. ASIS International has produced a standard, ASIS SA-2020, outlining security awareness best practices for organizations to implement. Although some regulation may not be tightly enforced, it is highly encouraged for organizations to develop training that is consistent with applicable regulation and standards, like that produced by ASIS. Through consistency with regulation and standards, organizations demonstrate their commitment to maintaining a secure work environment and can mitigate or possibly avoid potential legal consequences.
Security awareness training plays a crucial role in supporting workplace violence programs by empowering employees with knowledge, skills, and a security-conscious mindset. By heightening threat recognition, fostering a security-conscious culture, promoting effective emergency response, protecting sensitive information, and ensuring regulatory compliance, organizations can significantly mitigate the risk of workplace violence. Investing in security awareness training is an essential step toward creating a safer and more secure workplace for all employees.
Understanding Safe Termination Training
Safe termination training is a specialized program designed to educate employers, managers, and HR professionals on best practices for terminating employees in a safe and respectful manner. It goes beyond the legal requirements of termination and focuses on de-escalation techniques, conflict resolution, and recognizing warning signs of potential violence. When applied correctly, this training can reduce the number of violent incidents that are triggered from an employment termination.
By incorporating safe termination training into workplace violence programs, organizations demonstrate a commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of their employees. This training equips frontline leaders and HR personnel with the skills needed to identify potentially volatile situations, diffuse tensions, and navigate difficult conversations during the termination process.
Terminations can be emotionally charged events, often leading to heightened tensions. Training provides practical strategies for de-escalating conflicts, managing emotions, and navigating the operational procedures of the termination process. It should also emphasize the importance of recognizing early warning signs of potential violence. Through comprehensive training, employers gain the ability to assess risk factors and identify individuals who may pose a threat. This proactive approach enables organizations to implement appropriate preventive measures, such as garnering additional help going into a termination, an adjustment to the standard termination procedure, or assistance for employees showing signs of distress. By equipping those involved in the termination process, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of violence or harmful incidents.
The termination process can also be emotionally challenging for those involved in the process. Safe termination training emphasizes the importance of maintaining professionalism, empathy, and respect throughout the procedure. This will not only produce a safer termination experience but can also help the individuals conducting the termination. Training will empower those individuals with confidence, which could result in it being a less emotionally draining experience for them. Fostering a respectful work environment during termination not only reduce the likelihood of the process escalating to violence but also uphold the reputation of both the organization and individuals conducting the termination.
Safe termination training also ensures organizations are aware of legal requirements and compliance obligations related to employee terminations. By equipping managers and human resources leaders with this knowledge, organizations can navigate the process confidently, mitigating potential legal risks and avoiding costly lawsuits resulting from mishandled terminations.
Safe Termination Training is not solely limited to the termination process. The principles and techniques taught in this training can be applied in various workplace interactions, fostering a culture of open communication, conflict resolution, and empathy. This contributes to a more positive and harmonious work environment, further reducing the likelihood of violence or hostility.
While workplace violence programs aim to create safer work environments, organizations must recognize the importance of safe termination training as a key component of these initiatives. By investing in this specialized training, organizations can empower managers and HR professionals with the skills needed to handle terminations effectively, ultimately supporting the overall success of workplace violence prevention programs.
Understanding Insider Threat Training
Insider threat training is a specialized program designed to educate employees on the warning signs and behavioral indicators associated with potential insider threats. It provides insights into the motivations behind such threats, the methods or types of insider threats, and offers strategies for prevention, early detection, and response. Increasingly, workplace violence is being classified as a type of insider threat.
Insider threat training equips employees with an understanding of what an insider threat is, how threats can manifest, and how to recognize and report warning signs of potential harm. By understanding the behavioral patterns and indicators associated with insider threats, employees become better equipped to identify concerning behaviors, such as sudden changes in attitude; unexplained access to, or interest in, sensitive information; expressions of hostility or resentment; and others. Many of these behavioral red flags could also be indicators that someone might be on the pathway towards violence. Emphasizing to staff that these indicators should be reported can be help uncover threats before they escalate to violence.
Similar to workplace violence training, security fundamentals, and safe termination, insider threat training emphasizes the importance of open communication and trust-building within the organization. Employees are educated about the reporting channels available to them, ensuring that they feel confident and supported when reporting concerns related to potential insider threats. Establishing a safe and confidential reporting mechanism encourages employees to come forward with valuable information, enabling swift intervention and mitigation.
Training can also facilitate collaboration between different departments, such as HR, security, and management. Similar to how behavioral threat assessment and management is best achieved through multi-disciplinary participation, promoting cross-functional awareness and communication can be exceptionally effective at addressing potential risks. Sharing information and working together enhances the ability to detect and manage internal threats, leveraging the expertise and perspectives of multiple stakeholders and different departments.
Training equips organizations with proactive risk management strategies. It enables the implementation of robust access control measures, monitoring systems, and behavioral analysis tools to identify potential threats before they materialize. And although some of this training (e.g., access control measures), can sometimes be integrated into other training courses, such as security awareness, they also make sense to include as part of insider threat training. By identifying vulnerabilities within the organization, targeted security measures can be implemented to mitigate the risk of insider-driven workplace violence.
Although insider threat training is not currently identified as a requirement for workplace violence programs, organizations must recognize the importance of it in mitigating internal risks. By enabling employees to identify early warning signs, promoting a culture of vigilance and trust, fostering collaboration between departments, and implementing proactive risk management measures, organizations can effectively address potential threats before they escalate into acts of violence.
Putting it all Together
When you add security awareness, safe termination, and insider threat training to your workplace violence program, you’re adding critical components that help to further a culture of safety and security. The importance of this type of training is evident, but CPPS understands that there’s often financial capital or human capital limitations which prevent security professionals from implementing training. That’s why CPPS has included all three of these training programs as part of the Safe Workplace Unlimited Package. Stay tuned for the following video, where we’ll unpack how security professionals can overcome obstacles and objections to implement training.
