Safe Workplace Certification
Overview
The Safe Workplace Certification is earned by organizations that develop a comprehensive WVPI program and receive third-party validation of consistency with Standards through CPPS. Earning this distinction provides your organization a way to demonstrate consistency with National Standards, OSHA directives, and industry Best Practices.
How it Works
This tiered approach forms a visual basis for what a comprehensive program looks like. All five tiers of the pyramid represent the core components that must be addressed when building a violence prevention program. You can choose to work one tier at a time or all of them at once. Fulfilling the criteria associated with each tier results in the awarding of Safe Workplace Certification. Certification is maintained annually with ongoing improvement and maintaining consistency with prevailing Standards.
Benefits of Certification
Validation from a third-party that your WVPI is consistent with prevailing Standards and Best Practices.
Choice of expert witness testimony by CPPS experts in the event of litigation.
Talent acquisition and retention.
Increased leadership support: the SWC is a holistic approach that offers leadership peace-of-mind.
Potential reduction in liability insurance premiums (CPPS can assist, as desired).
Likely reduces liability exposure in the event of an incident.
Tier 1
Plans, Policies and Procedures
Plans, policies and procedures serve as the basis of the entire program; everything should be in writing. These documents serve to notify employees of what is and is not acceptable behavior as well as provide written plans on how the organization responds to threats or emergency situations.
Tier 2
Awareness Training for Employees
Training all employees not only how to respond to extreme violence (such as an active shooter), but how to identify warning signs that someone may be progressing toward violence is absolutely necessary. An FBI Study on Pre-Attack Behaviors of Active Shooters found that on average shooters displayed 4 to 5 concerning behaviors that were observable to others. If we can train people to identify and report these behaviors, then you’ve created opportunity to intervene and potentially prevent a violent event from occurring.
Tier 3
Training for Managers
and Frontline Leaders
This is often the biggest gap we see in programs. When an employee observes another individual exhibiting concerning behavior, who do they report it to? It’s typically going to be the person they report everything else to, their manager. But what does the manager do with this information? Managers and frontline leaders should be trained how to further identify warning signs and concerning behavior and trained what to do with the information.
Tier 4
Threat Management Team Training
The Threat Management Team is the final decision maker when it comes to addressing threats made to or within the organization. When managers and frontline leaders receive reports of concerning behavior, it’s the Threat Management Team who conduct a detailed assessment of the situation and determine how to address it.
Tier 5
Executive or Senior Leader Training
The executive team holds the potential to make or break a workplace violence prevention program. The senior leadership team needs to be made aware of the importance of a violence prevention program and how having or not having a program impacts the organization and its brand.
