Workplace Violence
Dealing with the aftermath can be tough on an organization

By Roger A. Rains

An accountant, upset with his supervisor, had told two co-workers that he was going to his vehicle, getting a gun and using it. The startled co-workers quickly informed management. The local police reached the scene, searched for the weapon and defused the immediate threat. The company suspended the accountant and called in experts to sort out the situation and re-establish the fact and perception of a secure workplace. It didn't take long for the experts to assess the problem, identify some specific steps to shore up short-term security, and lay out a program designed to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Many of those steps warrant serious consideration and application in the vast majority of workplace violence incidents. They constitute the tools that companies can use when they find themselves faced with a tough situation.

The Scope of the Challenge

More often than not, workplace violence incidents involve more bluster and angry words than physical mayhem. But that doesn't mean that people and productivity are not adversely affected.

Not all incidents are as tempered and expeditiously resolved as the one noted above. Two million instances of workplace violence occur annually. In any given week, 20 Americans are murdered at work and 18,000 are the victims of assault. That makes workplace homicide the third leading cause of fatal occupational injury after traffic accidents and falls. High-profile cases such as Michael McDermott's shooting spree at Edgewater Technologies in Wakefield, Mass., the day after Christmas in 2000 receive wide media attention. McDermott's rampage left seven co-workers dead and a community stunned. But even smaller, less publicized incidents can leave workers with the common feeling that "life will never be the same."

The Workplace Violence Research Institute estimates on-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion annually. In premise liability cases based on inadequate security allegations, the average damage award is $1 million and the average settlement is $1.5 million. The problem is large and many of its collateral effects--including loss in productivity, retention and loyalty--defy quantification.

The Big Lessons Learned

Workplace violence prevention and response experts are quick to point out that incidents can, to a considerable degree, be prevented. Solid prevention programs--including careful hiring practices, manager and employee awareness training, active communications and incident reporting systems--and a full range of physical security measures work. However, they will never totally eliminate the problem. Businesses, their employees, visitors, vendors and customers will continue to suffer from violence. Proactive leadership teams understand that fact and prepare for the implications of incidents. Experience suggests there are at least seven crucial elements to remember and employ in the aftermath of an incident.

Set Specific Goals and Objectives: Fear, anxiety and denial are all commonplace emotions in the wake of a workplace violence event. Successful managers quickly get beyond those feelings and focus on what must get done. The very best leaders map out what they want the company to achieve in the near, mid and long terms. Common goals include restoring business operations and profitability, as well as resolving legal implications and re-establishing a violence-free environment. Effective leaders define success not only in concrete objectives, including phased production levels, quality measures and share valuation, but also in human terms such as employee and family member perceptions, worker retention and absenteeism, and corporate reputation in the community. Information technology research has found more than 40 percent of businesses hit by a disaster cease operations within two years. Setting up post-incident goals and objectives are keys to being in that 60 percent that do survive.

Get and Give the Help Needed: Nothing contributes to the achievement of post-incident goals and objectives quite as much as the demonstration of competence, commitment, caring and courage involved in bringing in experts to figure out what went wrong and address the inevitable people problems that accompany such situations.

The list of required assistance varies greatly from event to event, but commonly includes law enforcement officials, investigators, crisis counselors, security consultants, media advisors, lawyers and clean-up crews. Each plays an important role, but perhaps none, other than law enforcement during the immediate aftermath of the incident, is more important than those offering stress debriefings and post-traumatic counseling services. These person-to-person communications, as well as the overt, physical measures taken to enhance security, have tremendous restorative impacts.

Get All the Facts Fast: Investigators adhere to the axiom that "evidence disappears fast." Firms that deal effectively with workplace violence incidents capture the facts, which means getting timely statements from all involved, documenting policies and procedures, obtaining all appropriate records, and following open questions and issues resulting from the incident. Legal counsel plays an important role in this process to ensure the best interests of the company and its employees are protected.

Beware of Self-Imposed Gag Orders: Many otherwise decisive and effective executives become captives to lawyers in the wake of a workplace violence incident. While employees, family members and other stakeholders seek information, lawyers advise silence. The resulting crises in morale and reputation can be devastating. Firms that successfully weather the storm do so largely by communicating effectively without needlessly accepting blame or exposing themselves to litigation. They succeed by sticking to the facts and adopting a caring attitude backed by actions.

Protect the Stakeholders: Immediate attention to physical security is imperative. Workers and other stakeholders automatically conclude that any incident betrays a security system failure. They expect to see immediate enhancements, which are often needed. These measures range from policy articulation to perimeter and access controls to information security actions. Reprogramming access codes, disabling compromised passwords, installing duress alarms at reception desks, and updating closed circuit television systems are effective actions seen in many post-incident situations.

Company leaders need to make each of these actions apparent to the workforce, which also should be the target of an awareness training effort. Simply talking about security with experts who are doing something to improve the company's safety provides a shot in the arm for many firms.

Protect the Firm's Reputation: Workplace violence incidents have an impact beyond the corporate offices or manufacturing facilities where they occur. They cause concerns among audiences as diverse as community leaders, local politicians, shareholders and customers. These groups and many others have agendas and specific interests. To protect the company's future, the leadership team must address these concerns. That means using the media as well as many other forms of more targeted communications. The facts provide the core of information provided along with an emphasis on (1) caring for all those affected and (2) the improvements necessary to preclude future incidents. Generally speaking, the person in charge has the greatest credibility with most audiences. The biggest mistakes are to remain silent or appear callous. Adopting either of those strategies ultimately places the firm's reputation in greater hazard than the incident itself.

Protect Yourself: Members of the leadership team should distance themselves emotionally from the incident in order to plan and execute actions that will serve the firm and its people optimally. That is sound advice, but leaders need a shoulder to rest on as well and should seek it. Taking care of their physical and psychological needs is imperative. Sleep, confidential communications with personal advisors, and allaying concerns about personal and family protection are all legitimate requirements that deserve attention.

Get Ready for the Long Haul

"In these troubled times, corporate governance means more than just maintaining a solid balance sheet," says Steve Ramsay, former director of global security at Agilent Technologies. "It means developing and implementing integrated crisis management and communication plans that mitigate the risk of workplace violence. Appropriately crafted, such plans give senior decision makers not only immediate access to key professionals in human resources, legal, communications, and security, but also the collective wisdom to avoid incidents."

However, no plan is perfect, and workplace violence events will occur. "Experience suggests caring leadership teams can recover from even the most tragic of workplace violence incidents," notes Jack McCarthy, the former CSO at Texaco, "But they have to be prepared for a long, sometimes difficult recovery process."

Litigation, recrimination, doubts and fears can last for years. So too must the recovery strategies adopted by corporate leaders. The aftermath of a workplace violence incident presents a tough row to hoe, but it is a row that persistent, calculated and compassionate effort can effectively complete. *

Roger A. Rains is the CEO of Crisis Management Worldwide, a firm of security professionals that bulletproofs business decisions and operations through security solutions, intelligence analysis and due diligence inquiries. He is an expert in crisis management and communications. Rains can be reached at cmwrains@crisisworld.com.