Putting an End to Workplace Violence

What does it take to create a safe environment for employees? Park Dietz and other experts and CSOs discuss how to head off a security department's worst nightmare: Workplace violence.

The vice president of human resources spoke first, describing an employee that his predecessor had warned him about. The employee in question had been a problem for years and would continue to soak up a great deal of his time, the former HR executive had cautioned. The general counsel jumped in. He knew exactly who the HR exec was referring to because the company had had litigation surrounding the man for years. At this point, the head of security interrupted, saying he also knew who the employee was because years ago he had confiscated a knife from him when he tried to stab someone. "It's a dramatic example," says Dietz, "of how a malignant employee can manifest across a company and cost them many times his salary year over year, all because people remain isolated in their silos."

That example also dramatizes another important point about problem employees: They seldom just go away. Employees have come back to a company to commit an act of workplace violence as long as nine years after being terminated. A company that doesn't track problem individuals and the ripple effect they have across the entire company is tacitly condoning their behavior at its legal and physical peril. 3. Find Outside HelpCSOs can also take advantage of auxiliary members of the response team. The first is the external workplace violence consultant who can act as an on-call adviser to assist the regular team. Companies should also consider forming ties with the local police, who can consult on cases to provide the law enforcement perspective.

Ashby has used both Dietz's group, TAG, and law enforcement in concert to deal with incidents at Boise Cascade. "We've gone as far as consulting with police and prosecutors ahead of time to make sure we're getting a person locked up and not just rubbing salt in the wound by having them out there on the loose and mad at us," he says. "On one occasion, Dietz helped us get the maximum sentence for an offender because he had a prior history. That helped [the individual] have a cooling off period."

But Dietz also notes that a mistake companies frequently make is to call in the authorities too earlycompanies panic and escalate a low-level problem that could be handled internally. Dietz suggests you do some investigative work before making that call.

Companies may want to bring in a mental health professional because violent, antisocial behavior can be the manifestation of mental health issues instead of deep-seated aggressive tendencies. "Some people have severe mental health problems and don't take their medication," says Bob Hayes, a former CSO at 3M and Georgia-Pacific who works as a security consultant. "Schizophrenia, paranoia, depressionthese conditions include other behaviors. The individual might stop taking baths, stop combing his hair, become overly defensive, overly argumentative. Supervisors are familiar with the behavioral indicators of employees who are high on drugs or alcohol, such as slurred speech or unsteadiness. Well, it's the same tactic for workplace violence." 4. Formulate a PolicyOnce your team is in place, conduct an audit to get a sense of where the threats are. Risks vary from industry to industry. In fields such as retail, health care and law enforcement, the threats are typically external in the form of unruly customers, patients and offenders. But don't dismiss internal issues, Hayes says. "If you're hiring people, you're going to hire trouble," he says. "You can't screen every one out. Sometimes people become violent." Best to start with a base-level understanding of the risks unique to your business.