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7 Reasons Why Most Workplace Violence Plans Are Flawed From The Beginning

by Jeffrey M. Miller

Workplace violence has become one of the biggest concerns for managers, corporate executives and like many policies, procedures, and programs designed and implemented in the corporate environment, workplace violence plans are typically designed by individuals, groups, or committees who have absolutely no knowledge, understanding, or background in effectivelly handling violence or aggression.

And, as any self-protection expert, police officer, or soldier will tell you...

...what seems logical, rational, and sounds like it should work in a planning session, is usually exactly the opposite when the brown stuff is hitting the fan!

7 Fatal Flaws

Here are 7 reasons why most workplace violence action plans are all-but worthless, especially when actual violence is occurring.

1. The individual or group charged with creating the plan has no background in the subject of effectively dealing with violence and aggression.

2. Everyone assumes that irrational and violent people can be rationed with.

3. Plans and policies like this are often nothing more than feel-good, cover-our-butt maneuvers

4. Everyone's focus is on prevention and not on troubleshooting

5. Consultants are hired based on their own company size and prestige, rather than their background in dealing with danger and violence

6. Plans are limited to passive elements like banned weapons lists, zero-tolerance statements, and reporting policies, and totally avoid physical response in the case of an incident that was beyond prevention, and...

7. Workplace violence plans, like many elements of the business world, are governed and limited by budgets... until it's too late!

And... like Virginia Tech, experts are again called in to look at...

...all the wrong things!

The good news is that, for most companies, your workplace violence plan doesn't need to be scrapped. Chances are, it just needs to be completed. And once it has the necessary elements to balance it out, you will really have what you set out to have in the first place - a liability-control device.

While it may seem to be cheaper and more cost-effective to only focus on what everyone else is doing, it's not everyone else's business we're talking about - it's yours! And the cost, financially and otherwise, that can result from a workplace violence incident, can devastate a company. Sometimes for permanently.

The time and attention put into this policy, will be time well spent. Trust me. When you get this done right, and when your plan is complete...

...you'll rest easier....

...your company will be a lot safer, and...

...you're employees will have more faith, belief, and trust in you when you say you care.

Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and CEO of  Warrior Concepts International, and specializes in providing real-world self-protection and personal development training to individuals, companies, and organizations world-wide. He is the author of the "Danger Prevention Tactics" DVD and several other books and videos. Mr. Miller is a former federal police officer, private investigator and bodyguard. His background includes undercover drug and black market suppression, personal protection, and physical security activities. He has been involved in study, prevention, and protection of violence for over three decades.  Additional information about workplace violence training programs are available via his website at http://www.wcinternational.com.  He may be also be reached for interviews and client assistance (in the US and Canada) at (570) 988-2228

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