Enhancing Workplace Safety: Active Intruder Training for Employee Security

Nearly all companies are investing significant resources in education and training programs for their employees. After all, it is proven that those organizations that invest in learning have healthier workplace cultures and a more engaged workforce. Thankfully, we have seen the majority of organizations buying into the concept that training must benefit the learner both at work and away from the workplace (virtual or physical). As much as learning can benefit the workplace culture if done incorrectly (only for the compliance benefits of the employer), learning can have an adverse impact on the way your employees view the organization’s goals, and how it values its workforce. While many programs such as mindfulness, inclusion, and belonging, and properly provided harassment training can open the mind of an employee and provide useful skills for interpersonal relationships, sometimes training must be completed for the physical safety of all involved.

Active Intruder Situations are Becoming More Prominent

One skill employers must be providing training on (yet hope never to use) is what to do in an active intruder or active shooter situation. According to OSHA, threatening disruptive behavior (ranging from verbal abuse to homicide) has been on the rise. This includes hundreds of documented incidents of workplace active shooters recorded by the agency in the last 20 years. What is clear is the number of incidents is rising, and employers have a duty to do all they can to keep their workforce safe from both internal threats of violence and intruders of all kinds.

Employers Have a Duty to Keep Employees Free of Recognized Hazards

Given the high number of incidents reported both in the public and in the workplace, active shooter and active intruder situations fall under the OSHA “General Duty Clause.” This law has been in place for over 30 years and states that employers have a responsibility to keep their workforce safe from “recognized hazards that are likely to cause serious injury or death.” Given over 2 million Americans have been involved in or witnessed an act of workplace violence, the stakes could not be higher.

In addition to the legal duties to keep employees safe, employers have a moral and ethical obligation to go above and beyond to ensure that the workforce is entering an environment where all possible steps have been taken to mitigate the risks of a violent situation arising. While it is impossible to eliminate the risk in the world we live in today, engaging in a full-scale training program covering issues concerning active intruders and active shooters is more important than ever. No longer is it possible to hide from the reality that a violent situation may occur at your business. We must face this reality head-on and have our employees trained in skills that may help them survive such a situation. We owe them this.

How Can an Active Intruder Program Be Evaluated for Quality?

Any learning program centered around the prevention or mitigation of workplace violence must prepare employees for the possibility that an incident may occur while giving them practical strategies to remain safe in the event violence breaks out. Such strategies include: a) the organization’s commitment to employee safety; b) policies and procedures that explain what to do and when; c) a program that will educate employees about the realities of workplace violence, without scaring them; d) the importance of cultural change to the mitigation of violence; and most importantly, e) comprehensive strategies to teach employees how to identify, speak up about, and remove oneself safely from incidents of workplace violence.

Does Syntrio offer a Program for Workplace Violence Prevention?

Yes. Syntrio offers industry-leading courses on not only workplace violence prevention but also active intruder training (covering active shooter situations). Our courses are designed with the employee’s well-being in mind and are intended to offer peace of mind in the most dangerous of situations. We applaud your organization’s interest in offering a program of workplace violence prevention and would love to partner with you to determine which of our first-class products are best suited to help your employees stay safe and comfortable in your organization.