Workplace Guardians Blog

Our many years of experience in this field have shown us that proactive leadership is critically important in creating a culture where prevention efforts thrive and are lasting.

Leadership refers to the ability of an organization’s key leaders to create, model and maintain a safe work environment, while culture represents the personality and character of the work environment – the sum of its values, traditions, behaviors and attitudes. With regard to workplace violence prevention, a “culture of safety” is one that prioritizes and communicates the importance of establishing a threat and violence free setting in which employees can effectively do their jobs. And should threats or violence occur, a culture that ensures that the organizational response is prepared and immediately able to assess and mitigate any potentially dangerous situation. 

So, what are the necessary cultural and leadership elements for effective workplace violence prevention in the “culture of safety”? We like to think of them as the “3 R’s” – Report, Respond, and Reinforce. When taken together, they constitute a framework for guiding sound safety leadership, and establishing a culture where there is a shared responsibility for the safety of the organization. 

Click here to download the 3 R's graphic Culture Counts: Report, Respond, Reinforce 

REPORT 

Often employees and managers will ask us – what do we report? Where do we report? Why should we report? All great questions – and answers to all should be outlined in the organization’s Workplace Violence Prevention Policy and communicated through effective training and ongoing messaging.

With regard to Report, the following are critical issues to address both in the prevention policy and in training:

What to report:

• Acts of violence
• Threats
• Domestic violence/stalking
• Bullying
• Protective orders
• “Other” conduct, which includes the onset of potential mental illness, illicit drug use, marked changes in usual behavior, more frequent outbursts, or escalating anger

Where to report:

• To HR, supervisors, or other designated person or department 

How to report:

• Multiple avenues (anonymous, electronic, hotline, etc.) 

Why should employees report?

• It’s organizational policy and it’s the right thing to do to prevent violence

RESPOND

Next, from both a leadership and a cultural perspective, it is important to look at what happens once a report has been made – how does the organization Respond?

Too often we have seen organizations create and train on a policy (like reporting threats), only to have it get dusty and ignored on the shelf after the initial program has been established.

Here’s really where the rubber meets the road from a leadership and cultural perspective - do the designated leaders “walk the talk” when a report has been made? Employees need to experience a “culture of safety”. This is evidenced when:  

Reports are taken seriously. 

Reports are investigated immediately. 

Reporting parties are ensured there will be no retaliation for reporting. 

Reporting parties receive follow-up information. 

Appropriate corrective action is taken.

REINFORCE

Finally, it’s important to Reinforce with employees the behavior that we encourage in our training – for example, “see something, say something, do something” and report any behaviors of concern to the designated individuals or department. When this happens, it is important for leadership (whether it be HR, a manager or supervisor, or even the CEO) to recognize and acknowledge the employee for their contribution to a safe work environment and respond in a manner indicated above – which then also encourages future reporting.  

Bottom line: employees talk – and when they feel that their concerns have been taken seriously, they tell others, and it reinforces the culture that is focused on the safety and well-being of employees.

(Conversely, we also have seen situations where concerns were not addressed appropriately – and in these cases employees still talk – but in a negative manner about their experience of reporting threats or behaviors of concern and not feeling that they are taken seriously or supported by the organization. This perceived non-response could sabotage your prevention program.)

Reinforce also has to do with messaging – including the verbal and non-verbal messages sent from the top leadership that workplace violence prevention is important. The cultural mandate for a safe workplace, introduced and established by key leaders, becomes clear to employees when they receive the message repeatedly and via multiple formats throughout the employment life cycle. 

Organizations can message the mandate for a culture of safety by ensuring:

• Top leadership “buy in”
• Onboarding training
• Ongoing refresher training
• Publishing the message in posters, newsletters, etc.
• Leading by example
• Taking prompt action to investigate, mitigate, and resolve complaints that will encourage future reporting, which reinforces the desired culture.

Report, Respond, and Reinforce are essential elements of a leadership and culture-base  workplace violence prevention program - interwoven and cyclical – and each component is reliant upon the other to make your organization’s “culture of safety” initiative successful.

Workplace Guardians, Inc. partners with our clients to maximize the potential of their people and their organizations with a holistic approach to safety, organizational effectiveness and leadership development.  Using positive leadership strategies, proven violence prevention protocols and human resource best practices, we help you create a work environment where employees thrive, are fully engaged, and organizations reach their fullest potential.