37.;Are;all;employees,;especially;new;hires;and;visitors
informed;of;emergency;evacuation;procedures?;Are;these
procedures;modified;and;communicated;to;all;employees
when;evacuation;routes;require;modification;due;to;onsite
construction,;remodeling,;etc.?
38.;Has;the;organization;established;a;prearranged;signal
(a;name,;phrase,;or;code),;that;when;issued;(via
companywide;intercom;and/or;IT;message;broadcast;via
desktop;PCs),;which;instructs;employees;to;immediately
evacuate;the;facility;or;conversely;to;seek;shelter;and
safety;in;a;lockable;office?
39.;Depending;on;the;nature;of;the;company’s;operations,;do
security;procedures;warrant;that;employees;not;be;allowed
to;receive;visitors;(e.g.,;clients,;guests,;family;members,
etc.);at;their;workstations?;Rather,;all;guests,;clients,;etc.,
must;be;met;by;the;employee;at;a;pre-designated;meeting
area,;thus,;preventing;anyone;but;authorized;employees
from;entering;the;organization’s;work;areas.
40.;Do;procedures;exist;to;enable;management;to;account;for
all;employees;working;on;company;property;at;the;time;of
the;incident,;and;to;verify;that;all;employees;not;involved;in
the;incident;are;safe;and;secure?
41.;Are;all;visitor;areas,;walkways,;parking;lots,;etc.;monitored
24/7;via;closed;circuit;TV;for;any;indication;of;unusual;and/
or;unauthorized;activity?
42.;Are;all;company;parking;areas;used;by;employees;secured
and;monitored?
43.;Are;visitor;parking;lots;consistently;monitored;and/
or;patrolled;for;unusual;activity;or;vehicles;parked;for
unusually;long;or;extended;periods?
44.;Does;the;incident;management;strategy;for;protection
against;workplace;violent;crimes,;provide;field
personnel;with;handheld;alarms;or;noise;devices;and/or
communication;device;to;be;able;to;get;help,;e.g.,;cellular
phones,;pager,;etc.;to;use;while;in;the;field;along;with
processes;for;monitoring;their;whereabouts.
45.;Are;employees;advised;and;counseled;by;HR;that;at
the;employee’s;request,;the;employee;may;notify;HR;of
individuals;that;have;been;directed;by;the;legal;system
to;refrain;from;contacting;or;approaching;the;employee.
Have;such;individuals,;their;names,;description;(photo;if
possible),;vehicle;description,;and;license;number;been
communicated;to;the;organization’s;security;function?
Are;the;methods;that;are;currently;in;place;capable;of
preventing;such;contact;within;your;organization;or;on;its
property?
46.;Do;procedures;exist;that;enable;the;delivery;of;prompt
medical;evaluation;and;treatment;after;the;incident?
47.;Do;procedures;allow;for;the;reporting;of;violent;incidents
promptly;to;the;local;police?;Who;is;authorized;to;file
these;reports,;and;what;procedures;exist;to;ensure;that;no
sensitive;data;is;released;intentionally;or;accidentally?
48.;Are;victims;informed;of;their;legal;right;to;prosecute
perpetrators;of;workplace;violent;crimes?
49.;Does;management;discuss;the;circumstances;of;the
incident;with;staff;members,;and;encourage;employees;to
share;information;about;ways;to;avoid;similar;situations;in
the;future?
50.;Does;the;incident;management;plan;provide;for;stress
debriefing;sessions;and;posttraumatic;counseling;services
to;help;workers;recover;from;a;violent;incident?
51.;Are;all;violent;incidents;and;threats;investigated,;and;are
procedures;in;place;to;monitor;trends;in;violent;incidents
by;type;or;circumstance,;and;institute;corrective;actions?
Who;receives;these;reports;and;how;are;follow;up;actions
identified;and;sustained?
52.;Does;the;organization’s;incident;management;plan;call;for
the;development;and;distribution;of;an;occupant;emergency
plan?;Every;company;office;or;facility;should;distribute;to
each;employee;a;viable;occupant;emergency;plan;outlining
procedures;to;follow;in;the;event;of;fire,;bomb;threats,;civil
demonstrations,;threats;of;violence;both;inside;and;outside
the;office,;natural;disasters,;etc.
53.;Has;the;organization;enhanced;physical;security;measures
and;established;a;workplace;violence;audit;team;to;conduct
on-going;assessments;and;effectiveness;of;security;efforts?
54.;Are;organizational;personnel,;security;and;safety;policies
synchronized;to;ensure;they;create;an;integrated;workplace
violence;prevention;effort?
55.;Has;the;organization;developed;incident;response
procedures;to;deal;with;an;incident;which;includes;having
a;crisis;communication;and;public;relations;plan;in;place
before;a;crisis;occurs?;Additionally,;has;the;plan;addressed
preestablishing;a;critical;incident;debriefing;process
including;identifying;skilled;counselors;to;be;able;to;assist
victims;after;an;incident?
56.;Is;the;organization’s;exact;address/location;known;to;first
responders?;Is;the;organization’s;address;and;building
numbers;clearly;visible;on;the;front;and;top;of;all;company
buildings?
57.;Does;the;incident;management;plan;address;implementing
a;zero;tolerance;workplace;violence;policy;that;strictly
prohibits;employees,;as;well;as;anyone;else;on;company
premises;or;engaged;in;a;company;related;activity
(including;customers;and;visitors),;from;behaving;in;a
violent;or;threatening;manner?
58.;Does;the;incident;management;plan;addressing;workplace
violence;provide;managers;with;a;support;system;when
they;have;to;fire;an;employee,;which;would;include;but,;not
be;limited;to;a;threat;assessment;team,;(which;includes
HR;managers,;labor;relations;representatives,;and;district
managers)?
59.;Are;policies;and;procedures;in;place;that;explicitly;state
how;the;incident;response;team;is;to;be;assembled;in
the;event;of;a;violence;act;and;who;is;responsible;for
immediate;care;of;the;victim(s),;reestablishing;work;areas
and;processes,;and;organizing;and;carrying;out;stress
debriefing;sessions;with;victims,;their;coworkers,;and
perhaps;the;families;of;victims;and;coworkers?
60.;Do;procedures;exist;that;establish;a;“one-voice”;policy
concerning;ALL;external;communications;related;to;any
event;occurring;on;or;within;company;owned;properties?
How;does;your;organization;prevent;the;leakage;of;“sound
bites”;or;overheard;conversations,;which;may;be;disclosed
inappropriately;to;the;media;or;to;family;members,;which
ultimately;prove;to;be;erroneous?;Could;the;failure;to;prevent
this;leakage;and;potential;for;miscommunication,;lead;to;a
loss;of;corporate;integrity;or;equally;critical,;legal;liability?
61.;What;procedures;are;in;place;to;ensure;the;accurate;and
expeditious;communication;of;“event;details”;to;authorized
family;members;and;appropriate;media;outlets?
62.;Is;your;organization;prepared?;How;do;you;know?;Can
you;substantiate;it?
The plan should be specific to the type
of facility, building, and the workers it
covers. In general, the major sections and
points that a workplace violence incident
management plan should address include
but, are not limited to the following:
1.;Procedures;for;calling;for;help
2.;Procedures;for;calling;for;medical;assistance
3.;Procedures;for;notifying;the;proper
authorities;or;whoever;is;acting;in;their
place,;security;personnel;and;the;police
4.;Emergency;escape;procedures;and;routes
5.;Safe;places;to;escape;inside;and;outside;of
the;facility
6.;Procedures;to;secure;the;work;area;where
the;incident;took;place
7.;Procedures;for;accounting;for;all
employees;if;a;facility;is;evacuated
8.;Procedures;for;identifying;personnel;who
may;be;called;upon;to;perform;medical;or
rescue;duties
9.;Training;and;educating;employees
in;workplace;violence;issues;and;the
emergency;action;plan
10.;Procedures;for;regularly;evaluating;and
updating;the;plan
11.;Procedures;for;debriefing;participants;to
identify;lessons;learned.
Summary
Workplace violence isn’t selective, it
can and does occur, unfortunately with
more frequency than anyone would like.
Given this reality, the potential for such
an event occurring within your organization should be a probability taken very
seriously, and addressed within your
organization’s incident management plan
and overall disaster preparedness strategy.
This article addressed workplace violence that was directed at (or between)
individuals, a type three violence category. Workplace violence should not
however be viewed as an event limited
to or directed only at employees/person-nel. Workplace violence can take on many
forms and regardless of its form or target;
the potential liabilities to the organization
remain the same – critical.
Additional types of workplace violence
which may fall outside the Tom and Betty
scenario as described at the beginning of
this article but, which, no less should be
addressed in a comprehensive incident
management plan. Organizations can face
both legal and financial liabilities due to
their being ill prepared in recognizing,
containing, and mitigating workplace violence. Being proactive and not reactive to
the reality of workplace violence is the
key to the successful implementation of a
workplace violence incident management
strategy.
v
Al Marcella, Ph.D., CISA, CISM
presi-dent;of;Business;Automation;Consultants,
LLC,;is;an;internationally;recognized;public
speaker, researcher, and seminar leader
with;more;than;25;years;of;experience;in;IT
audit,;security;and;assessing;internal;controls.;An;author;of
numerous;articles;and;26;books;on;various;audit;and;secu-
rity;related;subjects,;Dr.;Marcella’s;latest;book;is;“Business
Continuity,;Disaster;Recovery;and;Incident;Management
Planning:;A Resource;for;Ensuring;Ongoing;Enterprise
Operations,” (Institute of Internal Auditors, www.theiia.
org,;ISBN;0-89413-527-9).;Dr.;Marcella;can;be;reached
at;(314);961-2006,;ext.;7544;or;via;e-mail;at;amarcella@
mindspring.com, www.businessautomationconsultants.
com.
