4 minutes
Keys to building a successful active threat plan
While the national conversation regarding violence in the workplace blames heightened awareness on media coverage, recent studies may provide statistical evidence supporting the perceived frequency. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 5 percent of all businesses experience an instance of workplace violence each year. For organizations with over 1,000 employees, this rate increases tenfold to 50 percent. A 2014 report from the FBI found active shooter incidents in the U.S. now occur on an average of once a month. Of these incidents, almost half occurred at a business while nearly a quarter occurred at pre-K to 12th grade schools and institutions of higher learning.
Although active threats and the environments where they take place vary from incident to incident, the common threads can be woven together to create the fabric of an effective and successful safety program. The following are lessons gleaned from past experience that credit unions can use as tools for building a safety-minded workplace.
Mindset to Clear the First Hurdle
More often than not, active threat training is the elephant in the room. Everyone has heard of incidents but they are reluctant to take steps toward mitigation. Reasons may vary from believing it’ll make employees more fearful than empowered to worrying the training might not be “right” for the team. However, looking the other way is not the solution to any problem, much less a problem with harmful consequences.
The aforementioned statistics suggest an active threat incident is less an if than a when. Unfortunately, violence doesn’t discriminate on location, so the entire enterprise—be it headquarters or branch—should be involved in preventative measures. Breaking through the barrier of apprehension begins with a holistic approach: one team, one goal. Leadership should evaluate the type of training fitting for their organization’s culture, articulate its vital importance to employees, and clearly explain how the training will be implemented.
Flexible Response Plans
While different threats do warrant varying responses, a complex series of threat-specific “stovepipe” procedures can cripple a person with tunnel vision during a high stress scenario.
All active threat response plans should be built upon the same principles, so even if the minute details are lost in the heat of the moment, employees can still make informed decisions to ensure the safety of themselves and members. Streamlining processes encourages a quick implementation and retention of information. Knowledge increases confidence, confidence increases decisiveness and decisive action in a critical incident saves lives.
Proactive Response Plans
A fortunate trend stemming from unfortunate roots is a movement to get ahead of the curve of active threat response. A strategy based on hoping nothing happens and performing damage control is a folly that can irreparably destroy a brand in addition to the obvious harm inflicted upon person and property.
An effective response plan doesn’t begin when the incident occurs but as soon as training is conducted. Empowering employees with tools on how to identify and communicate possible high-risk indicators—such as signs of growing anger, depression or erratic behavior—can be just as, if not more, effective as decisive action during an active threat.
Clear Communication Plans
A cohesive “one-team” mindset supported by a response plan based on fundamentals and foresight cannot take place without clear communication before, during and after a critical incident. Language is a critical factor of an active threat response program’s success or failure. The language should be consistent with current policies and procedures, so the program is both effective and legally defensible.
Each organization will need to tailor its active threat response plan to fit its culture and workplace environment. Thankfully, a simple concept utilized by premier agencies already exists to help organizations build a clear and coherent plan: “Run, Hide, Defend.”
Customer Service
Communication during a critical incident is not limited to employees but extends to member interaction as well. How your credit union communicates around and with members during an active threat incident plays a vital role in minimizing harm and mitigating additional harm as a result of panic.
Every active threat mitigation plan should include an emergency communication strategy that may contain one or two common components: First is the use of a code like “Code Adam” alerting employees to a specific issue while members and vendors remain unaware. The second option is to use “plain English” so that everyone quickly gains situational awareness. For example, instead of using “Code Red” for an active shooter incident, the alert would announce there is an active shooter situation in progress so employees, members and vendors can take decisive actions to seek safety.
Every active threat situation will unfold differently, especially since external factors such as the weather and type of environment can present unpredictable outcomes. By being proactive about what can be controlled, such as implementing sound training strategies, an organization can respond to an active threat to the best of its ability. Through the empowerment of its most valuable assets—its people—credit unions can mitigate risk, protect the safety of their employees, members and communities.
Jay Hart is the director of Force Training Institute (FTI), a Los Angeles-based consulting firm specializing in critical incident response and active shooter mitigation training. Founded and operated by former and current military and law enforcement officials, FTI has quickly earned its name as a trusted source for emergency preparedness through services rendered to industry leaders such as Rite Aid, Ford, REI, the Gap, and Boeing.
