Five Keys to Preventing Violence

Davis delineates five key components of violence prevention programs:
Screening/Selection
Policy
Crisis Management Team
Supervisor/Greeter Training
Compliance Campaign

1. Screening/Selection

The best chance an employer has to avoid employee violence is during selection and screening, says Davis. Just keep those violent people out of your company. He recommends the following:
Require Two Letters. Davis recommends requiring two letters of reference, one professional (it does not need to be from a supervisor/manager, just someone with knowledge of the candidate's work ethic) and one personal.
Do not move forward in the process until the letters are in, Davis says. The result of your letter request? Many of the people you'd like to screen out will not be able to get someone to vouch for them, and their applications will die on the vine.
Conduct Face-to-Face Interviews. "Interviews are essential, says Davis.Everyone must have a face-to-face meeting. They are an effective way to determine if my description of the applicant (on paper) is reflected in the presentation (in person).
Remember that Everything Counts. For example, he says, track interaction with office staff during scheduling. Is the person respectful? Professional? Was the person on time? Did the person appear well-groomed and appropriately attired?
In general, remember that the person presumably is on his or her best behavior.

2. Violence Policy

Ninety percent or more of the population will acquiesce to expectations when they are made clear, says Davis, so you have to lay out the rules. Your policy, he says:
Should be a stand-alone policy
Must state "there is zero tolerance"
Must specify that "threats of violence are considered acts of violence"
Must address the issue of weapons at work

New employees should be required to read and sign-off on the policy, and vendors should be required to read and agree to enforce the policy with their employees, Davis says.
You may also require vendors to follow the same policy as employees. Include your organization's requirements when entering into agreements with contractors.

3. Crisis Management Team

HR can't deal with violence alone, Davis says. You need a crisis management team (CMT).
Typical CMT members might be:
HR
Legal
Safety/Security
EAP
Executive Management
Psych/Medical

Typical CMT responsibilities would be:
Program development and management
Policies and procedures development
Information campaign
Participate in threat assessment process
Coach managers/supervisors on workplace violence threats/incidents
Coordinate training plan
Serve as liaison to relevant external organizations
Trauma response
Act as resource specialist