Auditing the HR Function

Human Resources has traditionally been defined as the total of all activities related to recruiting, training and retaining the people who possess the knowledge and skills necessary to advance the objectives of the organization.

Today, smart companies realize that Human Resources also encompasses policy development, compensation management, safety and career development, among other things.

With this broader scope, it is no wonder those charged with H/R responsibilities often feel overwhelmed. How can today’s H/R professionals keep up with the ever-changing world of federal regulations and ensure that their organizations are in compliance? In a word…Audits.

Most businesses do not think twice about an accountant auditing the financial statements or quality control auditing product as it goes out the door. Auditing the H/R function is a relatively new concept, but one that pays big dividends.
What information should be looked at during an audit of an organization’s H/R practices? It’s simple….ALL OF IT!

Just as you would not exclude anything on your financial statement during an IRS audit, to be certain your organization is in full compliance, all facets of your H/R function must be reviewed. For example, an audit could be broken down into these areas:
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Wages/Payroll
• Discrimination/Harassment
• Health & Safety
• Discipline & Termination
• Required Postings

The audit process should include:
• Interviews with key managers and HR staff.
• Interviews with employees, as appropriate, to evaluate employee relations issues.
• A detailed review of HR records and outstanding or potential legal claims.
• A tour of the workplace.

The audit can be conducted by in-house staff, provided they are able to provide non-biased results, or by an outside consultant. One caveat: be prepared to uncover some unpleasant results. In such a situation, management must be dedicated to taking action to remedy deficiencies. Prior to initiating an audit, ensure top management is willing to invest the resources needed to make changes.

Handling the Results

The results of a comprehensive audit should:
• Clarify issues that prompted the audit in the first place.
• Identify areas where the organization is not meeting minimal legal standards and the corrective actions needed.
• Confirm that established policies and procedures are current and consistently administered.
• Evaluate the use of staffing for HR administration.
• Help establish future HR priorities.

Once the audit is completed, the findings must be reported to management throughout the organization. The audit report should include relevant laws or best practices; penalties/risks associated with current practices; findings; and recommendations for corrective action.

Once the findings are reviewed, the establishment of a post-audit action plan is crucial to ensure that accepted recommendations are effectively implemented.

As with all action plans, the post-audit plan must:
• Be realistic and achievable.
• Identify desired results.
• Identify who is accountable for the results.
• Establish target dates for completion of assigned tasks.

If your organization needs outside help with an audit, or would like assistance with designing the post-audit action plan for an audit you have performed in-house, contact me today. My expertise can help streamline the audit process for you!

Conducting Safety Program Audits

The big four – There are four basic questions an audit should answer.
1. Does the program cover all regulatory and best industry practice requirements?
2. Are the program requirements being met?
3. Is there documented proof of compliance?
4. Is employee training effective – can and do they apply specific safe behaviors?
Phase One: Audit Preparation
One week prior to the audit, inform all affected managers and supervisors. They should be directed to have all records, documents and procedures available when the audit starts. The audit team should then review all past program area audits and corrective action recommendations.
Phase Two: Fact Finding
A fact-finding event is used to gather all applicable information. Auditors should make an effort not to form an opinion or make evaluative comments during this phase. If an audit team is used, make assignments to each person that defines their area of inspection. Ensure they have the proper program background information and documents.
Audit Areas – most audits can be broken down into these areas:
Employee knowledge – OSHA standards require “effective training” – an effective program ensures that employees have the knowledge required to operate in a safe manner on a daily basis.
Written Program Review – during the audit, a comprehensive review of the written program should be conducted. This review should compare the company program to requirements for hazard identification and control, required employee training and record keeping against the local, state and federal requirements.
Program Administration – This review checks the implementation and management of specific program requirements.
Record & Document Review – Missing or incomplete documents or records is a good indication that a program that is not working as designed. Records are the company’s only means of proving that specific regulatory requirements have been met.
Equipment and Material – This area of an audit inspects the material condition and applicability of the equipment for hazard control in a specific program.
General Area Walk-Through – While audits are not designed to be comprehensive physical wall-to-wall facility inspections, a general walk-though of work areas can provide additional insight into the effectiveness of safety programs. Auditors should take written notes of unsafe conditions and unsafe acts observed during the walk-through.
Phase Three: Review of Findings
After all documents, written programs, procedures, work practices and equipment have been inspected, gather the team and material together to formulate a concise report that details all areas of the program. Each program requirement should be addressed with deficiencies noted. Include comments of a positive nature for each element that is being effectively managed.
Phase Four: Recommendations
Develop recommended actions for each deficient condition of the program. Careful forethought should be applied to ensure that this is not a process that simply makes more rules, additional record keeping requirement or makes production tasks more difficult.
Phase Five: Corrective Actions
Development of corrective action should involve the managers and supervisor who will be required to execute the corrections. Set priorities based on level of hazard. All corrective actions should be assigned a completion and review date.
Phase Six: Publish the results
It is essential to let all supervisors and managers know the basic findings and recommendations. Don’t forget to acknowledge those departments, managers and supervisors who are properly executing their responsibilities.
Remember – Safety Audits are primarily to check the effectiveness of the various programs; they should not take the place of regular facility inspections.

For more information regarding safety audits, please contact me today!.

Fire Me and I’ll Sue You!

Today’s companies are well aware that employees pursue legal action to solve a vast array of workplace grievances. These legal actions can result in significant financial burden to the company. Businesses will not see the end of lawsuits alleging discriminatory performance evaluations, denied promotions, terminations, unfair wage practices, harassment and denied medical leave. Many former employees also target individual managers as well as the company in their suits. Several federal statutes allow plaintiffs to name individual managers in suits, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Managers can also be held liable under a number of state law claims including defamation, battery, infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.

WHAT CAN MANAGERS DO?
Know the Law. Managers and Human Resources professionals must at least be familiar with local, state and federal laws that impact employment decisions.
Follow Company Policies and Procedures. Failure to follow set policies can lead to a discrimination claim by a former employee who believes s/he was treated unfairly.
Be as Consistent as Possible. Whenever a manager departs from his/her normal course of action, there is potential for creating a discrimination claim.
Utilize Your Human Resources Function. Managers should seek opportunities to develop strong working relationships with HR to decrease the number of employment actions that may arise.

THE COMPANY’S ROLE.
Audit Policies and Practices Regularly. Like routine maintenance on your vehicle, regular audits can help you avoid costs down the road. These audits should include a review of all policies to ensure they comply with current laws and that they are being followed uniformly.
Analyze Workforce and Pay Structure. Make sure that there isn’t disparate treatment on protected groups. Many large lawsuits have been based on the fact that women or minorities were not provided equivalent pay or promotion opportunities.
Train Employees Regularly. To reduce the chances of your company being named in a lawsuit, make sure your workforce receives regular training on company policies and EEOC and wage and hour compliance responsibilities.
Make Diversity Matter. A workforce that is diversified at all levels greatly reduces the risk of a lawsuit against the company. Make sure that diversity is an understood and accepted management objective.
Implement Internal Complaint Procedures. Make sure that your company has a well-publicized procedure for addressing and resolving employee complaints.

Smart companies know that the greatest cost savings come from the lawsuits that don’t happen! Effective management of a company’s human resources can greatly contribute to controlling legal costs. A company that emphasizes the importance of the above principles to its staff will go far towards avoiding legal liability for itself and its managers.

If you want to be sure your organization is covered, contact me today!

The Harsh Reality of I-9 Audits

Imagine the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notifies you that they will conduct an unannounced audit of your I-9s. What would they find?

My experience has been that up to HALF the I-9s I have audited contained incorrect or missing information. Often this is after receiving assurances from HR that the documents were in perfect order! DHS fines can range from $110 to $1,100 PER VIOLATION, and criminal prosecution could involve civil penalties and prison terms…yikes!

SO, how to handle this dilemma? First, conduct a complete and thorough audit of I-9 documentation. Preferrably, the audit should be conducted by someone other than the individual who signed off on the forms. Second, take inventory of any incomplete or incorrect information and take action immediately to correct. Third, be sure to purge expiring I-9s based on federal retention requirements.

Steps to Ensure Your I-9s are completed properly:

Section 1 – To be completed by the EMPLOYEE
STEP 1 Fill in the personal information.
STEP 2 Check the box for work eligibility. Fill in other information if applicable.
STEP 3 Read, sign, and date.
STEP 4 (Preparer/Translator only)Read, fill in information, sign, and date.

Section 2 – To be completed by the EMPLOYER
STEP 5 Examine the document(s) and fill in the document title, issuing authority, number, and expiration date (if any) in the space provided.
STEP 6 Read, fill in information (including the date employment begins in the certification), sign, and date.

Section 3 – To be completed by the EMPLOYER
STEP 7 Fill in the new name and/or date of rehire (if applicable).
STEP 8 Examine the document(s) and fill in the document title, number, and expiration date (if any) in the space provided.
STEP 9 Read, sign, and date.

Carefully completing all sections and ensuring that provided documents are listed in their appropriate category will go a long way to providing piece of mind! Want an outside source to audit your files? Contact me today!

Using Merit Pay to Motivate Employees

Merit pay is one of the most frequently used methods to pay an employee based on individual performance. The essential goal of a merit pay program is to link pay to performance in a manner that is consistent with the mission of the organization. There are generally two conditions required to make the system work.
1.variations in employee performance must be measurable and measured
2.managers must be provided with the necessary tools to determine the appropriate rewards

Merit pay involves giving employees a permanent pay raise based on past performance. Often the company’s performance appraisal system is used to determine performance levels and the employees are awarded a raise, such as a 2% increase in pay. One potential problem with merit pay is that employees come to expect pay increases. In companies that give annual merit raises without a different raise for increases in cost of living, merit pay ends up serving as a cost-of-living adjustment and creates a sense of entitlement on the part of employees, with even low performers expecting them. Thus, making merit pay more effective depends on making it truly dependent on performance and designing a relatively objective appraisal system.

To motivate employees effectively, the size of the merit increase must be significant enough to make a noticeable difference to employees. Generally speaking, any merit increase of 2% or less is regarded as being inconsequential. Some studies show that a merit increase of less than 7% is unlikely to have ANY IMPACT on employee performance…yikes! One alternative more and more companies are turning to in today’s tight economic times is the use of lump sum payments in lieu of a merit increase to base pay. As a result, the employee receives the pay increase in one payment, hopefully motivating him/her, and the company continues to pay the same base salary, while controlling salary budget costs in the long-run.

When determining the payout to individual employees, several factors can be considered, based on the organization’s culture and budget:
•Where is the employee’s pay in the current salary range for his/her job?
•How well is the employee performing? Has performance increased since the last merit pay?
•Is the employee considered a “critical talent”?
•What is the long-term potential for the employee with the organization?

Ultimately, to be successful, the merit pay program must ensure that awards provided to the best performers will be substantially greater than increases awarded to average, or below-average performers. Furthermore, especially in today’s economic climate, it is advisable to NOT reward below-average performers at all. A well-designed system will give the employee a personal stake in seeing that their efforts result in increased productivity and success for the organization as a whole.

If you want to truly motivate your employees, contact me today!

Workforce Planning: A Strategic Process

Workforce planning is often defined as the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill, and how to fill them. Seems simple enough, right? However, few organizations take the time to truly analyze their staffing needs and develop a game plan to meet those needs. Why? Often the answer is “time.” Planning takes time. The question to ask is, “Is this planning time worth the effort?” Your organization likely plans its Sales and Marketing activities, Production processes and the like. So why not invest the time in what is typically the largest expense on the budget? Workforce planning is an integral part of any firm’s strategic plan. This article will show you how to effectively plan your work force needs.

Benefits of Workforce Planning
•Improved profitability by avoiding costly staffing mistakes.
•Improved use of core workforce through strategic planning
•Increased profits opportunities through understanding optimal staffing-to-revenue ratios
•Potential for improved morale and reduced turnover through increased job security for core workforce

Items to Consider Prior to Beginning the Planning Process
The expected demand for your product or service is vital when forecasting personnel needs. The process starts with forecasting revenues first. Then estimate the size of the staff required to achieve this volume of work. Additional items to consider are:
•Periods of peak profitability. What were the staffing-to-revenue ratios during these periods?
•What is the current makeup and skill set of the work force? Are your employees ready for career growth?
•Are there technologies or other changes that can be made to increase productivity?
•Can the increase in work be covered in a more cost effective way than through creating a full-time position?
•Are actual expenses currently within budget reflecting the appropriate ratio of expenses-to-revenue to justify filling vacancies?
•Is the organization facing any uncertainties regarding performance against budget/plan, future workload, etc?
•Calculate the cost of hiring a full-time employee versus using other staffing sources.
•Historically, what has the organization experienced with regard to employee turnover?

How to Calculate the Cost of a Full-Time Employee
1.Time – the annual number of hours worked by the average full-time employee is 2,080
Minus: total hours of holiday time (e.g.: 8 holidays x 8 hours = 64 hours)
Minus: average sick time taken (e.g.: 3 days x 8 hours = 24 hours)
Minus: vacation and other personal time off (e.g.: 15 days x 8 hours = 120 hours)
Minus: other non-productive time (training time, etc.) (e.g.: 15% = 312 hours)
SO: 2,080 – 520 (time not worked) = 1,560 net hours worked.

2.Costs – the costs to hire a full time employee, assuming an annual salary of $50,000
Add: cost of legally required programs (e.g.: FICA, employment taxes)
Add: benefits costs, including medical, pension, profit sharing, etc.
Add: recruitment and training costs
SO: $50,000 + $15,000 (benefits/legal @ 30%) + $10,000 (other costs @ 20%) = $75,000
This means that a newly hired employee will cost you $48.08 per hour ($75,000/1,560)

The Process
First, study the organization’s history to determine periods of peak profitability to determine:
•The staffing-to-revenue ratio
•The makeup of the employee population calculated as a percentage by job category
•The organization’s product/service mix during this period
•The competitors during this period

Second, study the organization’s history during periods of decline in profitability to determine:
•Same factors as above
•The main reason for the decline
•How long did recovery take and how was it accomplished?
•How long was the recovery sustained?

Third, evaluate the current state of the business to determine:
•The current staffing-to-revenue ratios. How do they compare to periods of profitability/decline?
•Makeup of current workforce. Do they have the skills necessary to move the organization forward?
•What does the current business plan project about staffing needs? What adjustments need to be made?

Finally, create a workforce planning model by:
•Defining all tasks that need to be done, by department.
•Creating logical groupings of tasks that should be done together or at one location.
•Defining the number of hours needed to complete these tasks.
•Designing an ideal organizational chart using full-time equivalents, not current incumbents.
•Inserting as many current, fully-qualified employees as possible into the org chart.
•Identifying cross-training opportunities.
•Assessing whether each of these jobs is full-time, or can be filled with other than full-time employees. List the alternatives.

At this point you may need to adjust current staffing projections to reflect your staffing-to- revenue ratio needed based on the current business environment. It would also be wise to implement a position control system to ensure proper staffing levels are maintained.

With personnel needs projected, the next step is to build a pool of qualified candidates to meet your needs. There are several sources of candidates, both internal (from promotion and transfer) and external (advertising, employment agencies, executive recruiters, colleges, the internet, referrals, and walk-ins).

Remember that the real purpose of workforce planning is to take stock of your staffing in terms of real need. Want additional information? Contact me today!

ABCs of Affirmative Action

Many people think of nondiscrimination and affirmative action as the same.  However, there is a difference.  Nondiscrimination requires the elimination of all existing discriminatory practices and conditions.  Affirmative action requires special efforts to recruit and employ groups who may have been discriminated against in the past.

Since 1965, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has been committed to ensuring that government contractors comply with the equal employment opportunity and the affirmative action provisions of their contracts.  The OFCCP administers and enforces Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in government business in one year, from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. 

The Executive Order also requires government contractors to take affirmative action to insure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment. Each government contractor with 50 or more employees AND $50,000 or more in government contracts is required to develop a written affirmative action program (AAP) for each of its establishments.

Does Your Organization Need an AAP?

Each non-construction contractor/subcontractor with 50 or more employees is required to develop a written AAP for each of its establishments within 120 days from the start of the federal contract.  The AAP must then be updated every year the organization maintains a federal contract.  If you answer “YES” to just one of the following questions you are REQUIRED to have a written AAP in place:

• Is your organization a Prime Contractor OR First Tier Sub-Contractor, accepting $50,000 or more in federal contract revenue?
• Is your organization a financial institution that is an issuing and paying agent for U.S. Savings Bonds and Savings Notes in any amount?
• Does your organization serve as a depository of federal funds in any amount?
• Does your organization have government bills of lading which in any 12-month period total, or can reasonably be expected to total $50,000 or more?

The High Cost of Non-Compliance

In its last three fiscal years the OFCCP conducted 12,000 compliance reviews, resulting in $150million in citations!  If the OFCCP chooses your organization for a compliance review, the organization can be hit with severe penalties if it is not in full compliance.  These penalties include:

• Current government contracts could be cancelled.
• The organization could be barred from receiving government contracts.
• Back pay can be awarded as the result of pay disparities.
• Fines can be assessed due to non-compliance citations.
• Criminal penalties could be charged for filing false information.

Need help with your AAP? Contact me today!

Why Manage Performance?

Performance management can be one of the most challenging areas for supervisors, managers, and organization leaders.  It is also one of the most critical elements to the success of any organization.  To maximize success, organizations must motivate employees toward a common goal.  Performance management can be used for this purpose.  Many managers ask, “Is a formal performance management system really necessary?”  The obvious answer is “Yes!” and organizations can justify the time and cost investment in setting up a performance management system by using it effectively to achieve business objectives.

 Goals of Performance Management:

• Improve organizational performance – improve profits, quality, customer service, efficiency, and provide  focus on desired results
• Cultivate continuous improvement – identify training needs
• Foster cultural change – link pay to performance, empower line management, motivate the workforce

 Benefits of Performance Management:

• Provides management structure – most employees  prefer a certain degree of structure in which to operate
• Provides avenues for management to be champions, mentors and coaches; creates a framework for offering encouragement, support and guidance

 Results of Performance Management

• For performance management to work, it must be a constantly evolving process.  It must balance the goals of the organization with the abilities and characteristics of the workforce to have the greatest chance of success.  To that end, a solid performance management system should undergo periodic evaluation and assessment, ultimately leading the organization to achieve desired outcomes.  Performance management requires everyone in the organization to share responsibility for its success.

 Develop Your Strategy

 A well-conceived performance management system relies on a variety of rewards to motivate performance.  The challenge is to design a system that maximizes the effectiveness of rewards, balances their use, and ensures that different programs compliment each other.  To develop a strategy for your organization you must first assess:

• Organizational objectives – What are the organizational drivers that create value?  How can performance be measured against these objectives?
• Organizational culture – How can your culture best be described?  Is this culture conducive to the performance management system?
• Business strategy – What is your organization’s business strategy?  Are the rewards being offered aligned with it?  Is the performance management system aligned with it?
• Motivational needs – What behaviors need to be motivated?  What rewards would be effective in motivating these behaviors?  What are your competitors offering their people?

Ultimately, this journey must begin, and can only be successful with, management’s commitment to the process.  Once employees see this commitment, they too will be energized to commit to the common goals outlined by the organization.  For more information on developing a performance management system in your organization, please feel free to contact us.

Are Employee Handbooks Your Friend?

As workplace issues become more complex, many employers have found that employee handbooks have been helpful communication tools. Handbooks are generally used by employees to get a general explanation of company policies. They are usually written in casual language that is understandable to employees with a wide range of education and training.

All organizations have polices, whether or not they are documented formally. Organizations that have no written documentation have established policies and procedures through their normal operational practices. The courts will interpret practice as policy in the absence of written documentation. Having well written policies protects your interests by allowing you, rather than the courts, to define how issues are addressed in your organization.

Other advantages of documenting your policies include:
• Provides a useful resource for new employee orientation
• Provides an informational and educational resource for supervisors and managers
• Promotes open communication and eliminates confusion while helping everyone understand the organization’s position on everyday issues
• Promotes fairness and consistency in treatment
• Establishes valuable legal protection

Common Misconceptions:

“Written policies and procedures can reduce an employer’s flexibility.”
If carefully written, policies and procedures can preserve an employer’s flexibility in certain areas while still providing uniformity and consistency.

“Employees do not like written rules.”
On the contrary, well-written policies often provide employees with a level of comfort that comes from better understanding conditions of employment. Having written documentation allows employers to define the terms and conditions of the relationship.

“Written policies are needed only in large organizations.”
Even small employers are subject to legal action, and accordingly should provide themselves with appropriate levels of protection. Implementing written policies can save time: you don’t have to make a policy decision or reinvent the wheel every time an issue or question comes up.

Common Mistakes
• Borrowing examples from other organizations
• Important terms are not defined
• Irrelevant content
• Impersonal, “third party”, or contract-like language
• Costly printing and binding that does not allow for changes as necessary
• No verification of receipt required from employees
• Implied promises of employment security, using terms like “permanent employee”.
• Express promises of employment security, terms like “long and satisfying career”.
• Disciplinary action/discharge conditions that are absolute and require a “proof” standard.
• Mandatory wording such as “shall” and “will”.

Steps to Preparing Your Handbook
• Assess current policies. Which work well? What is missing? What must be improved?
• Identify new policies that must be developed.
• Establish a Table of Contents to use as an outline.
• Research and draft new policies. Revise existing policies as needed.
• Have first draft reviewed by the management team to be sure they can live with the policies as written.
• Have the final draft reviewed by legal counsel.
• Provide training on the new handbook to all members of the management team.
• Distribute the handbook to all employees. Conduct a Q&A meeting for them.
• Obtain an Acknowledgment of Receipt Form from all employees and file these in the personnel files.
• Monitor the effectiveness of, and compliance with, the written policies and procedures.
• Review policies at least annually and revise them as needed.

If you are considering reviewing your policies, let me help! I have written numerous employee handbooks and can guide you through the process. My handbooks are always approved by an employment law attorney before the client receives the final draft, saving you time and money. Call today!

On the Brink: Dealing with Workplace Violence

On any given day, the newspapers and airwaves are filled with stories of disgruntled employees taking out their frustration and anger at work.  Think it can’t happen in your workplace?  Think you don’t have “that kind of person” working for you?  Take a look a just a sampling of incidents from 2007: 

• Woman killed at work by her former boyfriend at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
• University of Washington researcher shot dead at her office by a former boyfriend, who then shot himself.
• Accountant who was laid off from his job kills one person and wounds two others in Troy, Michigan.
• Student kills 28 fellow students and four faculty members at Virginia Tech University.
• NASA contractor reacting to a bad performance review kills supervisor, takes coworker hostage, then kills himself at Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

The list could go on.  At one point, homicide was the number TWO cause of death in the workplace; number ONE for women.  Recent studies suggest that as many as 25% of American employees were attacked, threatened, or harassed last year alone! 

Workplace violence is an important societal issue that could potentially impact your organization.  In order to understand the problem, we need to first understand what the typical workplace violence perpetrator “looks like.”  Take a moment to picture in your mind the type of person you perceive to have a violent personality.  Now consider these statistics:

• 80% of workplace violence perpetrators are white males over the age of 30
• 3% are former employees, while 20% are current employees
• Most have a previous history of violence
• They can have EITHER a significant length of employment OR a migratory history
• They are often loners who are withdrawn from others and often have a sense of self-righteousness
• Many have a history of antagonistic relationships and problems with authority and may harbor racial, religious, or ethnic animosity
• They may have problems with substance abuse or a mental health history, but are not necessarily “mentally ill”
• They may have obsessions about weapons and acts of violence, or romantic or sexual obsessions. 

Surprised?  Many business owners and managers are.  Add to this the fact that it is estimated that workplace violence costs companies approximately $35 BILLION in legal expenses, lost profits, and negative publicity annually, and you have the sobering truth: workplace violence affects all of us.  Regardless of your industry, warding off workplace violence makes sound business sense. 

Awareness: What is your workplace climate?

Although workplace violence is often thought of as homicide, there are several other forms which include: hitting, pushing, shoving, kicking, and sexual assaults.  It also includes verbal intimidation in the forms of threats, harassment, and abuse.  These verbal forms of violence often signal more serious violence to come.  85% of all documented workplace violence incidents had clear warning signs!  What is your overall workplace climate like?  If you were to stop and ask employees, what would their response be? 

Internal Causes of Violence: Sources of Employee Frustration and Anger

• An unstable economy
• Widespread job layoffs
• A rigid, authoritarian style of management
• Insensitive terminations
• Pressure for increased productivity
• Psychological instability
• Lack of individual responsibility

These conditions increase worker stress and can lead to conflicts and ultimately, violence. 

External Causes of Violence: Conditions That Place Employees at Risk

• Working alone or in small numbers
• Work involving exchanging money with the public
• Working late at night or early in the morning
• Guarding valuable property
• Working in high crime areas
• Working with the public

These conditions put your workers at risk out of sheer coincidence. 

Action Steps: Your Guide to Preventing Violence

1. Develop a Policy.  Your organization’s workplace violence prevention policy should clearly state your employees’ rights to a safe work environment, your prohibition of violent behavior and threats, ZERO tolerance, policy violation consequences, and should address confidentiality concerns.
2. Educate Employees. Training should include the early warning signs of violence, emergency procedures, prevention steps, survivability skills, and incident reporting procedures.
3. Develop Proper Employment Procedures. Conduct appropriate background and reference checks during the hiring process.  Provide adequate levels of supervision in all areas of the facility and for all shifts.  Discipline and terminate employees with respect.  Maintain open lines of communication and provide opportunities for conflict resolution.
4. Designate a Workplace Violence Coordinator.  This person should be responsible for handling all complaints of violence, establishing employee assistance programs, assisting victims, and monitoring the conflict resolution process.
5. Establish an Emergency Action Plan.  This includes developing a relationship with local law enforcement, determining legal remedies, assigning a media relations person, and employing adequate security in your facility.
6. Plan Your Post-incident Response. In the aftermath of violence, providing treatment for victimized employees is critical.  Plan ahead to provide trauma crisis counseling, critical incident stress debriefing, and referrals to employee assistance programs. 

Although workplace violence is increasing, you can decrease the odds that your organization will fall victim to it.  It is important to realize that there is no one way to screen out or predict which individuals may become violent.  Keep in mind that ignoring the potential for violence is the easy response.  Take the steps necessary to protect your organization from the external causes of violence mentioned above.  Take a hard, honest, look at your existing workplace policies and management style.  Most importantly, remember that establishing a workplace violence prevention program is a proactive approach and is your first line of defense.

If you are considering providing Workplace Violence training to your employees, let me help! I have conducted numerous sessions on this topic and can guide you through the process.