How To Protect Your Frontline Employees From Violence

A formalized workplace violence prevention plan is a must

Everyone deserves to feel safe at work. Because of the complexity of frontline work (think diverse, dispersed staff, a wide range of experience, confidence and communication skills, styles and knowledge) and the nature of consumer-facing roles, this requires special consideration and care.

Moreover, of late the frontline has become an increasingly hostile environment. In our recent survey, research showed over half (59%) of polled employees experienced customer conflict — daily — and 70% said they felt that customers have become more aggressive. 

Combine this with an overall lack of de-escalation training (37% of surveyed workers have received no safety training at all) and you have got a workplace that is potentially perilous, which can lead to disengaged employees, who may feel unsafe, more stressed and underperform. That likely means they will soon be looking elsewhere for employment if they are not already. And who can blame them?

Organizations need to properly prepare their frontline workers for incidents that may erupt in the grocery or retail checkout lines as the lingering effects of post-pandemic life, increasing tension based on economic disparity, not to mention inflation and overall financial concerns, continue to create challenging scenarios that may well find frontline workers in the crosshairs.

A formalized workplace violence prevention plan is a must — the more specific, the better. It should include step-by-step instructions that clearly outline how to handle various situations and offer solutions to mitigate more severe incidents. Specific roles should be assigned and made widely known so everyone is aware of who is taking care of what if a scene develops and no time is wasted when the clock is ticking.

It is equally important that the details of the plan are easily accessible and understood by every frontline worker so that safety is not limited to who is scheduled that day. Then, it is about regularly reinforcing the plan so that employees feel as comfortable as possible with how situations should ideally be handled.

If we scratch below the surface, there is also an important aspect of fostering a culture of listening and learning that extends beyond workplace incidents. Employees should be encouraged to speak up if they experience a hostile work environment or harassment, without the fear of retaliation or disciplinary action. Our survey found that 14% of frontline workers do not report workplace incidents because they do not feel comfortable. This lack of trust should be taken seriously and folded into an overall wellness strategy that prioritizes psychological safety and two-way communication.

It goes without saying that frontline workers have had an unbelievably tumultuous few years and the additional stressor of increasing workplace violence can be overwhelming. Companies should be offering related employee training, such as conflict resolution and identifying unconscious bias, to better help associates pinpoint potential situations before they escalate. 

Connected to this is wellness training that offers tips and advice for illness prevention, stress reduction and how to navigate workplace conflicts to protect and create better employee relationships and take into account the whole person. 

It is the responsibility of every frontline organization to ensure their teams feel safe and supported at work. That means companies need to offer continued support, training and communication that provides employees with the techniques and protocols to handle potentially challenging situations and the trust and confidence to speak up if they do not get what they need.

Carol Leaman is the CEO of Axonify.