Employment expert explains HR procedure after an act of violence at the office

Last week Cedric Anderson brought a gun to his wife’s school in San Bernardino, killing her and a special-needs student in the crossfire. Classes resume today for the first time since the horrific crime. But as the community tries to put the pieces back together, Americans are once again left wondering if their schools and their workplaces are safe.

“Many people worry about the children in these situations, as well they should, but we tend to forget the overwhelming reality that the teachers and school staff are confronted with. They have to put on a brave face and make everything okay for the kids, even as they might be dealing with anxiety, dread and even PTSD,” says Rob Wilson, CEO of Employco USA, “Workplace violence is a growing concern in this country, from the 2016 shooting at a Kansas lawncare company, to the 2016 San Bernardino mass shooting, to the WDBJ-TV shooting which occurred on-air. These shootings seem to be on the rise, and when acts of senseless violence like this occur, it robs us of a sense of security in our workplaces and beyond.”

Here, Wilson outlines the steps that an employer should take in the event of workplace violence:

1)      Put emergency guidelines in your handbook. “Make sure that your employee handbook offers procedures on how to handle the unthinkable. We have everything from fire drills to tornado drills, we should also have steps in place for how to handle a mass shooting. If possible, you can even discuss these steps with a local law enforcement officer to help to ensure that the best procedures are given to your employees.”

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