Workplace Violence Training

An interview with Tzviel ‘BK’ Blankchtein, the CEO of Masada Group, Interfor International’s training division. BK was interviewed by Jeremy Hurewitz, Head of Interfor Academy.

Click here to read part two of this interview

To start things off, can you tell us a bit about your experience? What qualifies you to be an expert in workplace violence in your background and tell us a bit about your track record working on these engagements?

• My background starts with my years in the Israeli Defense Forces. Academically, I have an advanced degree in security and counterterrorism. Over the years my team has developed a particular focus on managing the unique challenges of workplace violence in hospitals. We have learned a lot from these experiences, in particular keeping in mind the need for tailored training that considers organizational culture, legal liability, and employee safety. We have developed comprehensive programs that address both organizational and individual needs, and we have successfully trained over 50 healthcare systems across the country, including large hospital networks and specialized facilities. We utilize that experience to support a broad array of clients beyond healthcare as well. 

How do you approach supporting companies on workplace violence training? What are the core components and how often should it be updated? 

• We tailor each program to specific organizations by conducting thorough research and incorporating unique aspects such as location, culture, and demographics. That being said, I’d estimate that around 80% of our workplace violence prevention program remains consistent regardless of the sector. A key goal for us is to develop long-term relationships so that we win the trust of the client and they feel they can count on us to help keep them safe. That means regular program updates, in particular in healthcare settings, which account for around 48% of workplace violence incidents. We also have the ability to utilize virtual learning solutions if needed, which we refined during the COVID-19 restrictions. While those restrictions have of course been lifted, we are still benefiting from the lessons learned from those experiences.

How should organizations balance proactive prevention (policies, training) with reactive measures (investigations, incident response)?

• One of the things we try to do is emphasize the importance of changing organizational culture to prevent incidents proactively by providing employees with decision-making tools for de-escalation and self-defense. Our training covers the behavioral continuum – verbal de-escalation, situational awareness, trauma-informed care, and tactical responses to various types of workplace violence. We tend to stress the need for alignment between training and organizational policies, advocating for both proactive prevention measures and reactive incident response.

What are common gaps you see in organizational policies, and how do you prioritize fixing them?

• Not to keep harping on healthcare, but we see a lot of these gaps in hospital settings. We see how knee-jerk reactions often lead to staff penalties rather than addressing root causes or improving processes. We try to emphasize the need to change three cultures: staff, patients/visitors, and leadership, advocating for zero-tolerance policies and the use of legal consequences to deter violence. Again, these lessons are applied across sector, but healthcare is just such a valuable example to learn from because of the nature of their business, how they interact with the public, how high the stakes feel because of the care they provide. We also stress the importance of proper training, situational awareness, and the use of personal protective equipment to prevent incidents, while calling for a shift in how organizations handle investigations to focus on learning and process improvement rather than punishment.

We’ve discussed a lot of your work in healthcare and it’s clear that the particular challenges of that industry make it a particularly interesting market example. But how do you tailor prevention strategies for different industries (education, manufacturing, tech, etc.)? 

• There is a lot of overlap in the challenges of different industries and we apply lessons and experiences learned across sectors.  Every business needs to be cognizant, for example, of what is known as “employee related outsiders” (spouse, friends, etc.). A lot of orgs think about disgruntled former employees, but they don’t think about an individual with a grievance against someone in the org. So we can see issues related to domestic violence making its way to the workplace.  Many times, we see that these people have easy access to workplaces – other employees might know them, perhaps they have socialized with them. So policies need to remain in place regarding access controls and other security protocols. It’s also about creating a culture where employees know that if they are having an issue with a spouse or someone they are close to they should be encouraged to report it at their organization so the workplace can remain safe and that person can perhaps get some support. We need to make people feel comfortable with coming forward.        You see here though that there are issues related to balancing privacy with security.     Because termination is the biggest trigger for violence, we often suggest that organizations send an email notifying everyone when someone is no longer with the org – privacy concern. Employers often want to keep a termination quiet but letting everyone know that a person is no longer employed can be important if that person comes back with the intent to do harm.  So we take our time to really get to know the client. For instance, we recently worked with a real estate agency – which has different security concerns than, say, a law firm or a hospital. After we learned about their culture, what security protocols they have in places, we designed a training program and strategies that reflected the specific concerns of this clients. For instance, in this case with the real estate agency we designed an app for each realtor to use that provided their location and had a panic button capability. 

Part Two

What role does leadership tone and organizational culture play in preventing violence, and how can leaders model it?

• Training can actually generate savings, such as a reduction in lost workdays and in workers’ compensation claims if there is an issue. But security often faces resistance due to its perceived lack of immediate financial returns. Security departments are often underfunded and seen as only a cost-center, Many times as a result we see corners cut – too few security guards for a large organization, with those on the job lacking the proper equipment, training, etc. And then if something winds up happening it becomes a knee-jerk reaction to try to get something done, which is usually not a great place to start a program.  The biggest thing for leadership is to empower and encourage support of zero-tolerance policies on violence. Leadership also needs to listen to the needs and voices of its employees. If they don’t it will suffer from lack of morale, attrition, and other issues. True leadership is taking care of your people so they can take care of you.

One of the central parts of workplace violence training is the concept of “run, hide, fight.” Can you talk us through what that means? 

• The idea is to run from trouble; if you can’t, you should hide; if hiding isn’t an option then the last resort is to fight. “Run, hide, fight” has been a good and fairly easy way for people to adopt a security mindset in these crisis situations, but we don’t focus on it very much. It is a protocol developed specifically for active assailant situations, but that it does not address the broader spectrum of workplace violence, which includes cyberbullying and verbal abuse. It’s also worth noting that under stress, cognitive functions deteriorate, making it difficult for untrained civilians to quickly choose between multiple options during an emergency. It’s been interesting to note the effectiveness of different active shooter response strategies, including “run, hide, fight,” based on drills we have conducted at various hospitals. Telling people to simply run resulted in about 50% fewer fatalities compared to following the traditional “run, hide, fight” protocol, as people responded faster and more efficiently. Organizations should evaluate their specific environments to determine the most appropriate response strategy, as the “run, hide, fight” approach may not be ideal for all settings.

Do you think that threat monitoring should become an essential part of mitigating against the threat of workplace violence?  What tools or technologies do you find most effective?

• I think threat monitoring can be invaluable. Being able to monitor threats on social media, in email, without raising the panic level of employees is huge. There are many opportunities when we look back at instances of violence where the threat could have been mitigated if we took advantage of what in retrospect appeared to be chances to intervene. I generally get involved in situations where a threat has already come to the workplace, but educating organizations on these tools can be really helpful. It doesn’t change how we respond to violence, but it changes how we can potentially avoid it. 

How has the rise of ideological violence impacted threats against companies and what have executives told you about a rising threat levels?

• It seems like that as a society we go from 0 to 100 so quickly. Everyone is on edge. What I try to tell people is not be a jerk and don’t take it personally if someone behaves badly. Don’t make things worse. We see a lot of issues related to race and also specifically related to antisemitism these days, but I also see a broader trend about “respect” and people being on a hair-trigger when they feel they have not been given it.  There are a lot of misunderstandings because of a lot of cultures and religions have different concepts of respect. Now there are also people who are using different gender pronouns and that can create tension. Issues related to respect seem to be worsened by social media, where different forms of it are modeled and different responses are seen when there is perceived lack of it. But we also have to respect ourselves and maintain our boundaries. Be polite and professional, but also assertive. Striking that balance can be tough. 

Questions about workplace violence training or anything else? Reach out to Jeremy at Academy@interfor.international.