Workplace violence is more costly to business operations than you may think!
- Workplace productivity can decrease up to 50% in the aftermath of a violent event and can last from 6 to 18 weeks.
- You may not be able to access your business location for days or weeks during law enforcement investigations.
- Company reputation and brand are impacted, and customer loyalty will drop off for some time.
- The annual cost of all types of workplace violence is around $130 billion.
Active shooter events are more commonly being seen as a “hazard” and falling under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970
- Your general liability insurance is not likely to cover an active shooter event. Don’t confuse this with a ‘mass shooting’ because an active shooter event doesn’t always meet the definition of a mass shooting. According to Risk Management magazine
- It is estimated that the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, in which 49 people were killed, will cost approximately $385 million.
- The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting also led to an estimated $48.2 million in litigation and recovery costs.
- After the 2017 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Broward County spent $1.2 million just to reunite travelers with luggage, replace carpet and tiles, and perform a crisis response assessment.
At least 1 out of 3 employees aren’t sure about employer safety plans and don’t feel safe according to a 2021 survey by Rave Mobile Safety
- 29% Report feeling somewhat, rarely, or not safe when working.
- 33% said safety was somewhat, hardly or not at all important in the workplace.
- 33% were not aware of any workplace emergency plans for incidents such as workplace violence and active shooter events.
A majority of companies are unprepared for an active shooter incident according to Zippia
- Although 62% of companies view an active shooter as a top threat, as many as 79% of businesses report feeling unprepared for an active shooter.
- 61% of these companies do not run any proactive active shooter preparedness drills or training for their employees.
- In the case of workplace violence, lost revenue is a direct result of decreased productivity due to illness and injuries, employee turnover, lawsuit fees, employee absences, and a loss of customers due to a damaged business reputation.
Most small and mid-sized companies don’t dedicate significant funding in their operating budgets to crisis management (security) planning and training. The upfront return on investment just isn’t there like it is for a great marketing campaign. There is a commonality of thought that they will deal with events when they happen, or even worse they simply don’t feel violence will happen at their business.
Safety and security should be seen as priority and always given more consideration. It is not a matter of realizing a ROI. It should be understood as a Value on Investment (VOI) that will mitigate events from occurring and minimizing impacts if bad things do happen.
Let Vetus Group Security Consulting help your business establish a Crisis Management Plan with an all-hazards approach and deliver training to staff ensuring they know what to during a crisis event.