An organization faces many risks in the work environment, from “acts of God” and natural disasters, to white-collar crimes such as fraud and embezzlement, to cyber security threats such as data theft and cyber-industrial sabotage. Anyone can be a perpetrator or victim: an employee, contractor, client, or member of the general public. The world of threat management is large.
Today, however, one kind of threat appears to dominate our fears at the office: workplace violence. News coverage of mass shootings, terrorism, bombings, stalking, and more have imprinted images of terrible tragedies that are impossible to forget. This paper will address this specific aspect of threat management, sharing information on best practices to help organizations assess, prevent, manage, and mitigate threats and violence in the workplace.
By employing a holistic security approach, organizations can better understand the full scope of their risks and gather the strategic resources they need to evaluate and address potential threats. A holistic approach employs a multidisciplinary strategy that takes into account the many ways that threats can infiltrate and impact an organization. There are three main components of this approach:
- Assessing and instituting appropriate policies and procedures
- Establishing and training a cross-functional Threat Assessment Team
- Analyzing physical security elements and implementing effective controls
