Five Steps To Prepare For An Active Shooter Situation
Active shooters in the workplace not only threaten human life and the wellbeing of the workforce, but also threaten business continuity and the very future of the business. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 40 percent of businesses impacted by disaster never reopen their doors.
And while organizations are taking workplace violence more seriously, only 41 percent provide training for their employees about workplace violence policies and procedures, according to a University of Iowa 2017 survey. That same survey found fewer than half (48 percent) of businesses provide training to frontline managers, who are typically the first to observe employees exhibiting abnormal behaviors that could lead to violence.
There are numerous best practices and policies for organizations to consider when it comes to preventing workplace violence, and it is important to adhere to those. But equally critical is how to prepare for an active shooter situation if one occurs. Below are five steps for implementing procedures to protect the workplace in the event of an active shooter situation, and to ensure employees are prepared to immediately respond and handle the after-effects.
Know The Warning Signs
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security describes an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.”
While we often think of active shooters as experiencing a breakdown or “snap” that compels them to act, the truth is that in many violent behaviors are preceded by warning signs. While these can be manageable from the onset, they can also escalate into active shooter incidents if left untreated. These signs and symptoms include:
- Increased alcohol and/or drug use
- Withdrawal, depression, and/or talk of suicide
- Unstable emotions and decreased attention to hygiene and appearance
- Resistance to or violations of policy and procedural changes
- Increased talk of domestic problems while in the workplace
- Obsession with previous workplace violence and empathy with perpetrators of violence
While these indicators are not present in all cases, nor do they conclusively predict that an active shooter event is imminent. They are still important to know and recognize.
According to a report from Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REM), organizations should “learn the signs of a potentially volatile situation that may develop into an active shooter situation and proactively seek ways to prevent an incident with internal resources, or additional external assistance.”
Beyond recognizing these warning signs, knowledge of this information can also be utilized during the active shooter event itself. Active shooter incidents are volatile and evolve very quickly. In many cases, involving law enforcement is the only way to stop the shooting and minimize casualties. However, in the period of time until law enforcement arrives, individuals must know how to manage the situation.
Assemble A Crisis Management Team
Although planning for an active shooter situation is a complex process due to its unpredictable nature, being proactive and implementing a crisis management team can help save lives. A crisis management team can evaluate the potential threats of active shooters and other violent situations and construct strategies aimed at helping their organizations through the events with the least impact possible.
Responsibilities of the team may include detecting early signs of crisis, assessing current or rising situations, warning employees, and identifying a specific course of action. Overall, the team should consist of people with authority and the ability to come together and lead during a crisis situation in order to achieve a singular goal.
While crisis management teams vary depending on the size and type of organization, they typically comprise a blend of upper-level administrative staff, including the CEO and/or a close delegate, directors, department heads, public relations advisors, and human resources managers. Other potential members may include facility owners and operators, property managers, local law enforcement agents, and emergency responders.
Finally, the work of your crisis management team does not end when an active shooting situation does. The team should also take charge of post-event responsibilities, including an assessment of key takeaways while planning for the future. By creating an after-action report, the crisis management team can document responses, identify failures and successes, analyze the effectiveness of the current plan, and lay out plans for improvement.
Create An Emergency Action Plan
A definitive plan should be aimed at managing active shooter incidents as well as other violent or concerning workplace situations. Key components of an emergency action plan should include the following:
- Knowing who is where and when – You cannot protect your employees if you do not know where they are. Developing a system which lets you know who is in the building at all times is not just about tracking employees, but it is also about enhancing accountability in the event of an unexpected emergency situation.
- Creating evacuation and shelter-in-place plans – In some cases, evacuation is the best course of action. In others, remaining indoors offers a better form of refuge. Depending on the specifics of the situation, your crisis management team plays a vital role in determining which is the best scenario.
- Designating safe assembly points – Where will your employees go in the case of evacuation? Making sure everyone gets safely out of the building is only one part of the evacuation process. Establishing a predetermined assembly point along with an organized check-in process upon arrival ensures that employees are both accounted for and available to receive future instructions.
- Document everything – Can you really expect all of your employees to remember the specifics of your emergency communication plan under pressure or duress? Taking the time to document everything is not only valuable at the moment of a crisis, but it is also a significant part of preparing all employees in advance, as well as reviewing what worked and what did not work following drills and real-life events.
Train for an Active Shooter Situation
By providing mock active shooter exercises, your employees can feel more confident in a real-world incident by knowing how to respond in the most appropriate way. Local law enforcement can be a good resource when designing and implementing training drills, which can include gunfire recognition, reacting quickly through evacuation, hiding, fighting back at the right time, calling 911, adopting a “survival mindset,” and proper responses for when law enforcement arrives.
In addition to calling law enforcement as soon as it is safe to do so, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also recommends to always take note of at least two nearby exits when visiting a new workplace or facility and to evacuate hallways, getting into a room, office or other enclosed space, and securing the door.
Make Communication Count
Following the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings which killed 32 and wounded 17, a state panel revealed that had an alert been issued earlier, or classes canceled following the first two shootings, lives may have been saved. According to the report, the messages the school did send failed to convey the full extent of the situation as it unfolded. The takeaway from these findings is that communication is absolutely paramount during an active shooter event, and even the most detailed plans are useless without the means to send potentially life-saving messages.
Now, there are multiple channels to reach stakeholders, and the effectiveness of communication is highly individualized. To reach people quickly, your organization must leverage available technology, such as emergency notification systems, which can send incident-specific instructions via text-based notifications, recorded voice messages, and desktop alerts. Two-way functionality lets employers assess team members’ whereabouts and statuses and inbound message retrieval ensures that your crisis outreach plan and other essential communications are within easy reach of team members.
Active shooters present a situation that no one wants to encounter but which every organization must prepare. Understanding the threats, forming a crisis management team, devising and sharing an emergency action plan, and implementing a robust communications strategy are all crucial components in helping your employees — and your organization — survive a tragedy.
Daniel Graff-Radford is the chief product officer for OnSolve.
