Make it Clear it's a Priority
This is where senior leadership has an opportunity to connect its Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention policy to the organization’s overall core values. A strong linkage between core values and specific operational guidance helps ensure that WPV prevention and intervention concepts/strategies are fully integrated with other organizational efforts that help cultivate and maintain safe, positive, and productive work environments.
Oftentimes, WPV prevention and intervention policies are developed and maintained in a sort of functional vacuum when, in fact, their effectiveness could be significantly enhanced were they to be more fully integrated with other programs addressing the workplace environment. This could be programs that address issues such as equity/diversity/inclusion, implicit bias, sexual harassment, and even suicide prevention. This is also a place where an organization can ensure its approach to WPV is current with best practices and methods. Maintaining good policy oversight also ensures that any overlapping or redundant guidance is integrated into a comprehensive whole, while also incorporating any standards or regulatory compliance considerations that must be addressed. Once an effective WPV Prevention and Intervention policy has been put into place, an annual policy review and gap analysis is strongly recommended.
