How can companies prevent violence when firing someone?

By Holly Yan, CNN

Posted at 5:55 PM ET

Tue February 19, 2019

(CNN) — Nothing about the Henry Pratt Co. suggested it would be the site of a workplace mass shooting.

But the manufacturing company, tucked in the Chicago suburb of Aurora, turned into a scene of carnage when a man who was just fired pulled out a gun and started shooting everyone around him, killing five people.

So what can companies do to help prevent a similar tragedy? Experts say there are plenty of steps businesses and fellow employees can take – and some may be surprising:

Don't have a uniformed security guard in the room

After the Aurora shooting, some wondered whether companies should have an armed guard in the room when an employee gets fired.

But that's usually not a good idea, said Steve Albrecht, co-author of "Ticking Bombs: Defusing Violence in the Workplace."

It's not clear whether the Pratt Co. had security in the room. But Albrecht said the sight of a uniformed guard "raises the emotional temperature of the employee being terminated," provoking thoughts such as "Why do you have this guy with a gun in the room with me? Do you see me as a threat?"

Such feelings of resentment and anger could last long after the firing meeting is over.

Albrecht, a threat assessment expert, said it's better to have an armed guard nearby but not inside – perhaps listening into the meeting via telecom or outside the door. It's also smart to have a code word so the guard knows when to come in and intervene.

Another alternative is to have an armed guard dressed in plain clothes at the termination meeting.

"I often use plain-clothed security people who will be in the room. We introduce them as an HR consultant," Albrecht said. "They can be hands-on if needed."

Don't assume you're immune

"The point of termination is perhaps the greatest opportunity for deadly workplace violence," said Kathleen Bonczyk, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Workplace Violence Prevention Institute.

Bonczyk said the firing of long-term employees can pose the greatest risk.

"It's almost like a divorce from a family," she said. "Americans today tend to spend more time at work than they do even at home. They tend to have more lunches, dinners, meals, time spent with their coworkers. You're severing perhaps the most stable relationship that the employee may have."

Albrecht said companies shouldn't assume an employee would never commit violence just because he or she doesn't have a criminal record.

"There are people who have criminal backgrounds who aren't a threat to their employers, and those who don't have criminal backgrounds" who might snap, he said…

https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/19/us/company-security-when-firing-employees/index.html?r=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FiurNynfl1v

Is this a threat?