Workplace Violence

A Five Step Process to Address and Manage Potentially Violent Situations in the Workplace
(Includes a special section on workplace bullying)

This course is available for On-Site Training only. We will bring this course to your agency or company.
Contact Don Dickson, On-Site Training Manager at (301) 455-5633 or Don.Dickson@GovernmentTrainingInc.com

About this course

Although it will take years to compile a statistical picture of the impact of today’s recession on workplace violence, fears of escalation in this era of scarcity are mounting. The government reports 7000 occupational homicides occurred from 1997-2007 while the US experienced an economic upswing. The current surge of workplace violence occurring since September 2008 threatens to make these statistics pale in comparison. A June 2009 survey of 456 individuals taken by the Workplace Bullying Institute reveals that 28% of respondents say workplace bullying is on the rise in their organization.

Employee reprimands, layoffs, downsizing, intimidating supervisors, terminations, reactions to workplace stress, lack of personal resources, and working with others who are push a personal agenda can propel otherwise rational employees over the edge. Come and learn from intense real world case studies about incidents of violence that have occurred in Federal agencies over the past few years. The time to be proactive is now.

Major Topics

• The Violence Cycle: Warning Signs of Impending Violence
• Workplace Bullying Begets Workplace Violence: Is Your Workplace Toxic?
• When to Refer Employees to EAP: Detecting Mental Health Concerns
• Assessing Your Workplace to Improve Safety and Security
• What to do Until Helps Arrives: Training Staff in Immediate Response Strategies
• Avoid Negligent Hiring: Screen out High Risk Individuals
• Managing Threat with Policy and Response Teams

Who Should Attend

• Organizational Leaders and Policy Makers
• HR Professionals
• Middle Managers and Line Supervisors
• Threat Management Team Members
• Facility Security Officers
• Emergency Management Officers
• Public Safety Agency – Uniformed police
• Anyone interested in making your workplace safer

Course Highlights

Leave this course with the following take-aways:

• A checklist to assess your workplace for safety gaps
• Ten point guidance for handling potentially dangerous individuals
• A primer to detect mental health disorders that take employees from “difficult to dysfunctional”
• Sample threat management and respectful workplace policies
• 14 Warning Signs of Impending Violence
• An action plan for proactively preventing violence in your workplace

About your Instructor

Rita Rizzo is a threat management specialist with over two decades of experience in training topics related to prevention of workplace violence. Typically earning an evaluation average of 4.85 on a 5 point scale, Rita has been validated as a high impact trainer who delivers value-added content with a down-to-earth style. Over 5,000 training participants can attest to her effectiveness in providing best practice approaches to quelling violence in tense environments.

As someone who has survived being taken hostage, Rita brings a unique insight to her work. Rita’s history with violence prevention includes experience with training over 500 nurses at the Cleveland Clinic in safety awareness and unarmed self-defense. Additionally she has trained over 1,000 home visitors, primarily nurses and DHS social workers in safety awareness for home visitors and unaccompanied women. As a former mental health nurse and Department of Corrections contractor, Rita is masterful at verbal de-escalation of potentially violent others.

Ms. Rizzo is popular presenter for the National League of Cities Conference, The Ohio Human Services Director’s Conference, and The Ohio Child Support Enforcement Conference. Rita was also well received at the North Carolina Governor’s First Annual Conference on Diversity, The National Pre-trial Workers Conference, and numerous American Society of Mechanical Engineers conferences throughout the US and Europe.

Rita is the author of the book The Culture of Generational Poverty: Providing Meaningful Help to the Impoverished. She is a Certified Management Consultant through the Institute of Management Consultants, the highest earned designation in her field, and holds a Master of Science Degree in Training and Human Resource Management from the University of Leicester in Leicester, England. She is also a Certified Conflict Mediator, certified through the Mediation Training Institute International.

Student Evaluations of These Instructors

"Rita enters through your head and speak directly to your heart. Truly she is a top professional who really care about our success. My sides hurt from laughing and my head is bursting with great new ideas and information. Professionally presented, high value information. Warm, friendly, funny & wise."
Cleveland Clinic Nurse Manager

"It was uncanny how well Rita understood our needs and barriers. You have an amazing memory. I was repeatedly astounded by your ability to speak in relevant examples to illustrate ideas."
Child Support Enforcement Agency Manager

"Rita has a great energy level and is extremely knowledgeable about the topic. Almost every statement she made caused my mind to race with new ideas and strategies as to how to make the most of my present job and my team."
Department of Administrative Services Supervisor

Student Fee

This is a 2-day course

NOTE: Click here to obtain information on special pricing for this course.

• Government: $799.00
• Contractor: $899.00

How to register

Registrations are payable by Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Discover, check or government purchase order.

Download our registration form and FAX or Mail to:

Dave Dickson
Government Training Inc.
20842 Derrydale Square
Sterling, VA, 20165
FAX: 703-406-4870

Course Schedule

• Registration begins at 8:00 am
• Class begins at 8:30am
• Class ends at 4:30pm
• There are several 10-15 minute breaks throughout the day.
• Lunch generally begins at 12:00pm and lasts approximately 1 hour

GTI Cancellation Policy

You may designate a substitute in writing any time before the course.

Cancellation requests must be sent in writing (email or fax) and will be subject to a $100.00 processing fee. No cancellations or transfers are accepted within 2 (two) weeks prior to the course start date or later.

PLEASE NOTE: No shows will be liable for the entire registration fee. In the rare occasion that a course is cancelled or postponed, please note our reimbursement is limited to paid tuition only.

We're sure you'll be satisfied with the content of our courses. If you're not, please tell us why in a brief letter and we will credit your investment towards another Government Training, Inc. course….You risk nothing!

Should you have additional questions, please contact customer service at 703-622-1187 or customer.service@governmenttraininginc.com