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High Risk Terminations: Solutions for All Types of Businesses

Stratus Security Management provides security solutions to companies in a wide array of industries. Stratus Security has experience in a variety of industries, including transportation, entertainment, health care, pharmaceutical, public and private housing, education, construction, retail, manufacturing and government. Companies throughout the US rely on Stratus Security to handle their day-to-day and emergency security needs.

Job loss is the number one reason for workplace violence. The Centers for Disease Control notes that workplace violence is a growing problem in the US.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a single incidence of traumatic stress in the workplace can create physical, cognitive, and emotional issues for employees that are subjected to a traumatic incident.

Traumatic incident stress can result in lost productivity – employees may need to take sick leave, morale can suffer, good employees may leave the organization – all of this leading to a loss in profits. Worse – if customers witness a traumatic incident, this can lead to added losses for a company as well. A single violent incident in the workplace can have a far-reaching negative ripple affect on a business, leading to long-lasting financial losses.

The figures on workplace violence – many of which are the result of high risk terminations – speak to this growing problem:
  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reported an average of over 700 workplace homicide victims annually between 1992 and 2010.
  • NIOSH figures indicate that between 2003 to 2010 more than half of all workplace homicides took place in three industries – sales and related occupations, protective services, and transportation.
  • The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2009 alone more than 137,000 workers were treated in emergency rooms for non-fatal workplace assaults.
  • The Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimated that in 2009 alone 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes occurred against persons 16 or older while they were at
  • work.

But an employee doesn’t have to have a violent incident to cause long-lasting financial problems for a company. A high-risk termination often involves an employee with a high level of access to proprietary, financial, IT systems or other sensitive company information. A disgruntled employee can cause long lasting financial hardship to a company if steps aren’t taken before a potential termination to minimize risk and exposure.

“We can discretely help businesses take a pro-active approach to high risk terminations by monitoring employee activity prior to the actual termination date,” explains Brandon Pierce, President of Stratus Security. He notes that if a company has daily guards on site this is often not enough to effectively carry out a high risk termination.

High risk terminations also include employees that have a high access to trade secrets, financial information, computer and security systems, and other highly sensitive information.

A disgruntled employee doesn’t have to be violent to cause long lasting financial losses to a company.
Pierce notes that “many companies mistakenly believe that their own in-house security can handle a high risk termination. But often they are not trained to verbally de-escalate a situation or use other tactics to diffuse what could quickly turn into a traumatic incident.” Pierce notes that it is crucial for businesses to have a highly trained professional on-hand that can utilized specific tactics to ensure a smooth and incident free termination of a high-risk employee.

Companies that have done their due diligence on their employees and take a pro-active approach have saved on their business insurance rates and improved employee retention, translating into long-term cost savings for companies.

Pierce further states that Stratus Security can work through the steps your company needs to take to mitigate any potential problems before the employee is officially terminated.

It is crucial for the safety of your staff and the health of your employees to handle a high risk termination in the most efficient and safe manner possible. If you believe you may have a high risk termination, contact Stratus Security Management to professionally and affordably handle your high risk terminations.