AIM:
To develop knowledge and skills in communication and conflict
management.
Intended Learning Outcome: By the end of the session trainees will be
able to:
1. Describe a range of potential conflict situations within Close Protection
2. Describe how to assess the level of threat posed in a conflict situation
3. Recognise human responses to emotional and threatening situations
4. Identify the conditions and behaviours that trigger or inhibit an angry
response in people
5. Explain the basic elements of communication
6. Explain the importance of non-verbal communication when
dealing with emotionally charged situations
7. Explain the importance of adopting an appropriate initial response
8. Identify the most common situations where there is a risk of
escalation into violence
9. Demonstrate an understanding of the attitude/behaviour cycle and how
to prevent escalation
10. Explain a range of techniques to diffuse and eliminate conflict
situations
11. Explain an escalation in risk and how to manage anger and aggression
12. Explain the difference between assertion and aggression
13. Describe the effects of stress within Close Protection
14. Explain the use of appropriate physical techniques for dealing with
conflict
15. Choose the most appropriate responses to a situation involving
potential conflict.
National Occupational Standards:
PCP 6
PCP 10
Maintain the safety and security of Principals whilst on foot
Respond to potential conflict whilst providing Close Protection
Employment NTO
Unit 6 Ensure your actions contribute to a positive and safe working
environment
Unit 7
Unit 8
Protect yourself from the risk of violence at work
Respond to work-related incidents.
COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
SKILLS
INTRODUCTION
In line with other SIA qualifications for licensing, the SIA
requires all security operatives who interact with the general
public to be trained in communication and conflict
management skills. For the purposes of this qualification
Close Protection Operatives should have the same
knowledge and understanding of communication and conflict
management skills as other security operatives but will be
trained using practical scenarios relevant to Close Protection.
Licensed Close Protection Operatives will also be licensed to
work as security guards and door supervisors. When
deployed in other security roles the same Principals of
communication and conflict management will apply but the
context and environment may differ. Close Protection
Operatives should be made aware of the need to become
familiar with the likely conflict situations that may occur in
different security roles
Training in communication and conflict management skills
should be tailored to the context of Close Protection.
Awarding bodies should ensure that the training syllabus
includes relevant practical scenario situations in both the
training syllabus and the assessment processes.
Workplace violence
The health and safety executive defines workplace violence
as:
Any incident in which a person is:
“Abused Threatened or assaulted in circumstance
relating to their work”
Responsibility of employers and employees
The main legislation is section 2 of the health and safety at
work act which covers work related violence and other risks:
“It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure as far as
reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of
all his employees“.
In simple terms your employer must carry out an assessment
of risk that you may face whilst doing your job, this involves
gathering information and an understanding of types of
situations, incidents and scenarios that you are likely to face
and making an assessment of the risks involved in these
situations
Once the risk has been identified, your employer must
provide “risk reduction measures” which will eliminate the risk
identified; theses will include things like guidance about how
to deal with difficult situations, safe working practices and
training
Employees also have a duty of care towards themselves and
other who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.
Assessing Risk
Dynamic risk assessment is a way of continuously assessing a
situation as you are dealing with it to ensure that risk of violence
are quickly recognised, assessed and responded to as a Close
protection Officer
The Police Service in Northern Ireland (P.S.N.I) which maintains
a Close Protection Unit and is recognised as the leading training
providers of National Close Protection courses, have adopted
what is known as
“THE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT MODEL”
This is a system, when followed, enables you to carry out a
dynamic risk assessment and react accordingly:.
Conflict Management Model
Information
intelligence
received
Threat
Assessment
Law
and Powers
Tactical
Options
Actions
The above diagram is of the Management model. When you are working as any
type of security officer this model shows the way you should be thinking.
INFORMATION/INTELLIGENCE.
This should be your first point. Gather any information or
intelligence you can on the task, Principal and any other factor
impacting on your role. If you are operating on the ground gather
the information by watching and listening to what’s happening
around you
THREAT ASSESSMENT.
Carry out your threat assessment from the information gathered
LAWS AND POWERS.
Consider what powers you have under the law in relation to the
possibilities that may arise during the task
TACTICAL OPTIONS.
What tactics are open to you, i.e. do we have to face the threat or
can we avoid conflict by simply walking the Principal away?.
ACTIONS.
If necessary do we strike first (R V BECKFORD)? Do we use
a firearm if carried?
In Beckford v R (1988), the defendant police officer shot dead
a suspect, having been told that he was armed and
dangerous, because he feared for his own life. The
prosecution case was that the victim had been unarmed and
thus presented no threat to the defendant. The trial judge
directed the jury that the defendant's belief in the need to
shoot in self-defence had to be both honest and reasonable.
In rejecting this direction, the Privy Council approved the
approach in Williams.
Lord Griffiths commented that juries should be given the
following guidance:
"Whether the plea is self-defence or defence of another, if the
defendant may have been labouring under a mistake as to
facts, he must be judged according to his mistaken belief of
the facts: that is so whether the mistake was, on an objective
view, a reasonable mistake or not." The defendant therefore,
had a defence of self-defence because the killing was not
unlawful if, in the circumstances as he perceived them to be,
he had used reasonable force to defend himself.
The Conflict Management model can be used when planning
an operation or as a dynamic assessment on the ground. If
necessary you can move between the stages if
circumstances dictate, i.e.
▪ If you are at the stage of information and an attack comes
in or you decide you have to act now you simply move to the
Actions stage. If and when things settle down you simply
begin again at stage one again and continually move round
the model
▪The following monogram will help you to remember what
you should be thinking about whilst working through the
Conflict Management Model.
▪POP:
P = Person - Continually assess people to judge whether you
may be at risk, if you have meet the person before. What do
you know about them?
1. Do they have a history of anger or aggression?
2. Are they a known criminal?
3. How do they appear?
4. Are they suffering the effects of drink or drugs?
5. Are they bigger? Fitter, younger, or stronger than you?.
O = Object - Assess the situation with regard to the risk
presented by any objects
1. Moving vehicles
2. Knives and other edged weapons
3. Apparently innocent article – scissors – syringes,
screwdrivers, bottles, cans, glasses etc.
P = Places
1. Staircases and dances floors
2. Remote areas – away from observation of other safe
refuge
3. Routes to or from work
4. Exits that are blocked.
Cast your mind back to the second chapter. Remember this useful
guide to awareness / response levels is a colour-code system
developed by a Master Defensive Instructor many years ago and
still valid today
WHITE Oblivious to what is happening around you
YELLOW Relaxed awareness of what‘s happen around you
ORANGE Aware of potential danger. Able to quickly form a plan to respond
RED Putting your plan into action
Where are you on this colour-coded system right now???
Most people live their lives in Condition White. If you said
Condition Yellow you would be in the right place. Knowing what‘s
going on around you will help to make sure you don‘t have to go to
Condition Orange or, worse yet, Condition Red.
Levels of Threat
There are two types of threat:
High Risk or Unknown Risk
We are often safer when an obvious threat is presented as we prepare
ourselves to deal with the situation, for example when going on a walk:
1. Assessment should be conscious and continuous
2. Be alert, scanning the environment (but not paranoid)
3. By being aware we are better able to respond
4. Beware complacency – after an incident we are more alert to the
risks and take precautions
5. Over time awareness can reduce making us more vulnerable
through complacency.
Coastal path = perceived low risk = unprepared
Mountains = perceived high risk = prepared
Conclusion
SELF – AWARENESS
Responses to threat
1. People have two mindsets or ways of dealing with situations –
the emotional (the one that feels) and the rational (the one that
thinks)
2. When you are particularly upset or when you feel threatened the
emotional side quickly takes over, This means that you lose
much of your ability to rationalise and think clearly
Fight and Flight
1. If you are seriously threatened your body prepares you to either
stay or fight the threat or to take flight and run away from danger
2. With-in seconds of sensing danger you can run fast, hit harder,
see better, hear more, acutely, think faster and jump higher than
you could only seconds earlier, this is often referred to as “Fight
or Flight” response. This fight or flight reaction is natural
basic instinct.
Triggers and Inhibitors
Triggers are often small things that when combined with other
problems spark off aggression. So if a person is already
feeling frustrated by long waits poor service or personal
circumstances, there are many triggers that will spark of a
sharp reaction. You may never know what someone has been
through just before his or her encounter with you
Common triggers
People tend to be “triggered” into an angry reaction if they
feel:
1. Embarrassed
2. Loss of face
3. Insulted
4. Afraid
5. That people are laughing at them.
Inhibitors prevent aggression
Inhibitors are things that prevent people from completely
losing their temper. You know that not everybody gets violent
when they become angry. This is because you have
inhibitors based on:
1. Self Control – most people have built in control which
prevents them from turning to violent behaviour
2. Personal values – the way we have been brought up, the
values and beliefs that we have learned
3. Fear that the other person will fight back – most of us don’t
want to be hurt and realise a fight will risk this
4. Social or legal consequences – these include being
charged with an assault, losing one job or license.
Stimulus and response
Animals tend to respond automatically, fight or flight when
something happens. If you pull a dog’s tail is very likely that
it will bite you
The dog’s automatic reaction will be as follows:
ANIMAL – Reaction to stimulus
Humans are however different, people have a choice about how
they respond to a threatening situation. At first the emotional side
kicks in, your body prepares a fight or flight response as the
rational side catches up. You can then start to analyse the
situation and respond appropriately.
Stimulus Response
Stimulus CHOICE Response
HUMAN - Reaction to stimulus
The wrong choice can escalate the problem
1. Your choice is important because every choice has a consequence,
even when you have passed the fight or flight stage you still have a
choice between escalating or de-escalating the situation
2. When you are feeling angry emotional or tense you might easily do
something or say something that will makes things worse.A smart
comment or pointing or poking a finger could trigger escalation
3. You need to consciously choose to deal with the incident so that no
one loses face or gets more wound up or frustrated
1. Unhelpful
2. Smart remark
3. Aggressive
STIMULUS HOICE - RESPONSE
ESCALATES
1. Listening
2. Helpful
3. Concern.
DE –ESCALATES
PRO ACTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY
First contact – managing Client expectations
Sometimes organisations and staff can create or worsen the
environment within which a conflict develops and increase the risk
of violence by the way they deliver services or approach their work
There is a build up to the majority of violent incidents and often the
most significant action that can be taken to reduce violence is to
provide a high quality service
Providing information in good time may be all that is needed to
placate and claim agitated Clients
The first impression begins with your appearance facial expression
and the way you are standing.
Behaviour breed’s behaviour
It is extremely unlikely that you will have a positive attitude
towards everyone you meet in the course of your work, if you
are dealing with someone you feel negative towards; you are
likely to show those negative feelings in the way that you
behave towards the other person
You’re negative behaviour makes a situation worse
When the other person recognises this negative behaviour
from you, this will in turn affect their altitude towards you. A
negative altitude will come out in their behaviour towards you.
Their negative behaviour is then likely to make the negative
feelings you had in the first place even more negative.
This is shown in the
attitude and behaviour
cycle:
Your attitude
It is very difficult to change your attitude towards someone. It is however possible
to change the way you behave towards them; you can learn to behave so that your
negative feelings do not show, so that your behaviour doesn’t reflect your negative
feelings. This breaks the cycle and stops it getting worse.
Affects Affects
My behaviour
Affects Affects
My Attitude
Your behaviour
DEFUSING CONFLICT
Blocks to communication
A number of things can get in the way of good communication –
these are termed: “blocks”. A block is anything that can cause the
communication between two people to break down or become
difficult
The Environment
The environment in which you are communicating
can contain things that will have an effect upon the
success of the communication, they are usually
obvious, although you don’t always recognise the
effect they are having – and include:
1. Loud noise
2. Lots of people crowded together
3. Physical discomfort – feeling very hot or cold, being hungry or
Tired.
Emotions and feelings
When we are angry, frustrated or unhappy the emotions
generated will have a direct impact upon your ability to
communicate successfully, you find it difficult to hear and
correctly interpret words and tend to rely much more on the
tone and body language to understand.
Alcohol and drugs
Alcohol has a depressant effect, which result is slower
reactions to normal stimulus; it tends to reduce people’s
inhabitations and can make them unreasonable and
unpredictable
When you are communication with a person under the
influence of alcohol
1. Talk slowly and calmly
2. Adopt a non- aggressive stance
3. Maintain space between them and you.
There are many different drugs available and each can have
a different effect on the person who has taken them. The
effects can range from those similar to alcohol, across to high
stimulant effects and even hallucinations. The greatest
communication difficulty in the unpredictability that can arise
in people who have taken drugs and the fact that their world
may be very distorted
The same points should be born in mind as with alcohol but
with greater emphasis on the need to demonstrate a non-
aggressive stance and maintain space between you and the
other person. Remember, drugs and alcohol are often mixed
and the effects can be difficult to predict.
Different cultures communicate differently
Different cultures hold different values and attitudes to define
the way they live and interact with others
There are no Rights or Wrongs where culture is concerned –
one culture isn’t better than another – just different. Some of
this difference may be a thing such as body language; hand
signals in one culture can mean something different in
another, or the difference in space between people when
communicating, there are difference in values which are
difficult to accept
If you want to communicate well with someone who is clearly
from a different culture or ethnic background to yourself then
it is important to respect the values of that culture and try and
communicate in a way that embraces those values as much
as possible.
Mental health problems
A person may behave in a different way because or mental
health problems. Mental illness can take many forms:
The person may be aggressive for any of the following
reasons:
Fear – (e.g. noise or people) leading to desperation and the
feeling that “the only way out is to fight”
Paranoia – (feelings of being persecuted) may be directed
towards certain groups in society. For example police or
doctors that could have been caused by a bad experience
with them in the past
Anger – at being provoked by other people.
When dealing with people who have a mental illness:
1. Give them or her plenty of space
2. Talk clearly and calmly to ensure he or she understands
you
3. Make sure he or she knows you mean no harm
4. Be reassuring tell him or her what you are doing and why
5. Keep your hands open and in view
6. Reduce distraction that will alarm and confuse
7. If you are with a colleague only one of you should talk to
the person.
Channels of communication
In conversation the message is passed from one person to the
other through three channels:
1. Words
2. Tone
3. Non – Verbal
the actual words spoken
the way the words are spoken
the stance, gestures and Expression
The receiver gains the meaning of a message as follows:
Method % of meaning
Words 7
Tone 38
Non - Verbal 55
Match body language and tone to words
Remember:
1. Your Body language and tone of voice will make a big impact
2. It’s not so much what you say – it’s how you say it
3. If you try to understand the persons point it will help
communication between you
Signalling non – aggression
This is one of the most important areas to understand when
defusing a situation where people are becoming aggressive. The
more emotional someone is becoming the less they can hear and
rationalise what is being said to them
However they WILL instinctively respond to body language and
tone of voice.
None – verbal communication – Open PALMS
Open PALMS is a model to signal non – aggression. It helps you
to show another person that you do not want to fight him or her
Open PALMS – I don’t want to fight you
P
A
L
M
S
Position – allow exit routes, don’t block in
Attitude – display positive and helpful attitude
Look and listen – normal eye contact, active listening
Make space – maintain a comfortable distance
Stance – shoulders relaxed and turned away to the side
HIGH – RISK CONFLICT
Recognising escalation
A high – risk conflict is one where there is an immediate risk that the
person dealing with the situation is going to be physically assaulted.
You need to recognise when a situation is escalating and respond
appropriately
Signs of escalation to watch for are:
1. Angry non – verbal signals – face reddening, intense eye
contact.
2. Abuse which is focused on you personally
3. Increasingly vulgar, abusive or threatening language
4. Your personal space is being evaded
5. Square on posture, head and chin thrust forward
6. Fist clenching, finger pointing – leading to physical contact.
The FOUR “A’S Model
When you are dealing with high–risk conflict situations it will
help you to remember the FOUR A’s
1. Don’t get
2. ManageAngry
3. Maintain a positive Attitude
4. Be Assertive – not aggressive.
Abuse
Defusing and calming
In high – risk conflict – the other person is in a very agitated
and emotional state and the signals are telling you that you
are in immediate danger of being physically assaulted. If it is
appropriate – you should remove yourself from danger
This is often easier said than done – particularly when it is
obvious you are in a position of authority and other Clients
are around who may be left to deal with the situation.
Sometimes you are not in a position where you can leave
easily and safely. Where this is the case you need to be able
to defuse the situation and calm the person down so that he
or she becomes less of a risk.
Defusing and calming
There are four main basic steps that help top calm a person
who is in a high level of agitation and emotion:
1. Signal non – aggression
2. Catch his or her attention
3. Actively listen and empathise
4. Win his or her trust.
Signal non – aggression
When someone is in a high state of emotion and anger, there is
little point in trying to appeal to their rational side. The most
important thing to signal is non–aggression – remember open
PALMS
Catch his or her attention
If someone has really lost it then it may be necessary to match his
or her level of energy in order to gain his or her attention.
“Matching” energy level is a delicate balance and needs to be
carefully monitored – you need put yourself in a position where you
can give direct eye contact with the other person and raise your
energy and voice to an appropriate level
Use words like “whoa, just a sec” or “excuse me can I help” as
soon as you have clearly got his or her attention – the level needs
to drop back to normal and you should maintain the open PALM
stance.
Show empathy and activity listen.
It is quite difficult to stay really angry for a long time and people
who are angry respond quickly too anything that sounds like an
apology. If you demonstrate empathy with their situation it will help
to defuse their anger
This isn’t the same as agreeing with his or her complaint or point of
view – but it acknowledges their right to hold it. You can
demonstrate empathy by using phrases like:
1. “I’m Sorry this has happened to you”
2. “I’m sorry you’ve had to queue for so long”
3. “I can see this has made you very angry”
4. “I can understand why this has made you angry”.
Win his or her trust
Winning trust is getting the person to the point where he or
she is calm enough to be able to deal with the situation in a
rational manner. He or she has to have confidence that you
are on their side, want to resolve the problem and have some
power to be able to resolve the situation
Confronting unacceptable behaviour
It is important to realise that to confront a person who is
already very angry and emotional it is likely to escalate the
situation and increase the risk – no matter how skilled you
are in doing it, it is sometimes a difficult choice and it can be
hard not to react to some types of abuse – particularly if it is
very personal or perhaps racially motivated.
Remember that you can confront someone about
unacceptable behaviour when it is safer to do so such as
when they are calmer or you are in a safe area. If you feel
you have to confront then make sure you are assertive –
rather that aggressive. A good assertive statement will
usually:
1. State clearly what the unacceptable behaviour is that
you want it to stop
2. What the consequences of continuing will be and.
3. An acknowledgement of the other persons point of
View.
An example of a good assertive statement is:
“I appreciate you are angry but if you continue to shout
and swear you will leave me no option but to ask you to
leave – which I don’t want to have to do”
It is important to make sure your body language gives a similar
message – you can make a good assertive statement but
makes it aggressive by squaring on or pointing open PALMS.
Exits Strategies
When you are in a situation that you recognise as high risk, it may
be necessary for you to exit from the situation. This is to take
yourself from immediate danger and allow you to think rationally
about how to deal with the incident. People often find it difficult to
get out of such situation without losing face and therefore stay
longer than it is safe to do so. An exit strategy is a pre-prepared
way of getting yourself away from a difficult situation
Have a ready-made reason to exit; an exit strategy is quite simply
a sensible reason for leaving the situation you are in. you need to
have a reason ready so it comes to mind quickly. It needs to be
something that will not make the situation worse
It will be something like: “I’m afraid I can’t make that
decision – I’ll have to go and speak with the manager about
it”.
THE LAW REGARDING SELF – DEFENCE
The law regarding to self-defence is reasonably clear and
unambiguous, however people often confuse retaliation with
self – defence. The law does not allow us to retaliate – only
defend others or ourselves from attack.
THE LAW REGARDING SELF – DEFENCE
Use of force – any use of force on another person is an
assault.
Authority for the use of force comes from both common law and
statute law. Often it is against the law to force on another
person sometimes however when justified, an assault can be
lawful. It is recognising such circumstances that are important,
criteria most relevant to violence at work are:
1. Defending oneself or others against unlawful violence.
2. Saving life
3. Preventing crime, making a lawful arrest and protecting
property.
Common Law Authority
Any person may use such force as is reasonable in the
circumstances in defence of themselves or others and in certain
circumstances in defence of property. The force used must be
reasonable and no more than is necessary to repel attack. You must
be able to show honesty held belief that immediate unlawful personal
violence was occurring or about to occur and your action were
necessary to prevent such conduct
In some cases it may be necessary and lawful to act or strike first to
defend yourself or another person. You must be able to show
compelling justification for such action. The law states that some
attempt should be made to retreat where practicable. Reasonable
force can be used to save life
Human Rights Act
“Use of force must be reasonable and proportionate; which
means you must NOT over react.”.
RESOLVING CONFLICT
Problem solving: - Recognise the Client’s point of view
Empathy is basically about being able to see another person’s point of
view – even if you don’t agree with it. It is best understood as a piece
of cheese. Person A sees a square; whereas person B sees a
triangle – both very different but the same thing – a wedge of cheese.
A
B
If you have empathy, it means you recognise that the other person has a
different view of the world but to them it is equally as valid as your own
view the critical element is to understand that all involved believe that
they are right. The key to unlocking this problem is for one person to
seek to listen and understand the others point of view. Listening and
positively seeking to understand provides the following benefits:
1. As you are not resisting or arguing the conflict can diminish
2. Listening to the other person shows that you are interested and
care
3. You may discover that the facts or perceived facts are different
to your initial thoughts
Resolving the issues
It is important to try and remove the cause of the problem that has led to
the conflict, this can only be achieved when the heat is out of the
situation and everyone is thinking rationally remember the Client will
have a different point of view to you – otherwise the conflict would have
not started in the first place.
Building rapport
If you are to go further and resolve the situation you first need
to build a rapport a sense of trust with the other individual(s)
you can achieve this through the same techniques you have
already applied to defusing the emotions:
1. Active listening (nods of the head, say yes, yes or I see)
2. Active looking (maintain normal eye contact and don’t
be distracted)
3. Paraphrase (use expressions like “let me check I’ve
understood..” then summarise what they have said)
4. Be friendly (even if you don’t feel like it) disarm them by
living up to their low expectations of you.
Seeking a WIN – WIN outcome
To successful resolve a situation you need to think WIN – WIN;
A win-win situation is where both sides of a confrontation come out
of the encounter situation feeling satisfied with the outcome. It is
not always possible to meet everyone’s ideal result, but if party
reached people are more likely to be satisfied with their treatment.
A simple explanation may be enough
YOUR win situation
1. Minimal aggravation and stress
2. Doing a professional job
3. Finding a successful solution
4. Leaving others satisfied that you have done your best.
Seeking a WIN – WIN outcome
A CLIENT win situation
1. Saving face
2. Getting what they asked for
3. Being listened to and taken seriously
4. Being treated fairly and professionally
5. Receiving a helpful explanation.
Delivering a gift
This strategy can be used to bring a discussion that is going
nowhere to an end. It allows the Client to leave and you to
return to work, while hopefully leaving them with the
impression that you have worked hard to try and resolve their
problem
Examples include:
1. Providing a phone
2. Free coffee and refreshment while they wait
3. An invitation to retune on a different occasion when they
could be made extra welcome
4. Calling a taxi or giving them a card for a reliable taxi firm
5. An invitation to come back to you personally if there is a
future difficulty.
LEARNING FROM CONFLICT
Post-incident considerations
Support for victims:
Perhaps the most important thing to recognise that everyone has a
different way of responding to and dealing with the aftermath of a
violent or aggressive incident there is no right or wrong way to react
and people must be able to deal with it in their own way. Colleagues
can help by “looking out” for someone who has been the subject of
an attack or assault it is important to watch out for changes in
behaviour from what you would expect from this person
In the short term it is quite normal for a person to have a range of
reactions from the shock confusion and disbelief through to anger
embarrassment or a feeling of violation you can provide help and
support just by listening and reinforcing that it is quite normal to have
these reactions to an incident involving violence.
Reporting and recording
Accounting for your actions:
You may be asked to account for your actions or inaction by the
manager and may well be called before a civil or criminal court
months after the event. It is therefore very important to write a
clear detailed incident report immediately after the incident.
When writing the report remember the ordinary person was not
present at the time of the incident but who may be sitting on a
jury in the court, ensure you provide enough detail for a third
party to conclude that your actions were reasonable in the
circumstances
Help others to see the incident as it was and to understand how
it felt to be there. Give a true and accurate and full picture of
what happened that would help others understand why you
took the actions that you did.
Reporting and recording
When compiling your incident report remember to include:
1. Facts about yourself
2. Background information
3. Description of behaviour
4. Level of forced used
Simply stating that a person became “abusive” or “violent” is
not satisfactory – state exactly what the person said and what
they did.
Reporting
Reporting all incidents is essential in order for an organisation
to protect staff against risk. The organisation relies upon quality
information to establish effective strategies and training.
Reporting incidents of workplace violence is a duty under
health and safety legislation
Learning from what happened
As a professional you should continuously be recognising the
things that you do well in situations of conflict and looking for
things that you might be able to do better in a similar incident.
You should review how you approach the incident using this
simple process:.
1. What happened
2. Why did it happen to react that way
3. How can I improve things if this happens again
In some organisations the line manager will debrief the incident.
In a serious incident there will be an investigation aimed at
finding out what happened and what could be learned from it. It
is good practise to get into the habit of going through this
process for yourself – if nothing else; it helps you not to make
the same mistake twice.
SUMMARY
All of the CPO’s day is taken up with conflict avoidance.
Conflict management is largely for those occupations such as
door staff and security officers whose working day is filled with
conflict arising from members of the public
The well-trained and experienced CPO will avoid, confront and
manage conflict using all the skills at his disposal. That being
said; being aware of all of the components we have covered in
this chapter helps to arm the CPO with the knowledge of ‘what
makes other people tick’ and how to diffuse and deal with
situations and people that could present a threat to your
Principal should you not manage the situation correctly.