Training: ‘I’m holding the HR director hostage’

Dear HR Executive,

Unannounced fire drills help employees prepare to evacuate in case of fire. So it’s only logical that an unannounced “safety drill” will help people learn how to respond in case of a hostage crisis. Right?

Um, no.

Instead, the company that held such a drill, in Mount Holly, NJ, got sued for assault and severe emotional distress. Here’s what happened, according to an employee who was the target of the drill: 

Co-worker as 'gunman'
The employee worked in the pharmacy of a behavioral health clinic. Her employer decided to send in a co-worker she didn’t know disguised as a masked gunman demanding narcotics, and claiming to be holding the HR director hostage.

As part of the exercise, the employer cut the phone line so the employee couldn’t summon help. Adding to her alarm, the “gunman” stood 6’, while she was just 4’11”.

You won’t be surprised to hear that the employee, instead of learning anything, was seized with terror so deep that she couldn’t work for a week and then suffered panic attacks for months afterward.

Remember to...

Few HR directors would do something this outrageous, of course, but this incident is a reminder that it’s always a good idea to:

• get a second and even a third opinion on new training ideas, and
• if you're outsourcing the training, make sure you know exactly what's in it. HR people have been unpleasantly surprised by the methods of outside trainers.

Speaking of which, what have your experiences of outside trainers -- both good and bad -- been like? Post a comment to let us know.

Dave Clemens

Editor-in-Chief

The Human Resources Rapid Learning Center

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Comments

[Elise Forman]

If any organization is planning safety training/awareness besides doing your research on the outside trainers, there needs to be complete awareness made to the employees that this type of training will be taking place. Preparing for this type of training is of upmost importance. Even with the knowledge that this will be taking place, there will still be some reactions to the event. But knowing beforehand will lesses those reactions. Having participated in both a hostage taking training and a bank robbery training, both were clearly explained prior to the exercise.
I do think that organizations need to be better prepared for violence in the workplace.

[Bonnie]

Can you say "The Office"!