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Business and Employee Safety During Crisis Explored at RIMS 2018

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SAN ANTONIO – Emergency preparedness and action plans amid violent crises were explored during educational sessions at RIMS 2018 here. On Monday and Tuesday, experts discussed ways businesses can prepare for active shooter events and kidnapping crises. Experts agreed that in such events, lives, operations, reputation and finances are all at stake.

Some highlights from the sessions:

Kidnapped! A Crisis Simulation Exercise
Bill Laurence, head of crisis management at S-RM offered a kidnap simulation for a well-attended session on Monday. Laurence provided a scenario, asking the audience to assume a collective role as decision-makers of a fictitious, billion-dollar coffee company that has an executive abducted in Mexico. The group’s assignment was to create a crisis management team and decide who the communicator would be, how they would respond to threats and what information to relay to their insurance provider, among other critical actions.

“The first 24 hours are always the most critical during a kidnapping or ransom scenario,” Laurence said.

The simulation included real-life audio and video examples of terrifying ransom-demanding calls. The team learned that the kidnapper has typically planned the abduction in advance and always has control of the situation – beginning with communication. “For that reason alone, you cannot speed up the process,” Laurence said.

And although things may seem dire, he explained ways to glean information – and feel somewhat positive – even after a brief phone call. “We all react differently to pressure,” he said. “But avoid speculation and always prepare for the next call.”

Read more about kidnapping in a Q&A with the session’s co-host, Denise Balan, senior vice president and head of U.S. kidnap & ransom at XL Catlin, on page 9 in Tuesday’s Show Daily.

Active Threat and Workplace Violence on Campus: Preparedness, Response and Recovery
Craig McAllister, Cornell University’s director of risk management and insurance, opened a session on Tuesday with a discussion of duty of care and the obligation to the campus or work environment.

He pointed out that, in early January, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) processed its NFPA 3000 Standard as a provisional one to streamline the program elements necessary for organizing, managing, and sustaining an active shooter and/or hostile event response program. The standard gained even more input following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14 in an effort to reduce or eliminate the risks, effect, and impact on an organization or community affected by these events

Paul Mills, global kidnap prevention manager at AIG, followed with a segment addressing best practices for violent incident preparation and response. He discussed response and resilience training for employees who need enhanced preparedness with the rise of violence against soft targets.

He noted that advances in technology often are putting people in harm’s way by default. “People are distracted to the point where they are unaware of the threats they face. It’s also delaying and inhibiting their response times,” he said. “Without even realizing it, they often portray victim-like behavior.”

Kendell Moore, senior vice president at the Abernathy MacGregor Group, delved into the key crisis management sources of an organization’s response support, both internally and externally. She used a mass shooting that occurred inside a local business in the western United States (that is also part of a major American chain) as an example of an entity that needed to enact its crisis communication plan immediately after the attack.

Moore offered some crisis communication principles:

  • Media is a conduit, not an audience. “The media needs to catch up to the actions of the business.”
  • Speak directly to the impacted. “It is most important to communicate with victims, loved ones, the community and those who are directly affected.”
  • Take action, not credit. “No statement, no matter how eloquent, can substitute for doing the right thing.”
  • Communicate what matters when it matters. ““What is said first must stand the test of time. So announce nothing and predict nothing that isn’t solid and certain.”
  • Build relationships in the community. ““Work alongside local law enforcement, government officials and those who know the community best.”
  • Listen to people’s needs and requests. “Ask what people need, rather than telling them what you think they need.”

Copycat Threats Escalate After Fla. School Shooting

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Numbers of bomb threats and false alarms following the deadly Feb.

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14 shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida have jumped, causing fear and panic across the U.S. and creating havoc for school personnel and law enforcement.

The threats are mostly carried out by students too young to realize the repercussion of their comments—which most often are posted on social media sites.

The sharp rise in false alarms, from 10 to about 70 a day, has left school administrators and authorities with the precarious job of determining the threat’s credibility. Worried parents often fear sending their children to school.

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The New York Times reported:

Every school day in the week after Feb. 14, the day of the attack at the Florida high school, at least 50 threats or violent incidents at schools were reported across the country, according to the Educator’s School Safety Network, an advocacy organization that has tracked news reports of threats and violence since 2016. Normally, the group records an average of 10 to 12 incidents a day.

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The group’s count includes many incidents that turn out to be false alarms or hoaxes.

Since the shooting, Texas has had the most threats, with 55 reports, followed by Ohio, California, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to data from the Educator’s School Safety Network, which tracks such incidents and also trains schools on how to handle them. Because of the threats, at least 33 schools closed and more than 15 others were locked down, according to the USA Today Network.

The threats have sparked a legal debate over what penalties kids should face. Authorities have yet to determine, however, how to deal with such threats, as an arrest could jeopardize a student’s future.

These types of threats are not new. Following the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, hundreds of threats were sent to schools across the country, leading to more than 350 arrests. USA Today notes that even with jail as a penalty, threats have been widespread for decades and are not letting up.

Companies Continue to Grapple with Cyberrisk, Study Finds

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As technology becomes more critical to company success, the number of cyberattacks has climbed.

As a result, cyberrisk has become one of the top risks for companies around the world, according to the Marsh-Microsoft Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey. Almost two-thirds of survey respondents identified cyberrisk as one of their organization’s top-five risk management priorities—almost double the percentage who rated cyber as a top risk in a 2016 study, Marsh said, adding that respondents whose organizations had been successfully attacked were slightly more likely to prioritize cyberrisk than those who had not.

Despite these concerns, however, the study notes that just one in five respondents said they are “highly confident in their organization’s ability to manage and mitigate cyberrisk or respond and recover from an attack.” This was especially the case among corporate directors, who play an important role in protecting their organization from cyber threats. While about 70% of respondents who identified as board members said they ranked cyberrisk as a top-five concern, only 14% said they were “highly confident” in their organization’s ability to respond to an attack.

Board Disconnect
While organizations have traditionally relied on IT staff to manage cyberrisks, the structure of oversight is evolving in many companies as risks accelerate. Stakeholders from across the enterprise are looking beyond prevention to include risk assessment, mitigation and cyber resilience.

Asked about cybersecurity structure, however, 70% of respondents named their IT department as a primary owner and decision-maker of the risk.

This was more often true for smaller companies, as larger organizations tended to spread the responsibility for cyberrisk—from a low of 13% in the smallest organizations (many of which may not have a separate risk management function) to 58% in the largest organizations with more than $5 billion in revenue, the study found.

Ideally, boards should view cyberrisk management as part of their overall perspective on enterprise risk management. In organizations where the board is involved, however, the study found a disconnect:

Corporate directors often appear to either not understand the information on cyberrisk they receive, or to not be receiving it all. For example, 53% of chief information security officers, 47% of chief risk officers, and 38% of chief technology/information officers said they provide reports to board members on cyber investment initiatives. Yet only 18% of board members said they receive such information.

This information gap illustrates a need to develop cyberrisk economic/business models that facilitate shared dialogue including common language among IT, the board, and other corporate departments.

This disconnect also reinforces the need for a cross-functional approach to cyber risk governance, according to the study.

Workplace Sexual Harassment: More HR Guidance Needed

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From news anchors, to titans of the entertainment industry, to corporate executives, and elected officials, headlines show no one is above the fallout of sexual harassment in the workplace. Millions of dollars have been paid in settlements and the once mighty have fallen in disgrace.

Yet, a belated resignation or termination doesn’t absolve the employer from legal action—and often leaves the aggrieved and/or juries wondering how the employer might have handled the situation better.

How can risk managers, human resources (HR), executives and companies they serve help prevent sexual or other forms of harassment? The question becomes more pressing now with the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment” bill. The proposed legislation voids forced arbitration and allows disputes to proceed in court rather than in a confidential arbitration setting. Proponents believe the prospect of making these cases public will reduce such activity in the workplace.

Smart employers aren’t waiting on legislation to make workplaces safer, however. They are planning and training now to reduce sexual harassment to mitigate risk, and therefore, potential damage claims affecting executives and employees across employer ranks. Ensuring such a workplace should result in fewer acts and reports of harassment and insurance claims. As all employers are interested in the bottom line as well as a positive work environment, a more defensible posture against future claims should be top-of-mind for every risk manager and HR Executive.

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Old policies prohibiting harassment must be dusted off, reviewed, updated and publicized. These policies protect those whose accusations are proven to have merit or are brought in good faith, they create consequences for those proven to have abused others, and should clearly define expectations and ramifications.

These strategies can help risk managers, HR teams, and employers keep their organizations out of the headlines:

  • Review internal policies and procedures. When was the last time your organization reviewed the HR policies and procedures manual? Older manuals may ineffectively address the issue, including under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance.
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    Once updated, make the document available to the workforce in print and online. However, a manual of policies is only the beginning.

  • Training is not a one-time event for select individuals. To paraphrase Aristotle, inclusion training in the workplace is not an act, but a habit. Hire a professional skilled in workplace diversity and inclusion training, and make courses mandatory from the rank and file to the C-suite. Refresh the training every few years, and make sure every new hire is trained as part of onboarding.
  • Create a “See something, say something” culture. Sexual harassment is avoided best in organizations with a culture of transparency and accountability. Management must welcome reports of unwanted sexual advances, and then investigate such claims. Such activity reported but not acted upon can worsen the environment, and become powerful evidence for claimants in harassment lawsuits.
  • Establish a realistic reporting procedure. If protocol urges an aggrieved employee to report harassment to a direct supervisor—and that supervisor is the alleged perpetrator—an obvious conflict arises. Encourage employees to speak directly to HR or a high level manager such as a division, general or plant manager. The reporting procedure should ensure that certain steps are taken so complaints are not swept aside.
  • Empower HR to investigate all claims. If HR receives a complaint, it has a legal obligation to investigate further. Even if the complainant fears an investigation could jeopardize the alleged harasser’s job, the law is clear that a prompt investigation occur to stop any alleged harassment from continuing. Termination or disciplinary action are not necessarily required; often, claimants just want the behavior to stop. It could be immature or otherwise benign playfulness that crossed the line—behavior a simple discussion could remedy.
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    Follow up with the complainant to ensure the behavior has stopped and to document that follow-up occurred.

Effective policies and procedures in place and rigorously followed can help employees know the organization takes sexual, racial, and other forms of harassment seriously; insurers know you’ve established policies designed to protect both employees and the organization against incidents of harassment; and for those who might see million-dollar claims in the news and think they could be next, that you’ve set up your defenses.