Making Safety a Corporate Value, Not a Priority - Dedicate 2008 to Education; Because Crime Doesn’t Pay for Organizations

St. Louis, MO, December 10, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Let’s face it: We live in an unpredictable and often scary world.

Imagine yourself in a crowded holiday parking lot. You slip into a spot, and suddenly — unexpectedly — find yourself engaged in a shouting match with a driver who was headed for the same space. Encounters like this can turn violent in seconds. Most everyone has been involved in an unexpected encounter with a stranger. But few know what to do when a fleeting contact blows up into full conflict.

Companies that have employees or customers who are victims of crime (no matter if it’s on their property or not) stand to lose money in several ways. From lost workdays to fines to lawsuit payouts, companies that don’t take the extra step to make sure people are safe can pay dearly. “Training helps to prevent injury, claims against employers and time away from work as well as costly verdicts against employers that have ignored these issues. Training also helps to control risk management and reduce insurance costs,” notes Kimberly Elliott, CEO of Executive Defense Technology, LLC of St Louis, MO.

Organizations realize that employees who travel alone on company business, walk through parking garages to get to their cars, leave the business with money to deposit or work late are all susceptible to crime. From burglary to rape to murder, employees and customers can be victims of a variety of crimes. “Through education, training and planning, employees can minimize their risks to crime,” Elliott states. “Simple procedures can save lives and knowledge is power. If we are not taught how to reduce our chances of becoming victims, then we become easy targets. The honest truth is we don’t take action because we think that it couldn’t happen to us or our business and unfortunately, it usually takes a crime to happen before people and companies wake up.”

“Smoke Detector Saves Family of Seven,” “Crash Survivors Wore Seat belts” the headlines read. It’s heartwarming when we learn of people whose lives were saved by taking simple measures such as changing the batteries in their smoke detector during daylight savings time or buckling up. Sadly, though these same newspapers are more often filled with accounts of lives and livelihoods lost to crime and acts of violence that could have been prevented had their victims taken common-sense measures to avoid becoming targets. We don’t think twice about routinely changing batteries or having our automobiles inspected because we know that our safety is at stake. Likewise, we should make yearly reviews of our corporate and personal crime prevention and safety programs a routine.

We need to make our own personal safety a value in our corporate lives. Many organizations do see safety as a priority. Yet, as humans, we know that, like life, priorities change with time. That’s why safety and health must become a personal and organizational value. This needs to be a Value that is believed in from the “top” down. Values, unlike priorities, do not change.

Executive Defense Technology (http://www.execdeftech.com) holds several educational workshops a week to teach individuals how to avoid (and if need be – physically escape) potentially dangerous situations and boost self confidence. Individuals who participate in these workshops learn a plethora of beneficial, long-lasting skills. “This program emphasizes that ninety percent of anti-victimization and self defense is about awareness, risk reduction and avoiding confrontation and only ten percent is physical,” Elliott said.

The presenters of the program, Larry Elliott and Paul Schmitz, have degrees in criminal justice and offer a unique perspective on safety by sharing their years of experience dealing with the “criminal mind” as probation and parole officers. They are engaging and consistently “connect” with their audience.

Examples of organizations that should assist their employees with crime awareness and safety seminars are health care entities, social workers, attorney firms, hotels, real estate agents, stock brokerage firms, media groups, schools and any retail establishment that is visited by customers. Again, the most dangerous attitude any of us can have is “it won’t happen to me”.

In today’s volatile society, making safety classes a mandatory part of continuing education, EAP programs, corporate meetings, lunch and learn education or new hire training, is important for the betterment of the organization that is providing the training and the overall well being of its employee base.

When booking your speakers for winter, spring or 2008 conferences / events/ seminars, keep Executive Defense Technology in mine. They deliver high-content, interactive programs that could potentially be a “life saving” experience. Call 314-894-1148 or email kelliott@execdeftech.com for details.

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