As I am sure you are aware, on December 9th, 2009, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace).

Bill 168 will come into effect on June 15, 2010 and you need to be prepared for it!  Right now there are thousands of Ontario workplaces scrambling to write policies and procedures and looking for credible companies to provide training for their valued staff.

A quick summary of this Bill states that employers need to prepare by having a workplace violence and harassment policy, which most Ontario workplaces probably have.  Employers also need to assess the risks to their valued staff from workplace violence, which most probably haven't done.  Companies are also tasked with providing staff with realistic skills through proper training.  Skills that will reduce their risk of violence by ensuring that staff can deal with violent acts successfully and can get away safely, if the need arises.

Bill 168 will require detailed procedures, protocols and specialized training for the risks involved to your staff from potentially violent clients, co-workers and others in the public.  Most importantly, it will require you to prove "due diligence" in providing your people with realistic training skills.

Our programs have been implemented in a number of organizations and have been proven to be realistic, relevant and most importantly, effective!

From April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009, Ontario Ministry of Labour Inspectors made 417 field visits and issued 351 orders related to violence in the workplace. (MOL, 2009).

The benefits to your staff of a professional training program are numerous:

•  Increased employee confidence, in themselves and the organization that they work for
•  Increased employee self esteem
•  Better interactions among staff
•  Safer workplace
•  Greater productivity
•  A reduction in the potential for violence in the workplace
•  A reduction in grievances
•  Fewer occupational health claims
•  Minimizing legal costs associated with litigation and legislative non compliance
•  An enhanced corporate image

•  The very strong possibility of a reduction in absenteeism

And reduced organizational and supervisory liability!

Our simple advice is this.  Do not wait until a preventable incident happens at your workplace.  Take the time to investigate and implement professional, realistic and relevant training for your valued staff!