FMI, in partnership with The Power of Preparedness, will offer its members online training for workplace violence prevention, verbal de-escalation, and active assailant preparedness. The training, which is tailored for the grocery and food industry, will give FMI members and their workers the knowledge and confidence to identify, prevent, and if necessary, minimize potentially violent conflicts.
“Our industry leaders have experienced inexplicable crises that tremendously affected their companies, their employees and their communities,” said FMI president and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin, in a statement. “They have experienced acts of violence and responded with heroism. While we may never be able to make sense of these devastating situations, we must continue to remain vigilant, offer resources and training, and uplift each other when they occur.”
The web-based courses include topics such as situational awareness; verbal de-escalation techniques; active shooter preparedness; and response to injury. The training is interactive, and designed to help quickly and efficiently commit the training to memory, according to FMI.
“Public venues like groceries and retail locations are especially vulnerable to malicious actors, and current societal stressors have heightened the risk of violence,” said William Flynn, TPOP co-founder and chief strategy officer, and former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Infrastructure Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a statement. “I applaud FMI and its members for committing to maximize the safety of their workers and customers.”
Related: FMI Report Explores the State of Foodservice at Retail; FMI Introduces Health, Well-Being Initiative.
Image: FMI/The Power of Preparedness