KCA (UK)

Violence at work case study KCA (UK), Faversham, Kent

Kent County Addiction, KCA (UK) is a Registered Charity that was established in 1975 and has grown steadily over the years to become one of the largest providers of community drug and alcohol services in the South East. It employs over 200 people across Kent, Surrey and the London Boroughs of Greenwich, Bexley, Ealing and Bromley. Premier Partnership has provided training services designed to improve the self-confidence and personal safety of frontline staff that face aggression from their client base, some of whom are battling to overcome their drug and alcohol addictions.

Background

Initially, we received an enquiry via our website from Julie French (Training Manager) who was becoming concerned about the growing number of incidents counsellors and receptionists were facing and the lowering of morale amongst colleagues as a consequence. Through the risk assessment process and training needs analysis, KCA then investigated the issue and identified that the problem was far greater than first realised, as some individuals had not reported all of the incidents they had endured. Only when the full extent of the problem was brought into the open, could the organisation then address the difficulties that their people faced. Following several meetings and visits to assess current arrangements and the ergonomics of the various offices around Kent, it became clear that there was a considerable training need for the entire front line staff. The risk assessment process highlighted the areas of work where aggression or even violence was more likely to occur and the reasons why, hence the project focused on these areas in an attempt to lower or remove the unnecessary risks where possible. The project was a holistic approach to the overall way the services were delivered to the client and not merely a ‘tick box’ exercise.

How we helped

Sheridan Associates has provided solutions for personal safety and coping with workplace violence and aggression for many types of organisation across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Many solutions are common to all situations, but the key to our success over the years has been our ability to identify the differences and idiosyncrasies between our clients’ activities and specific training needs, and then addressing them and providing specific solutions.