De-Escalation Training
Pollack Peacebuilding also offers customized de-escalation training targeting specific problems that your employees face.
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Why De-Escalation Skills Are Important
The best way to prevent a tense situation from boiling over into a confrontation is to de-escalate early and often through body language, nonverbal communication, and respecting personal space.
For example, police departments that provide their officers with resources for de-escalating conflicts can improve the safety of officers and community members alike. One study found that de-escalation training for law enforcement officers reduced complaints, officer injuries, and use of force incidents.
In the context of office-based jobs, these are some ways that de-escalation training can help your organization and its employees succeed:
- Fewer formal complaints from customers about employees’ actions
- Fewer complaints to human resources about interpersonal conflict, harassment, and discrimination among coworkers
- Less stress for employees and better worker morale
- Better workplace communication and more efficient and responsive management
- Improved employee retention
- Higher productivity
- Improved customer retention
How De-Escalation Works
Whether you are a police officer trying to break up a violent confrontation, a mental health counselor trying to help someone through a personal crisis, or a customer service representative dealing with a complaint from a customer, the goal of de-escalation is the same. Your goal is to use strategies that will stop people from acting on their frustration and anger in ways that cause physical harm or, in the context of business relationship building, in ways that cause financial harm.
A common aspect of de-escalation is integrating communications to avoid making things worse. Listen more than you speak and use non-threatening body language. Depending on the environment or the context, it may be appropriate to stay positive or to maintain a neutral effect.
When you are in a customer support role or a similar situation where one aggrieved person is coming to you about solving a crisis, you should use the HEARD method (hear, empathize, acknowledge, resolve, and diagnose). If your role is to mediate a conflict between two or more parties, though, you must develop an even broader range of strategies and tactics for helping the parties to the conflict find common ground. You may need to go through some preliminary steps before the parties are even willing to talk to each other.
De-escalation begins with your response to aggrieved people and their grievances. Even if you use the most effective practices, you may need to repeat your techniques more than once before the parties involved seem willing to walk away from the conflict or discuss solutions to it.
On-Demand Training Course
Below you will find a list of our most popular de-escalation courses, which we have delivered all over the country to teams in more than 60 industries. Just click on the workshop(s) you’re interested in for a video preview of the course and to sign up right through our website.
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Learn to de-escalate emotionally charged customers while regulating your own emotions
Key Elements of Successful De-Escalation
A good starting point when you are trying to de-escalate a crisis is an accurate assessment of the situation. Once you engage with other people whose conflict you are trying to defuse, it is important to be transparent about your intentions.
For example, if you are trying to break up a fight, you should clearly acknowledge that, when you leave, the people who were about to come to blows will still be angry. Be clear that your goal is to prevent physical violence and bodily injuries, not to address the underlying causes of the conflict.
Empathy is a key element of the de-escalation process. Neutrality is also important if you want to gain the trust of the conflicting parties. There are as many de-escalation techniques as there are conflicts, so choosing the right strategy for the situation at hand is another key to success.
What to Expect From Our Training
When you participate in a de-escalation workshop, we do not simply blow into town, do our spiel, and then disappear. Rather, we are there to mentor you and your team before, during, and after the training. These are the steps of the training process:
1. Pre-Training Evaluation
Decision makers within the organization contact us, and we respond to the request. We discuss with you the pain points the organization is experiencing, ideally finding out the perspective of several stakeholders. For example, maybe your organization is having issues with frequent customer complaints or with employee burnout.
2. Creation of Training Structure
Based on the assessment, we propose a curriculum to you that will meet your needs, whether it is a pre-existing one or a customized workshop. You make suggestions and ask questions, and we work out the details with you such as timing and location. If you choose an online training, we decide which portions will be synchronous and which will be asynchronous, to ensure maximum participation and effectiveness.
3. Delivery of Training
Our certified Peacebuilders come to you, in person or online, and deliver the training program that you have chosen. Our training workshops are interactive, engaging, and fun.
4. Post-Training Initiatives
After the workshop, we stay in contact with you. We check in periodically to see how things are going at your organization, now that you are implementing the de-escalation techniques you learned in the workshop. If you request it, we schedule follow-up training sessions in an individual or group format.
Our Asynchronous De-
Escalation Training Workshop
No one likes it when employers force employees to sit through a long meeting instead of performing the essential duties of their jobs. It is often possible to make a crisis worse by holding a meeting about it.
Therefore, Pollack Peacebuilding Systems offers asynchronous instruction on de-escalation for employees and managers, police officers, or other professionals in high-conflict situations. This way, learning more about effective de-escalation tactics does not force you to take time away from resolving a crisis or helping to maintain the safety of your community.
The asynchronous format uses the same content that has undergone the same rigorous evaluation process as the synchronous format. It allows more flexibility for police officers, healthcare workers, and other professionals whose job roles force them to resolve conflicts frequently but who do not have a lot of time to attend meetings at the same time as their co-workers.
Aggressive individuals can be difficult to handle, especially if your job requires you to be alert around the clock. Contact Pollack Peacebuilding Systems today to get the most from this De-Escalation Training Workshop for you or your employees.
Don’t Wait for the Next Crisis Before You Contact Us
From the call center to the emergency room, and from the police force to the classroom, Pollack Peacebuilding Systems offers conflict management expertise for everyone. Contact Pollack Peacebuilding Systems today to find out which program works best for you.
We Help with Full-Service Conflict Training
A conflict management training program involves more than just teaching staff members how to defuse conflicts. Your team will develop fundamental interpersonal skills and stop problems in their tracks. They can learn to maintain a secure and encouraging workplace. They discover how to respect one another’s differences and transform trivial arguments into teaching moments.
Conflict Resolution
Workshops
Employees should be able to express ideas without worrying about retaliation from other team members. Your management team will collaborate effectively and learn how to help people regain their trust in one another. They will then begin to resolve issues swiftly and amicably. With their new skill set, they will better comprehend the psychology of care.
Communication Skills
Workshops
Pollack Peacebuilding offers seminars on communication skills that are intended to improve all facets of your team’s communication. Along with other forms of communication, body language is covered in communication skills training. Although you can assume everyone should be considerate, not everyone can tell when others are being considerate or not. Teaching appropriate communication skills can rectify this.
Conflict Management
Workshops
The workplace conflict management training that Pollack Peacebuilding provides is much more than traditional conflict resolution workshops. Our approaches generally focus on incorporating and integrating all employees and their integral roles within your company under well-trained management. Our interactive seminars help build rapport, encourage team-building, and support improved productivity.
Other Services
- Conflict Resolution Services
- Conflict Management Training
- Conflict Management Services
- Communication Skills Training
- Conflict Coaching
- Change Management Consulting
- Fractional Ombudsperson
- Keynote Presentation
- Organizational Systems Design
- Workplace Culture Optimization
- Conflict Resolution Certification
- Online Mediation Services
- Online Conflict Resolution Training
- Restorative Practices