This course equips participants with the necessary skills to navigate the challenges of working alone. We will explore common lone working scenarios and discuss practical steps to enhance your safety. You will learn to apply the SLAM technique to assess risk in a changing environment. Additionally, we will practice defusal strategies to de-escalate conflict situations with members of the public and customers. By the end of the training, participants should feel more prepared and confident in their ability to handle situations when working alone.
This course is perfect for people who are exposed to the public whilst working alone, home working and travelling between sites.
By actively participating in this course, you will learn about the following:
Recognise lone working situations and identify how these affect safety, health and wellbeing risks.
Take practical steps to ensure your own safety in different lone working situations.
Learn how to use the SLAM technique to assess changing risks.
Describe different types of violence, aggression, and unacceptable behaviour.
Practice communication and defusal techniques to minimise conflict.
Understand the importance of reporting in preventing future incidents.
A good standard of written and spoken English is required for this course.
If attending onsite, our trainer will provide all materials, including the Activity Book, so you do not need to bring anything with you. However, you may like to have a pen and notepad to take your own notes during the course.
If attending via our virtual classroom, you will need a laptop or PC with a strong internet connection, a working microphone, and a webcam. You will also need to have Microsoft Teams installed on your device.
Introduction
Learner introductions.
Trainer introduction.
What is lone working?
What is lone working?
Roles and responsibilities for lone working.
Discussion: common lone working scenarios at your workplace.
Understanding the difference between personal safety, mental health, and wellbeing risks.
Practical steps to ensure personal safety when lone working
Scenario activity: stay safe when travelling, working at home, and working in a public environment.
Tips to ensure safety including check-ins, route planning, personal devices, etc.
Dynamic Risk Assessments and SLAM
The difference between assessing risk versus risk assessment.
What is a dynamic risk assessment and when is it needed?
Introducing the SLAM technique.
Scenario activity: applying SLAM to different lone working scenarios.
Review.
Recognising workplace aggression
Harassment and intimidation.
Verbal abuse.
Physical violence.
Unreasonable demands.
Why does workplace aggression happen?
Personal characteristics.
Methods of work.
Environmental design.
Exploring Glasl’s model of conflict escalation.
Defusing conflict situations
Active listening and empathy.
Assertive communication (both verbal and non-verbal).
Transactional analysis.
De-escalation strategies.
Role-play activity (in pairs or small groups): defusing a conflict situation.
‘Red flags’ and when to leave.
Reporting
Discussion: why does underreporting happen?
The importance of reporting.
What information to collect, who to report to, and why.
Communicating with the Police.
Post-incident support and assistance.
Closing
Post-course reflection: Start, stop, continue.
Q&A.
Additional resources and post-course support.
Course evaluations.