Picking up the pieces: the impact of crime on store staff

A member of staff has just shouted at a customer and is now in tears. Her store manager is bemused because the customer was only asking for a refund. Admittedly she was in the store during a rather vicious raid recently but that was weeks ago now - surely the two can’t be related?

Staff are always at risk of verbal or physical attacks and how retailers respond is crucial, not just in the immediate aftermath of an incident, but also in the longer term.

How do you identify which staff will need additional support following an incident, and what can you actually do to help them?

“It’s very important to properly support colleagues after store incidents and offer tailored help that suits that individual,” says Boots UK head of HR support services Sandy Bradley.

“If this doesn’t happen, then at best we risk lower engagement of our employees; and at worst we risk stress reactions in our employees going unnoticed and unsupported,” she says.

Co-operative Group loss prevention manager for food retail Richard Quinn, agrees. “If you don’t do anything you lose their trust and can get
to the situation where violence is tolerated,” he says.

The danger can be dismissing incidents because it looks like no damage has been done. “Some retailers think because no money has been taken, or no-one has been injured then staff can just get back to work but people feel so insulted by that,” says Mandy Rutter, clinical consultant and business manager at employee assistance provider Axa Icas.

Most retailers have crime reporting systems where incidents are reported and escalated through to managers according to their severity.

At Tesco incidents are reported through a central station emergency response team that feeds through to the store managers, personnel
managers and occupational health department within 24 hours.“We have a set of tools available that enable the personnel manager and line manager to deal with the practical issues that need to be dealt with immediately to support staff involved in traumatic incidents and reduce the likelihood of them suffering longer- term psychological problems,” says a spokesman for Tesco.

“This includes fact sheets for staff on how they can expect to feel over the coming days and weeks, what they can do to help themselves recover and what help is available to them if they are struggling,” he says.

As a convenience retailer the Co-op is vulnerable to attacks. After an incident staff from the loss protection, HR and store operations teams will all visit the store in question to talk to the affected staff.

The same happens at Tesco-owned convenience retailer One Stop, which works with both Axa Icas and Retail Trust to help support its staff.

“We have a robust incident support process that is followed by area managers and HR managers. Any employee affected by an incident is contacted within a 24-hour period by their regional manager who will assess what the needs of that individual are,” says a spokesperson for One Stop.

This is good practice according to Phillip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. “You have to be on-site quickly, show the flag and show leadership,” he says.

The personal touch is required. “You need to think about what that person has been through. Some retailers will send a generic letter so you can get staff who have had five or six of the same letters and feel that they are like a commodity to the organisation. You need to have a strategy that will say it’s timely and individual,” says Rutter. That also means checking for vulnerabilities such as previous attacks.

Retailers offer a range of support services, many linking up with employee assistance providers such as Axa Icas. Counselling can help although not all staff will need it. “You may find 10% to 20% of people that have been through a savage robbery in store may need counselling,” says Hodson.

“Counselling can teach them ways of dealing with their emotions so the trauma doesn’t disturb their lives forever,” says Mike Radford, a counsellor at Belfast Counselling Service, who has provided counselling for retailers.

Boots UK works with EAP Positive People Company to provide a 24-hour counselling service. “If an incident takes place they provide whatever counselling or support is appropriate,” says Bradley.

Charity Victim Support can also help. “We try to contact every victim of crime to find out what has happened, how it’s affected them and what needs to be put in place to help,” says Victim Support victim service manager Ian Firth.

Industry charity Retail Trust also operates a helpline. “The number of retailers we are working with is growing and HR departments are increasingly recognising that Retail Trust can play an integral part in the support network,” says chief executive officer Nigel Rothband.

Usdaw health and safety officer Doug Russell says that retailers should ensure they evaluate all staff. “If there are staff that weren’t in store they may still feel nervous about coming in so it’s important that all staff are spoken to,” he says.

Equally staff should be given adequate time off if required - paid if possible. “People worry about their jobs and go back too quickly. You need to keep an eye on people and how they are reacting. Trauma is not really assessable properly on the day of the event and you may need to wait up to six weeks because staff are so fired up on adrenalin,” says Hodson who suggests keeping a diary following an incident, and noting any behavioural changes.

Returning to work

Ensuring a smooth transition back to work is essential. “If staff are off sick following an incident then that’s where staff are often neglected and feel let down by their peers and manager. It needs to be about a planned return to work and a rebuilding of confidence,” says Bill Fox, chairman of violence reduction specialist Maybo.

“Encouraging them to come back into the store to have a cup of tea and chat with the staff helps them to get used to being in that environment again and works really well at rebuilding their confidence,” says Quinn.

The return to work must be carefully managed. “We try to take a flexible approach to supporting staff returning to work,” says the One Stop spokesperson. “We will look at their shift patterns, who they work with and whether they need a phased return to work. We always try and introduce employees back into the workplace at their pace and continue to provide them with support if they need it.”

It can be easy to forget that managers also need help coping. At One Stop incident support training forms part of the induction training of a store manager and all area managers, HR managers, and transport managers have been trained by Axa Icas which runs psychological first aid training. “That enables them to feel confident about how to support people,” says Rutter.

A test of leadership

For major incidents such as a murder in store the process is exaggerated.

The store can become a crime scene and Rutter suggests decanting staff to a local hotel to run support groups and counselling for staff in a neutral environment.

At Tesco special procedures are in place. “For major incidents in store we would activate our crisis management team, which would include psychological support for those directly involved in the incident and those managing the incident as required,” says the Tesco spokesman.
Victim Support can also help. “We have serious crime volunteers who will help - for example if you are a witness and you have to go to court,” says Firth.

Retailers often forget that staff need reassurance from their immediate peers. “Staff often don’t ask us for extra guards - they want support from their leadership - for instance their manager working a couple of late nights a week to support them,” says Quinn.

How retailers respond in such a crisis really can make or break their reputation. “Those victims and their colleagues will always remember the support they had and will remember if it was bad and will never let that be forgotten.”

Equally, even if staff don’t really like their managers they will stand up for them loyally if they are supported. “It is the true test of leadership,” concludes Fox.