Tips for Termination Interviews

When doing a termination interview you have probably experienced some level of fear and worry about how to keep yourself and your people safe. There are many factors to consider: When do you host the meeting? Where to host the meeting? Who should be in the room? What is the right thing to say?   Have you asked these questions? Do you have the right answers?

If possible, using a conference room with more than one entrance is ideal. If that’s not possible, consider this set-up above. The idea here is that, if the subject gets angry and decides to leave, he can exit without walking too closely to anyone else. An enraged employee standing six inches behind you can do a lot of damage, even without a gun. The lead interviewer is also in a good position to exit quickly. Without two doors to the room, though, the secondary interviewer is in the least desirable position. That’s why two points of egress are best.

Learn more of our Top 10 Tips for Terminations at our upcoming webinar: Troublesome Terminations: Controlling the Confrontation August 21 | 11:00amCST

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

The threat of wildfires in the wildland urban interface (WUI) is a subject of increasing national concern. Creating fire-adapted communities remains a key priority of national fire safety, prevention, and control policy in the United States. To support local fire departments and their communities in this charge, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) recently launched two new WUI fire awareness tools: 

• The WUI Fire Property Awareness Explorer. This application allows users to search addresses or communities to gain a contextual understanding of their area relative to the WUI and vegetative fuels.
• The WUI Fire Community Awareness Explorer. This dashboard provides a quick snapshot of counties or places in the U.S. and potential exposure to wildfire hazards for structures in the WUI. Users interested in building fire-adapted communities and resilience can quickly identify vulnerable structures or areas in their own community. These tools do not measure or convey risk. Rather, they are designed to provide awareness about the location of the WUI and local wildfire hazard exposure. The tools can support local fire departments and community stakeholders to apply consistent data in the implementation of community risk reduction, code adoption and enforcement, mitigation, and planning efforts.

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

Virtual presentation and live demonstration hosted by FEMA’s Resilience Analysis Branch (RAB) to highlight the updates and improvements to the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool. FEMA seeks to provide insight and guidance, especially real-world scenarios, to RAPT users as RAPT is updated and transitions to a new platform.

The 2024 update of the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool gives users an enhanced experience with more accessibility, power and flexibility. RAPT’s improved functionality and updated data allow users of all GIS skill levels to combine layers of community resilience indicators, infrastructure locations and hazards to analyze resilience and preparedness for all phases of emergency management. 

This year’s RAPT update includes:

• Updated U.S. Census data: Latest American Community Survey five-year estimates (2018-2022). 
• Functional Enhancements: Moveable pop-ups, updated layer-lists and new ways to summarize data. 
• County Summaries: Provide at-a-glance information at the county level. 
• Take a Tour of RAPT: New walkthrough of RAPT built right into the website. 

FEMA will host interactive webinars on the tool, and each webinar will cover the same content. Please register for one of these 60-minute sessions. 

Advance registration is requested. 

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Reposted from EMR-ISAC

On July 23, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice in the Federal Register that it intends to hold a virtual, informal hearing on Nov. 12, 2024, to hear comments and testimony from the public on OSHA’s proposed Emergency Response standard. In February 2024, OSHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to replace the “Fire Brigades” standard, published in 1980. The newly named “Emergency Response” standard would expand safety and health protections for emergency responders, including firefighters, emergency medical service providers and technical search and rescue workers. It would align these safety and health protections with current national consensus standards for workers exposed to hazards related to fires and other emergencies. The online hearing will allow stakeholders from across the country to participate. OSHA encourages first responders to join the meeting to share their opinions. OSHA held a public comment period that was originally scheduled to end May 6, 2024, but was extended twice in response to public demand. The comment period finally closed on July 22, although OSHA is still accepting public input via the Nov. 12 hearing. All comments submitted during the comment period can now be viewed within the docket associated with the proposed rule.

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Reposted from Afghanistan International

The Human Rights Defenders Assembly has issued a warning regarding the destruction of cultural artefacts by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Assembly has called on the international community to address this "cultural disaster" with urgency. In a statement released on Friday, it highlighted that the dissolution of cultural institutions and the severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban have inflicted significant mental and psychological distress on cultural figures and artists. The statement emphasized that these measures have led to widespread depression among those affected. The Assembly expressed deep concern about the dire economic and psychological conditions faced by displaced cultural figures in neighboring countries. They reported that the systematic eradication of cultural artefacts and extensive restrictions on cultural figures are central to the Taliban's agenda. The rich cultural heritage of Afghanistan, they warned, is at risk of being obliterated. The Assembly pointed out that Kucha Kharabat, once a vibrant hub of classical music and ghazal singers in Kabul’s first district, has now become desolate. The destruction extends to theatre buildings, cinemas, music venues, and art galleries. Additionally, the fine arts departments in universities and the National Institute of Music have been disbanded, and artistic groups have been dissolved.

The Human Rights Defenders Assembly has called for international cultural support institutions and organizations, including UNESCO, to intervene and address the catastrophic cultural situation in Afghanistan. They urged the member countries of the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council to activate "cultural diplomacy" to tackle this cultural crisis. Since the Taliban's return to power, music has been banned, resulting in thousands of artists and singers losing their livelihoods and being forced to flee the country. Over the past three years, there have been numerous reports of violent encounters between the Taliban and music listeners, with several singers being beaten and musical instruments destroyed. According to the Taliban, music is prohibited under Sharia law. The Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has issued directives to drivers, advising them to refrain from playing music.

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Save The Date

The IFCPP and Yale conference teams are pleased to provide an update to next year’s conference schedule. Please mark your calendars for May 3-8, 2025! The tentative schedule is now planned as follows:

Sat-Sun, May 3-4: Pre-conference networking activities and excursions (arrival on May 2 recommended)

Monday, May 5: Pre-conference educational workshops, Welcome Reception, exhibits

Tues-Thurs, May 6-8: Regular conference sessions and Yale activities

Friday, May 9: Departure

If you’re able to participate in the whole symposium, the conference team recommends arriving on May 2 and departing on May 9.

Stay tuned for schedule updates, featured sessions, and conference/lodging registration…

In need of some summer training for your staff at significant discounts? The IFCPP education team is very pleased to offer 50% off of all online training & certification through August 9^th! Check out all of IFCPP’s online offerings at: https://ifcpp.learnupon.com/store

 

Courses include:

Conflict Resolution

Certified Visitor Relations Specialist (customer-service-centric security for frontline staff)

Certified Institutional Protection Specialist and Manager (security officer, supervisor, and manager certification)

Entry Screening Considerations

Management of Aggressive Behavior (MOAB)

Collaborative Museum Collections Protection: Security’s Role in Bridging the Gap

 

Continuing Education Lectures include:

Making Patrols Work for You

Staying Out of Court, Litigation Avoidance

Guard Force Management

Fire System Detection & Suppression

Fire Risk Analysis & Control

The Role of Security in Disasters & Emergencies

Exhibit Protection Considerations

Security Technology

Incident Command

Internal Theft Protection

Hiring and Termination the Right Way

Emergency Management Planning

Active Shooter & Staff Awareness

 

Please contact us at office@ifcpp.org if you’d like to take advantage of the current promotion. Training purchases never expire, so discounted packages can be used for months to come!

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Is your IFCPP certification current? The IFCPP Education Team is currently updating its records and reaching out to those program graduates that may currently have lapsed certifications. IFCPP certifications are valid for a period of 2-3 years (beyond your original certification date or most recent re-certification). The Certification Team is pleased to offer two options for re-certification:

1) Apply for re-certification by application, which you can purchase online via our Learning Management System (LMS) for a nominal fee of $45, $65, or $95. When you make the purchase, you will need to download and print the application form, fill it out, and email it to office@ifcpp.org. After it has been reviewed and approved, you will receive your new digital certificate by email (valid for another 3 years). You can purchase the re-certification application here: https://ifcpp.learnupon.com/store

2) If you prefer, you can retake the course online as a refresher (for the same recertification fee). We’ll just need to re-activate your profile in the LearnUpon LMS, and manually re-enroll you in the course. 

If you would like to re-certify by application but need more credits to qualify, the online training courses available on our LMS include continuing education credits that can help you attain the points you need for recertification. Learn more using the link below. Don’t forget that special discounts are available for IFCPP active members.
https://ifcpp.org/Other-Online-Training

Please let us know if you have questions about your certification status, or if there is anything else we can help you with.

Reposted from Art Sentry

The Sentry Digest: July 2024

 

Enhance Safety of Collections During Special Events   Enhancing the safety of your collections during after-hours events is crucial to prevent accidental damage. Explore practical strategies from experienced museum security personnel that help museums safeguard their treasures.   Continue Reading

Improving Visitor Experience Through Collaboration   Discover how a holistic approach to safety, collections management, and visitor experience can transform museums, improving accessibility for visitors and ensuring the protection of exhibits.

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Reposted from Tim Richardson

“I rarely take vacation.”

Badge of honor or red alert? Some professionals never take vacation. Or they do, but they take work with them when they should be relaxing. With easy access to technology, the separation of work and leisure is often blurred. Not only during vacation, but also after work hours. I’ve written about this recently because first of all its summer when most take a vacation and secondly because I have found more research on how vacations can help individuals and organizations be more successful.

After a keynote earlier this week, a sales rep approached me to say that for many years his mantra was to be first to respond to any request for a prospective customer. He went on to explain that he was accessible at all hours of the day, on weekends, and even while on vacation. He said that he believed the first person who responded had a higher probability of closing a sale. He was inspired to change this behavior and to live with more downtime. There’s a point we reach where more time doesn’t equate to more productivity. Of course, hard work and productivity are essential in today’s workplace, but that doesn’t mean we give up our personal time by being available around the clock. Routinely providing open access after-hours or during a vacation is a bad idea. Taking work on vacation defeats the purpose of time away. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I understand how difficult it can be to truly leave work at work, particularly when you are gone for an extended time. Yet the research doesn’t lie. A study conducted by Ernst & Young found that for every additional 10 hours of vacation time an employee took, their year-end performance ratings improved by 8%. Higher performance ratings can be directly linked to increased productivity and better business outcomes. Vacations can improve ROI. American Express reported that employees who took more vacation time had 31% higher job satisfaction and were 50% more likely to stay with the company. This ultimately means lower turnover rates. Vacations can save organizations money.

According to SHRM (the Society of Human Resource Management), the cost to replace an employee is approximately six to nine months of their salary. For a company the size of American Express, this can translate to millions of dollars saved annually in recruitment and training costs. Vacations can decrease turnover. According to a study by Project: Time Off, companies that encourage vacation usage see a 34% increase in employee productivity, a 30% increase in employee happiness, and a 25% increase in workplace health. With health care costs increasing dramatically, the savings can be monumental. Vacations can improve employee mental health. Intuit found that employees who took vacations were 50% more creative and productive once they returned to work. Higher creativity and productivity improvements can significantly impact revenue. Vacations can result in new ideas and innovative thinking. These studies are just a few examples supporting how something as simple as taking time off can pay huge dividends. Do you want your organization to be more successful and your team members to be more committed to their jobs?

Take a vacation and make sure your colleagues do the same.

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