Why workplaces are high-risk for victims of stalking

Posted on by Julie Johns MBE

We need a culture change in our attitude to stalking if we are going to stop these devastating crimes from happening.  How can we bring this about? We need to raise awareness about stalking and work together to reduce the risk of people getting harmed.

To date, stalking has not been taken seriously enough and a new report published on 5 July 2017 by HMIC Police and the CPS argues lessons need to be learnt about the impact of stalking on victims.
http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/publications/living-in-fear-the-police-and-cps-response-to-harassment-and-stalking/
The report also said not enough is understood or being done to protect victims and prevent perpetrators of stalking carrying out their harmful crimes. Stalking impacts the workplace in the following ways:

• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men will experience stalking in their lifetime
• 79% of perpetrators will use workplace resources to target their victim
• 50% of stalking victims have curtailed or stopped work due to stalking
• 53% of employed women missing at least three days of work per month due to domestic abuse or stalking
• Domestic abuse and stalking costs UK businesses more than £2.3bn per year
The workplace is identified as a high-risk environment for victims of stalking. The evidence for this is supported by high profile cases such as

• Dr. Ellie Aston – stalked by a patient
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-37796771/stalking-victim-when-he-s-not-in-prison-i-m-a-wreck
• Shana Grice – met her stalker at work and was killed in her home
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/08/mechanic-killed-teenage-ex-bedroom-set-fire-police-warned-stop/
• Hollie Gazzard – stalked by an ex-partner and killed at work in a beauty salon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-28327025

This won’t ever happen to us, we confidently say. Unfortunately, it can and has life-changing, devastating effects when it does. Stalking can happen to anyone, it can affect women and men of all ages and backgrounds, but it’s more likely to be targeted towards females.
Unhelpful attitudes that need to change…

“Oh you have an admirer, aren’t you the lucky one!”

“Hopefully it will fizzle out.” A police officer’s response after a victim has reported stalking offences to the police for 7 years!

A perpetrator of domestic abuse who uses coercive control is more likely to stalk. This behaviour is often triggered when a relationship ends. A stalker does not respect another person’s boundaries – the workplace will not deter them.

If a person finally finds the courage and means to end a relationship that is when the stalker is at their most dangerous and the victim is most vulnerable. The victim may need to close all their social media accounts, move house, leave their job and leave the area entirely. Stalkers will also target their victims’ friends, family and work colleagues.

KEY QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS
As an employer, what do you have in place to address this? How would you respond if an employee came to you and says, “I have a problem with this person, I don’t know what to do.” When you consider a victim will suffer 100 incidences of stalking before they finally report it, what they really want to say is, “Help me! I’m terrified!” You could ring the Police, but as their report has identified, they need training on this subject too so you may not get the response you expected.

Employers have a duty of care towards their employees and staff and need to be fully aware of the nature and impact of domestic abuse and stalking, on an individual and the business. What you can do as an employer is
• Believe them!
• Don’t judge
• Have compassion
• Report it immediately
• Keep evidence and a diary of incidences

Having a clear understanding of the issue means you can spot the signs of an employee suffering domestic abuse and/or stalking before it gets to crisis point. Thereby reducing the risk of harm to a valued employee and to your business.

To find out more attend our Wellbeing in the workplace training event by following this link – https://well-being-in-the-workplace-for-employers.eventbrite.co.uk

For further information and how to access CPD Accredited Training on The Impact of Domestic Abuse and Stalking in the Workplace, please follow link to:
https://www.safespaceconsultancy.org

Refs:

Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Services Raising The Bar: Best Practices on Stalking Cases Conference 2017.
Exploring the relationship between stalking and homicide, J. Monckton-Smith, K. Szymanska and S. Haile, University of Gloucestershire, Suzy Lamplugh Trust, 2017.

‘Open For Business’ or ‘Just Closing’?

Posted on by Richard Knight

Closed

Interested in booking a conference weekend, I recently stumbled across the answer to all my problems. An internet search led me to Unique Hotels4You*. It had a very professional website, excellent imagery, easy to access information and, in one quick glance, I concluded this company would find my conference venue for me AND it would be fantastic. I was delighted.

The ‘contact us’ tab listed three numbers belonging to Sarah* or Kym*, the company directors, who would be happy to discuss my event planning ANYTIME.

The first number rang through to an answer machine ‘Hello, this is Sarah…….I’m now out of the office until Thursday 8th January…’ No problem. I would try Kym on the second number. The call went to an answer machine ‘Hello, this is Sarah…….I’m now out of the office until Thursday 8th January…’

Mmm, perhaps Kym was on the third number? I dialled….and you guessed it: ‘Hello, this is Sarah…….I’m now out of the office until Thursday 8th January…’ My hopes were dashed. Clearly I was not going to tick off ‘find conference venue’ from my list today. Or at least not with the help of Unique Hotels4You.

I don’t begrudge Sarah a holiday, but why have three numbers and two directors listed if all roads lead to the one closed door? Also, why would such a professional business (my assumption from the website) be closed during what must surely be one of the busiest weeks of the year? I got the message loud and clear. WE ARE CLOSED!

Whether it’s online, in a store, or in a restaurant, how many times have you browsed looking for that perfect gift or enjoyed a last drink after an excellent meal, and witnessed staff cleaning/packing up, re-stocking or generally ignoring your existence? How many times, after dialling a number in the late afternoon, have you been made to feel unwelcome by the tone of the receptionist, specialist or supplier to the extent that you can almost hear the words ‘you want what? It’s 4.45pm!’?

Does your customer lower his/her expectations during the twilight of the working day, or do you offer excellent customer service regardless of the time?

How much business is lost in that last hour of the day? Or the holiday period? How can you ensure you invite your customer back or give them the warm welcome they deserve?

With the dominance of social media and the use of search engines, if you have a website your business is open 24 hours a day. So how will you deal with the enquiries that come in when you are not at the end of the phone? If you want the business you should be available or you should get back to them within a very short timeframe and you should ensure THE CUSTOMER KNOWS THAT!

If you REALLY want the business you’ll make it attractive to the customer to come back to you, to call again. Think outside the box. Offer incentives, make the customer interested enough to actually want to speak to you or try again for your personal contact.

Whether your business is a physical premises or online, make sure that EVERY customer is valued and appreciated, whether it is 9am, 4.55pm or 10.55pm.

Open means open.

*names have been changed!

10 Golden Rules of Networking

Posted on by Steve Bicknell

Business Networking could be your key to success and it can be fun too.

But many business owners find it scary, especially in the beginning, it just doesn’t feel natural to walk into a room full of strangers and then randomly choose someone to talk to and give them your elevator pitch.

Personally I think that’s the wrong approach, no one likes being sold to, the right approach is to ask people about their business, everyone feels much happier talking about themselves.

So with that in mind, here are my 10 Golden Rules for networking:

  1. Choose the right events – There are so many events in Bournemouth that you could fill your week with them, so be selective, which events are you most likely to meet people that you can collaborate with or do business with
  2. Attend regularly – People do business with people they know, like and trust, if you don’t attend regularly how can people get to know, like and trust you?
  3. Mingle – It’s no good just talking to people you already know, go and talk to people you don’t know
  4. Bring Business Cards – Business Cards are very important but don’t get carried away, it’s not a challenge to see how many you can give out, relax and give them to people that want them
  5. Switch Off Your Phone – Treat networking as if it were a business meeting and give your full attention to the person you are speaking to
  6. Don’t Be Late – It’s actually a good idea to be early so that you can network before the event starts
  7. Be Nice – Even if you end up talking to someone that can’t add any value to your business, always be nice and be interested, people remember how you make them feel far more than they remember what you actually said, you never who people know and being nice costs nothing
  8. Follow up – If you meet someone you can do business with, follow up with them after the event, link up on Social Media
  9. Refer Business – Try to help people by using your contacts to help them and refer work between business contacts that your trust
  10. Be Yourself – Don’t put on an act it’s much better to be yourself, relax and enjoy the event

BCTC SJB

How to Choose the Right Artwork for Your Space

Posted on by orvphotography

The brain knows what the eye likes right?  We can’t always explain why we like how something looks, we just do.  So you may ask ‘why the article on how to choose art? I’ll just pick one I like’.  While this is a great approach, it may not always be the right one.

Wall Art for Your Business

One of the many things I love about art is that it’s subjective.  This is a particularly important point to consider if you have a responsibility for designing a space that is open to the public such as a hotel, restaurant or cafe.  Another important point to consider is the look and feel you are hoping to achieve for your space.  The art you choose should complement the design.  It should be noticeable but not distracting.

Let’s say for example you have a restaurant with a modern look and vibrant tones and you want a lively atmosphere from your guests.  You wouldn’t want to hang something on the wall with subtle, muted tones or it would disappear into the background.  In this kind of environment you want your customers focussed on the food they’re eating and the conversation they are having with each other but to also notice your chosen art work.  It may even become the subject of their conversation, helping to make your restaurant memorable for more than just the food.

Consider the Subject

Choosing the right artwork to complement your space goes a little deeper than the colours.  It’s equally important to consider how the subject is composed.  For example, if you’re hanging portraits, is the subject’s expression conveying the sense of emotion you want your customers or employees to feel?  

Did you know that the shapes formed in a piece of art can also have an impact on how it makes us feel?  As I’m a landscape photographer I will use some examples of my own work to illustrate what I mean.

The composition of Old Harry’s Rocks form a circle in the image below and circles are proven to have a calming effect on the viewer.  So this would work well in a hotel or cafe as you want your customers to feel relaxed.

_ORV8904

Conversely, if you are looking to give the viewer a sense of energy and confidence, images that contain triangles are proven to give the viewer a feeling of dynamism.  This would be useful in an office space for example where you want your staff to feel motivated.  The rocks ledges in this image form a series of triangles and are a good example of this point.  The motion in the waves add to the energy in this scene.

ORV_0729-Edit

I hope this article has given you a useful insight into helping you with your next interior design project.  If you’d like to have a landscape photographer work with your interior design team or help you choose wall art to complement your space please drop me an email to info@orvphotography.com or call me on 07928840034.  My name’s Owen by the way!

Thanks for reading.