On September 24, NACS hosted a webinar titled “De-escalation Techniques for Retailers,” which discussed de-escalation and the challenges the industry is experiencing with violence and potentially violent situations.

The webinar featured a discussion between loss prevention expert Kelly Harrington, director of asset protection at RaceTrac, and 40-plus-year industry veteran Tom Hart of Ready Training Online. The speakers outlined basic de-escalation techniques, when to use them, and how to train employees to de-escalate situations.

“When it comes to safety, if there’s one thing I can get across, discipline is very important to keep people safe,” said Hart of RTO. “People are not prepared for the unexpected. The worst-case scenario is that when team members don’t expect it to happen, it will. But when they’re prepared for this, they will have the tools they need to be able to handle it.”

Managers have a key role in these worst-case scenarios. Team members will “mirror” the actions that they see their team manager doing in these scenarios. “Our management team really sets the tone in our stores. They need to know the right way to talk about these situations with their team members. Making time for these conversations and making sure that our leaders are role models and that they are setting the tone for the store team,” said Harrington of RaceTrac.

Both experts also discussed the importance of being a part of neighborhood discussions and getting to know the communities which you serve and its leaders.

The De-Escalation Techniques for Retailers webinar was the first in a series of quarterly webinars on the topics of store safety and loss prevention. For more information on upcoming webinars, click here.

At the 2024 NACS Show in Las Vegas on October 8 at 8:00 a.m., NACS will be hosting an education session titled “Creating a Safe Store Environment for Employees and Guests” where Kelly Harrington of RaceTrac will be speaking. To learn more about the education sessions at the 2024 NACS Show, click here.