An individual once wrote me asking what I thought of his company’s “active shooter training.” All of the employees were sent a nice letter from HR explaining the importance of active shooter training, so they would be prepared in case of an active shooter or other active threat incident. At the end of the letter was a link to the “Run – Hide – Fight” video on YouTube with instructions to watch the video, as this was important. That’s it. That was their training.
I wrote him back and said I teach anywhere from one hour to eight hours, depending on the group and what they bring me in for. Sometimes it’s a keynote, other times a breakout session, and sometimes a half or full day of training for organizations. I asked him how he thought a five-minute video on YouTube compared. He agreed with me, and thought it was just a way his company was trying to cover their butt and say they cared about people and did something.
The fact is, training people costs money. And it’s not just the fee paid to me, or other trainers. It costs a lot to have employees attend a course, the longer the more it costs. But it’s worth it. It can save lives, and it also can increase moral and provide peace of mind when people are scared. The person who wrote me didn’t have the best impression of that company’s leadership. How would he have felt if they had provided actual training rather than a video link?
I have had so many people comment that they felt better, empowered, after training. They realized they could do something to keep themselves and loved ones safer. Investing in training is investing in people. There are other benefits to training, and other values associated with providing active shooter response training to employees. But I do believe one of the biggest is having employees feel cared about. When you provide training, and a tool such as Reflex Protect, to help keep your employees safe and provide peace of mind when the news is bombarding them with tales of violence, you aren’t just spending money. You are investing in your employees. You are showing them you care about them and their safety. And that is worth a whole lot more than the actual cost of training.