Mitigating Risks in Challenging Customer Interactions
Interacting with customers and providing great service is a critical part of front-line roles in tourism and hospitality. Interactions are often positive but there can also be times when a front-line employee is faced with a challenging or confrontational situation. To protect both the physical and psychological well-being of your employees, it’s important to have key elements in place before an incident occurs. Here are four essential components to help create a safe and supportive environment for everyone:
- Risk Assessment: Begin by assessing the level of risk within your workplace. Identify potential physical and psychological hazards and evaluate existing safety measures, such as panic buttons, security systems, barriers, check-in procedures and de-escalation training. Determine if additional controls are needed to mitigate risks.
- Policies & Procedures: Inform workers about the expectations for customer behavior, their rights and responsibilities in maintaining a safe environment, and how to respond in the event of a challenging interaction. With your staff, review your code of conduct, providing examples of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors, consequences for violations, and procedures for reporting and addressing concerns. Ensure your code of conduct is posted clearly for guests to see, and for staff to refer to. See resources section for more information on Code of Conduct and Violence Prevention.
- Training: Provide workers with training in effective communication skills for managing escalating situations. This should cover techniques for de-escalation through calm, clear, and respectful dialogue. Workers should also be aware of how to seek support from colleagues or supervisors if needed and understand their role in fostering a positive and safe workplace through strong communication practices.
- Support Systems: Review your internal debriefing processes and ensure that workers have access to external resources (e.g. EAP, or consult your Mental Health Consultants for additional resources). Encourage workers to decompress and discuss challenging experiences with their workplace team and personal support systems. Include a debrief of challenging interactions at check-ins and staff meetings. Sharing these experiences as a team can help encourage a culture of support and growth.
By implementing these key components—risk assessment, clear policies, thorough training, and strong support systems—you help create a safe, respectful environment where both employees and customers can thrive. Preparing your team to handle challenging interactions not only protects their physical and psychological well-being but also fosters a culture of confidence and collaboration.
Additional Resources:
Discover a guide of key components to consider when developing a Code of Conduct.
Find additional information and resources for preventing workplace violence in tourism and hospitality. This resource includes strategies for conducting risk assessments, training workers in de-escalation techniques, managing incidents, and ensuring safety.
Understand the process of investigating workplace incidents, including legal requirements for employers to investigate serious injuries, near misses, and other hazardous events. This resource covers the steps for identifying root causes, implementing corrective actions, and reporting incidents to WorkSafeBC when necessary.