Lone worker policy

Attack alarms are invariably the first response but often the most inappropriate. They are only of value if a) someone can hear them and b) they trigger the desired response, ie attacker legs it. They can also trigger panic and make the situation worse. At its best, using an alarm in an open or outside situation buys a few seconds for the user can do something - in this case your employee is quite right, in a locked room they are useless. You need to look to carrying out a lone working RA and take a multi element approach from the simple logging, tracking and monitoring whereabouts of staff; training staff including de-escalation techniques to considering whether third party monitored and 'man down' devices are appropriate. There's a wealth of resources and devices available including phone based ones but you do need to ensure they are appropriate for your staff, easily usable and factor in the maintainance costs. Suzy Lamplugh site provides good resources and advice and overview of the different controls available.

In a past life I was a negotiator for an estate agency and can concur with with the above. We always used to write in the diary who we were seeing and where and what time we anticipated our return.
We would always follow the person into the house, not lead the way, and always make sure we were nearest to the exit at all times.
Always park your car under a street light and check the back seat before you get in.
We carried personal alarms and....if it felt funny in our tummy we were probably right!!! gut instinct is built in, go with it.
There are lots and lots of resources under "lone worker policies" on the internet and I found the local police a great help too - even learnt MAYBO training, which helps you get out of various "holds".

If i may quote directly from the following website:-

http://www.suzylamplugh.org/

The Trust has the following general advice for anyone working alone:

P – Plan to meet first time visitors in a busy public place, rather than your workplace, if possible.
L – Log in your visitors with a buddy and phone after to let someone know you are safe.
A – Avoid situations which could be difficult
N – Never assume it won’t happen to you

It is something we are aware off but never think it will happen to us.

Hi Andy K,

It’s not a judgement on the person; however it would be too late if there was a terrible incident.

If your gut instinct is shouting out that something is not right about a situation then you trust that. This response has developed to keep us alive.

The issue here, in my opinion, is that you make sure that you never get to the danger point of a situation. Highlighting this to management is a very necessary learning curve that will prevent others in the company having to endure the same scenario. Reviewing and amending the policy that covers this particular concern has to be done because the company has a duty of care to its staff.

It may be as Will suggests contacting the client firstly and ensuring that the appointment will be kept in a relatively public place even if it has to be the corner of a noisy office.

Assuming people are always going to be nice, friendly and safe has probably resulted in many, many deaths. It always best to err on the side of caution! And it shows the company is responsible and have their employees best interests at heart.

I read this differently personally. I didn't read that this client was automatically labelled as a criminal. I read it as a team leader or line manager reacting to a concern raised by a member of her team. The situation is the potential hazard, nobody is saying that the man is a danger. Lessons are trying to be learnt before it's too late. Suzy Lamplugh was meeting a person in similar circumstances and she's now dead.

Practically speaking, attack alarms are great but limited. Do you have it on the desk when meeting a client you hope to do business with? Not the best start to a sales meeting! Do you have it in your bag where you won't be able to get it in an emergency? Health and safety is about removing the danger wherever possible and, as I've stated, the situation is the danger, not the man. Would it be possible for your rep to meet somewhere more public, such as over a coffee in a public space rather than locked in a building with no-one else around? I'm assuming there was no-one else in the building because the meeting was out of hours, perhaps visits should only be made to premises during opening hours?
As Wayne said, your H&S policy needs looking at if this practice is on-going and (as Lisa says) the Suzy Lamplugh Trust is fantastic about this precise issue.

It's good to see that guilty until proven innocent is still alive and well in this country!
I hate to be picky but it seems to me that the man made someone feel uncomfortable but did nothing more than that! I can totally understand why he locked the office door if he was the only person in the building as it is a prudent security measure and the "grubby back room" is surely a matter of perception as it could well have been either a meeting room or his office. While i can understand why your sales rep felt uncomfortable I do feel that we shouldn't label people as a danger just because they make one person feel uncomfortable.

Info on the HSE website - http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/workalone.htm

There is also lots of advice on the Suzy Lamplugh Trust website - http://www.suzylamplugh.org/

Your ethics and alarm bells must be ringing much louder than any personal alarm with regards to this incident.

I agree with Kevin someone must risk assess this customer and deem it suitable for a team to visit.

Also where is your H&S policy that would have flagged up a risk situation for the rep in question? She should have asked that the apt. be rearranged so there were other people present.

Look after number 1, duty of care to self!

The Chaperone Defender operates a 140 dB alarm and is intended to disorientate a potential attacker long enough for an escape to be made, or at least attempted. If you're isolated in a locked room at the back of a bigger office area the alarm would be muffled and even if heard, difficult to locate accurately. Still, it's as cheap as chips (from memory about £5).
Have you considered something like man-down automatic lone worker monitoring protection with GPS location tracking and instant panic alarm alerts?
You can't in all conscience claim that you're covering all foreseeable risks or taking all reasonable precautions and I personally would be loth to send a lone rep into a potentially confrontational ( 1 to 1) situation without assessing the risk first. It doesn't seem to have reassured the rep concerned who is probably very apprehensive about a repeat ot even escalation of the trauma.
Ask yourself, how would I have handled the situation?
I would at least assign this particular customer to a male rep or make a team visit instead.

One of my a sales reps recently brought to mine and HR's attention a situation where she i felt uncomfortable in an apt with a man (he locked the main office door and took her into a gruby back room, there was no one else in the building)

Following this the company has provided personal attack alarms to all field staff (The Chaperone Defender) My member of staff is very unhappy with this solution and feels in this sitution we would of put her in more danger not less. Does anyone have any guidance as to what to do next?