Retail workers face significant risks of violence, verbal abuse, and anti-social behaviour. Research shows retailers are most concerned about violence against staff, theft by customers, verbal abuse, robbery, and anti-social behaviour — in that order. Our training equips your team with the skills to prevent, de-escalate, and safely manage these situations.
“The biggest cause for concern in the report’s findings is the prevalence of violence and abuse against retailers and store colleagues. People working in convenience stores are most vulnerable to violence when they are being responsible members of their community by challenging shop thieves, enforcing age restrictions or refusing to serve intoxicated customers. Retail crime is not victimless — its impact on the people running, working in and using local shops is lasting, tangible and profound.”
— ACS Crime Report 2019
What your staff will learn
This course is based on Health and Safety Executive INDG423 and HSG133 guidance, ensuring compliance with best-practice legal requirements for retail worker safety.
Know
- What is meant by ‘violence at work‘ in a retail context
- What is meant by ‘theft’ in a retail context
- Your retail organisation’s policy on dealing with key issues (theft, ASB, robbery)
- The objectives of non-escalation and de-escalation of conflict in retail
Understand
- What retail staff duty of care is and is not (theft, ASB, robbery)
- The impact that alcohol, drugs, and weapons have on situational risk in retail
- Your (or recommended) procedures for dealing with retail theft and robbery
- The principles of necessity and proportionality in using force for self-protection
Do
- Practice target verbal skills in not escalating retail conflict
- Practice how to approach a suspected shoplifter safely
- Practice target verbal skills in dealing with verbal abuse and intimidation
- How and when to withdraw from potentially dangerous situations
- Practice target verbal skills in de-escalating retail conflict or crisis
- Practice how to approach someone presenting anti-social behaviour safely
- Practice target verbal skills in persuasion and influence
- How to physically protect oneself from assault (fundamentals)
⚠️ Important: Research shows that the best violence management training is closely aligned with the organisation’s own policies and procedures. We tailor every course to your specific retail context.
Evidence-based, practice-driven training design
With the help of academic colleagues at Loughborough University, we are continually developing enhanced learning design methodology that ensures your training budget is spent on best-value activities.
✅ Our training is:
Emotionally safe — delivered in a supportive environment where effort and engagement are rewarded and failure is seen as a necessary step towards mastery.
Contextualised to workplace scenarios — focused on the flashpoint scenarios most familiar to your team’s experience.
Full-spectrum — incorporates positional, non-verbal, verbal, emotional, mental, and physical attitudes required for a successful, professional response.
Performance-oriented — learners perform target skills, often in the face of designed-in, desirable difficulties, and receive immediate, objective feedback.
Practice-based — your team are repeatedly faced with and engaged in work-like encounters, assessed from multiple points of view.
Training delivery and credentials
The standout feature of our training is that it is practice-based and performance-focused. Your teams will be up and moving in the training room, exploring scenarios and contexts relevant to their work. Our training demands that they produce the words, behaviours and strategies in the classroom, so they retain them better when they return to the workplace.
Our learners have included customer service representatives from energy companies (Ovo Energy and Kaluza) and financial services (Black Horse Auto-Leasing), in addition to home care, drug and alcohol outreach, domestic violence and homeless support teams from local authorities around the country.
Dynamis is an Institute of Conflict Management-accredited Quality Award Centre #2201 for the provision of Prevention and Management of Workplace Violence training.
Our trainers hold a minimum of:
- BTEC Level 3 PTTLLS Preparing to Teach for Lifelong Learning
- BTEC Level 3 Advanced Self-Defence Instructor Qualification
- BTEC Level 3 Conflict Management Qualification
Also consider: Retail Manager Risk Assessment Training | Retail Manager Conflict Management (Trainer) Training