Working in retail can be a challenging job, with high-traffic high-street retail outlets often experiencing incidents of abuse, anti-social behaviour, and intoxicated customers. These situations can escalate quickly and put retail staff at risk of harm. For this reason, it is essential that retail staff receive deescalation training to help them manage difficult situations effectively.

What is deescalation training?

Deescalation training is a type of training that teaches individuals how to recognize the early signs of conflict and how to take action to prevent it from escalating further. The training focuses on techniques for effective communication, active listening, and conflict resolution. It also covers how to manage emotions during conflicts and how to stay calm and focused in difficult situations.

Elements of Deescalation Training

Deescalation training for retail staff typically involves a combination of classroom learning and hands-on practice. The training may cover topics such as:

• Recognizing the early signs of conflict
• Effective communication techniques
• Active listening skills
• Conflict resolution strategies
• Managing emotions during conflicts
• Staying calm and focused in difficult situations
• Techniques for managing intoxicated customers
• Legal rights and responsibilities of staff

• The training should always include role-playing exercises to help staff practice their skills in a safe and controlled environment.

Deescalation skills are important for retail staff when dealing with abusive, anti-social, or intoxicated customers. These situations can escalate quickly and put staff at risk of harm. With deescalation skills, staff can effectively manage difficult situations, prevent escalation, and resolve conflicts peacefully.

For example, a customer who is intoxicated may become aggressive towards a staff member who refuses to serve them. Without deescalation skills, the situation can quickly become violent. However, with deescalation skills, the staff member can effectively manage the situation, prevent escalation, and ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Risk assessment is an essential part of ensuring the safety of retail staff. Employers must identify potential hazards and take steps to mitigate those risks, including providing appropriate training for staff. Employers must also prioritize staff wellbeing by providing support and resources to manage the stress and emotional impact of dealing with difficult situations.

Deescalation training is essential for retail staff who may face incidents of abuse, anti-social behaviour, and intoxicated customers in their work. The training provides staff with the necessary skills to recognize and manage conflict, communicate effectively, and resolve conflicts peacefully. Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees, including providing appropriate training for staff. By investing in deescalation training and prioritizing staff wellbeing, employers can create a safer and more positive work environment for everyone involved.

There are moments on an encounter timeline when the skills od de-escalation may become important for staff:

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When it comes to investing in training, objections are common. People may be hesitant to spend money on training, unsure of the value it will bring or if it will be worth the investment. However, deescalation training can be a valuable asset for personal and professional growth, and it's essential to overcome objections when buying training. Let's take a look at some of the most common objections people use when buying deescalation training.

Time is one of the most common objections when it comes to training. Leaders may feel that their team is too busy with work or personal responsibilities to commit to training. However, it's important to remember that training can be a valuable investment in time. By investing time in deescalation training, teams can improve their skills, become more efficient, and ultimately save time in the long run. Our training formats (online, remote, blended, incremental) can be tailored to fit into or around any time constraints you have.

Cost is another common objection when it comes to training. Leaders may feel that the cost of training is too high, and they can't afford it. However, it's important to remember that training is an investment in personal and professional growth, and it can pay off in the long run - especially when we consider mental health and wellbeing of your team members, the cost of litigation when things go badly wrong, and even the risk of injury if someone resorts to violence in an encounter with your staff.

Some leaders may feel that their team already have the necessary skills and knowledge and don't need training. However, it's important to remember that training can provide new perspectives, best practices, and the latest approaches. We meet a lot of teams who have over-estimated their skill levels when it comes to conflict management!

Some leaders may be unsure of the value of deescalation training and whether it will be worth the investment. However, it's important to remember that training can provide valuable insights, knowledge, and skills that can improve job performance and personal growth, not to mention fulfilling Health and Safety requirements for keeping staff and others safe in the workplace.  Where risks are foreseeable, the cost of negligence ("failure to train") can be very high compared to the investment required in training.

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We have delivered scenario-driven, safety-focussed deescalation training for:

• NHS teams in clinical settings, acute trusts, community care and GP surgeries
• Private Healthcare teams in Hospital Administration, Portering, Cleaning and Security
• Retail teams working in high-traffic high-street locations which attract anti-social behaviour
• Leisure/Restaurant teams who work in hospitality, dealing with Dine-n-Dash, for example
• Facilities / Construction teams who have varied, complex interactions with stakeholders
• Enforcement teams who have to deliver 'bad news' to people in the community
• Asylum Seeker support and welfare teams who lean heavily on listening and empathy
• Probation support teams who use redirection and persuasion to keep people on track
• Finance teams who encourage compliance with vehicle lease/loan owners
• Electrical Engineering technicians who maintain high levels of customer satisfaction
• School teams who want to foster a great social contract with their pupils' parents
• Colleges who want to foster compliance with the rules, in a positive environment
• Community Safety Wardens who had to address the issues of knife crime in their community