Behind Kroger’s Proactive Approach to Workplace Safety

Kroger’s Frank Patercity, left, and Matt Talbot, right, addressed the audience at this year’s RILA Retail Asset Protection Conference.

When it comes to protecting the products it sells, The Kroger Co. realizes one of the best ways to do so is by protecting its associates. Frank Patercity, Kroger’s director of corporate security, investigations and organized retail crime, and Matt Talbot, senior manager for the company’s threat assessment team, took the stage at the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s (RILA) Retail Asset Protection Conference this week to dive into how the company mitigates workplace violence through threat assessment and management.

When Patercity joined Kroger about two years ago, he explained, he quickly identified the need for a team dedicated to identifying, assessing and managing threats to the retailer’s business, associates and customers. Talbot, who now leads that team along with three threat managers, describes his group as the “see something, say something team” that acts as the prevention arm of corporate security. 

“This is proactive,” Talbot explained. “We’re looking for the clues that people are demonstrating to say ‘Something is not okay here.’”

While Talbot reasons that not everything can be prevented from happening, his threat assessment team can greatly reduce the volume of violence that occurs in the workplace. As he explained, the benefit of doing so ranges from financial protection for the company to the psychological wellness of its associates by virtue of having that presence. 

Taking a Closer Look

Kroger has a zero-tolerance policy in place for safety threats, meaning that every concern that is reported by an employee will be responded to in a manner proportional to the threat. While this is the case, Talbot’s team focuses on figuring out which threats are being posed by people who are actively taking steps to carry out a potentially violent plan or are on the path to doing so.

“We call it predatory or targeted violence,” Talbot explained, later posing the question: “Are they just aggrieved about something and making statements and thinking about it a lot, or are they actually doing homework and taking the steps to carry this out?”

[RELATED: Creating an Effective Workplace Violence Plan]

Talbot stressed the importance of being flexible with management strategies and not necessarily using a one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with credible threats, especially considering that, in many situations, the person making the threats is crying out for help. 

“The person who shoots other people or shoots themselves is really a person who’s just struggling. They’re in crisis. They need someone to ask them, ‘Are you okay?’ Talbot said. 

A collaborative approach between departments or even outside entities can be key to making this work, and tailoring that approach to the needs of the person who is struggling is also an important consideration.

“We don’t do this in silos. We don’t do this in isolation. We work collectively,” Talbot explained. “We partner with key stakeholders who can help us best support that person who may be in need of help.”

While only a small amount of reported threats turn out to be credible, it can still be important to reach out to an associate displaying worrisome behavior. 

“That is at least a doorway or an opportunity for us to say, ‘Are you okay? Do you need anything?’ Talbot said. “We can’t be afraid to engage because what we know about people that commit mass attacks of violence, it’s usually because most of them are longing for some sort of connection and sense of identity. If we validate people and we dignify them, we can give them that.”

Making It Work

For those retailers looking to stand up a threat management team like the one at Kroger, Talbot expressed his belief that what’s really needed to do so are common sense and heart. “If you bring those two to the table, I guarantee you those are the most successful ingredients and tools that you’re going to need to try to get to the left and bang ahead of the curve, whatever way you want to look at it,” he said.

Additionally, Patercity stressed the importance of getting buy-in from both a corporate perspective and from employees and management when creating a threat management plan. If the workforce believes the security team is solely responsible for protecting the organization from threats, for example, program operations are not being effectively communicated. 

“Your team should provide the tools and first response, but managers are the custodians of the assets, and the entire organization should support those efforts,” Patercity shared.

RILA’s Retail Asset Protection Conference takes place April 14-17 in Dallas.