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By the end of Step 2, the committee responsible (or individuals appointed in Step 1) will already have various types of information that can be used to identify the risk factors in the organization. If the Checklist for Identifying Risk and Protection Factors was used to compile the information collected in Step 2, the priority level of the risk factor (high, medium, or low) will allow to you quickly identify the most serious problems. .
The overview step allows you to pinpoint a range of management practices in need of review within the organization. Unfortunately, it is impossible to change everything at once, which is why it is important to clearly define priority action targets that will be used in developing the action plan. To do so, the committee may hold a first brainstorming session to identify the key risk factors and the most detrimental management practices in the organization.
TIP Researchers have defined three criteria for prioritizing problems:
In the context of a participatory process, criterion 1 is particularly important.
Source: Strategic approach to preventing occupational stress. Brun, Jean-Pierre; Biron, Caroline; Ivers, Hans, Studies and Research Projects/ Report R-514, Montréal, IRSST, 2008, 77 pages.
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This examination of the major risk factors in the organization will shed light on certain priority action targets.
Here are a few examples:
The priority action targets identified can be listed in the left-hand column of the Developing the Action Plan .
After identifying the priority action targets, the committee can continue the discussion on ways to convert these targets into a variety of concrete activities and strategies. At this stage, the reflection process can continue in small work groups (sub-committees), or, if the organization is big enough, an intervention support group (ISG) can be formed. This committee’s mandate will be to identify measures that will reduce the targeted risk factors, and then to implement and monitor these measures.
With an obligation to represent the different job categories, the intervention support group (ISG) may be formed from within the joint employer/employee committee or by sending an invitation to all employees (see an example of an invitation for all employees in Step 1, in the "Appointing or creating a joint committee section). In any case, it is important that the process remain transparent within the organization.
Only one or two meetings should be required to identify a first set of factors to be considered, including, for example:
Any number of the above factors (depending on the organization’s needs) should be borne in mind when initially forming an overview of the measures needed. Having this realistic overview in hand will be helpful when it comes time to obtain senior management’s approval (if needed).
The search for solutions may involve:
The success of these solutions does not depend on their cost or the scope of the changes they generate, but rather their capacity to meet the workplace’s needs.
TIP
Given that the proposed process is part of primary prevention, the possible solutions envisaged may initially seem too far removed from the actual phenomenon of violence.
It is important to remember that the proposed process targets the actual roots of the violence (not its manifestations) in order to eliminate it at the source.
The solutions envisaged could therefore take the form of a variety of strategies that act on numerous facets of the organization and that will ultimately have a positive impact by improving social relations within the workplace, and consequently, reducing the risk of violence