Chris Geier, CEO & Managing Partner of Member Firm, Sikich, hasn't always worked in the world of accountancy and advisory firms. His earlier career in law enforcement was a significant contributing factor to understanding threat management and safety best practices, and moreover, recognized this knowledge was applicable within any business sector.

Naturally, Chris puts the health, safety, and wellbeing of his employees at the forefront of everything he has set out to achieve since becoming CEO, and part of this was the collaboration with a workforce risk management team to teach the company how to prevent violence in the workplace.

Furthermore, the organization has now welcomed the workforce risk management team to the Sikich services portfolio, offering a full scope of services and arming more organizations with valuable skills and knowledge to prevent violence and manage risk in the workplace.

In Chris's latest blog, he describes what workforce risk management firms can offer, the mental health support it can provide, and why the health, safety and wellbeing of an organization starts with the CEO.

What is Workforce Risk Management?

Workforce risk management is the practice of protecting people by creating safer workplaces through program support, training and threat management.

Over the last two and a half years in particular, the broad definition of a “workplace” extends beyond the four walls of a physical office building including people’s homes, client sites, communities and more. And preventive systems cover all the potential points that connect someone or something to the workplace.

The practice prepares organizations, leaders, managers and employees to recognize, report and respond to behavioral concerns with an added emphasis on early intervention – meaning, ways to eliminate violence before it starts.

Mental Health Support

Protecting people includes making sure everyone has access to tools and resources that support their mental well-being. It’s often more difficult, in a remote work world, to recognize colleagues’ challenges – whether they’re unhappy, burned out or lagging. That’s why the workforce risk management practice has evolved to meet the demands of a modern workforce by helping business leaders and their employees recognize and manage violence risks that connect to stress, burnout, depression and other mental health challenges.

A CEO’s Responsibility

Leaders across industries need to be proactive in addressing the dramatic shift in the way we recognize and protect our employees and workplaces. Investing in creating a safe, healthy and thriving workforce is the personal responsibility of every business leader.

Utilizing the services of a workforce risk management team can support leaders in setting or resetting priorities and aligning capabilities that support workers, engage and retain talent, create more opportunities for inclusion and growth, and strengthen the overall safety and well-being of the workplace.