Targeted Violence and Human Resources: Identifying Insider Threats

Targeted violence by insiders is a concern for many organizations. As acts of violence dominate media coverage, HR professionals are increasingly aware but often ill-equipped to deter such incidents. For this reason, the authors examined research on behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) strategies experts use to assess risk factors among potential perpetrators. Findings indicate that BTAM, along with structured professional judgement (SPJ) tools, may help human resources (HR) assess deviant behavior, prevent violence, and improve safety performance. One such tool, called the Workplace Assessment of Violence Risk-21 (WAVR-21), is shown to be both valid and reliable at detecting risk behaviors among persons of concern (POC). Through the lens of social exchange, the authors propose a systematic process for assessing and implementing a workplace violence prevention program. The implications suggest that future research should explore integrating threat assessment with HR theories, develop legal and economic frameworks, and investigate implementation mechanisms, among other topics. One important limitation is that BTAM research is relatively new, constraining the generalizability of these conclusions.