5 Reasons Companies Should Invest in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for Human Resources

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is an innovative first-responder method of de-escalating a mental health crisis. Crisis interventions help alleviate an individual’s distress signals and minimize the possibility of future incidents. This immediate short-term emergency technique addresses:

• Mental
• Physical
• Emotional
• Behavioral afflictions

Crisis intervention training is primarily provided in hospitals, social services, and rehabilitation centers. However, with the increase in critical mental health complications and suicides, it may be time for more businesses to invest in CIT for their Human Resources departments.

Why CIT is beneficial for your business

47.2% of suicides in America are deaths of individuals in the working class. Some employees may not have access to mental health care to help with their crippling depression or anxiety. With that in mind, it becomes increasingly imperative to think about the support of mental health in the workplace and the roles a company plays in preventing and mitigating crises.

The working class spends most of their lives in the workplace. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies did their best to support their workers. The benefits go beyond just the ethical assistance of a few individuals. Promoting mental health and providing crisis digression for those in need only makes sense.

Reduces the risk of injury or death

Between 2007 and 2017, there were more than 2,800 suicides in the work environment. The demands of work-life balance and stressful situations can lead a person to want to harm themselves.

Promoting mental health and providing crisis digression for those in need only makes sense.

In recent years, many deaths and widespread panic have occurred due to COVID-19. In return, profound psychological anguish has taken over the lives of thousands of people. The resulting circumstances have ended with successful or attempted suicide, which remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

In the case of a depressed employee, crisis intervention is designed to talk these individuals down from their manic episodes and prevent them from taking the drastic next step. Crisis intervention becomes necessary for HR, as it’s their duty to provide employees with assistance options.

Positive coping mechanisms are effective in crisis management. Social, psychological, and emotional support are methods of intervention used often by staff members to ease individuals in crisis. In the same way, problem-solving planning and acceptance are ways to create optimal mental health outcomes. HR’s support of staff members through the use of CIT principles equips employees to manage future events.

Creates a community

The CIT steps help dissolve their depression in ways that keep them from feeling left out or alone. With the application of a proven system to intervene in dangerous situations, a team is more likely to promote its positive impact and create a feeling of community in the workplace.

When HR implements CIT effectively, the social construct of the office increases.

When HR implements CIT effectively, the social construct of the office increases. This creates a sense of camaraderie and concern between employees. A connected workplace helps foster connections and bonds, which increase employee satisfaction by 50%.

One of HRs main tasks is to create a positive work environment by resolving conflict. HR professionals are trained to bring people together to maintain the workplace ambiance. Effective CIT will help administer just that with quick coping strategies designed to provide urgent and short-term meditation so a person can return to their mentally balanced state and rejoin the team.

Improve employee functionality and retention

Another significant task for HR is to organize the commitment to job satisfaction. How much a person is satisfied with their job depends on a few things. Engagement, however, is one of the major facets. Engaged employees are more:

• Productive
• Focused
• Motivated

All of these traits carry over to achieve high performance in the workplace as a whole.

CIT is modeled to bring a person back down to Earth, so to speak. This involves immediate and long-term techniques and check-ins, which by definition, help engage a worker with upper management. Ensuring an employee feels validated and listened to, followed by practical care, puts them back in their happy place where work is done best.

Stress is present in 71% of adults, and increased pressure negatively affects an employee’s ability to perform. Poor mental health directly creates problems in an employee’s:

• Productivity
• Communication
• Physical abilities
• Engagement
• Presence in the workplace.

Implementation of policies and support plays a role in preventative measures, and CIT becomes the safety net.

Assist employees with coping mechanisms for future crises

A person is likely to bear a substantial amount of stress if crises are left unaddressed in the short term. Prolonged mental stress carries the potential for it to grow into mental health conditions, including major depression.

Professional crisis intervention teams in a hospital setting have made it known that their services kept return visits and prolonged visits from occurring. This admission of efficacy for CIT shows that the short-term technique actually has long-term effects. CIT processes provide employees who are experiencing a crisis with coping mechanisms that they are likely to take with them throughout their lives. HR departments are not meant to take the place of licensed therapists but are there to lead the way.

Promotes open communication

The bond created between an HR liaison and an employee can be unbreakable. CIT shows a person that:

• Their feelings matter
• They are experiencing human emotions faced by many
• Someone cares about their mental health

Many individuals can’t find this compassionate trait in any other person in their lives.

When employees feel valued, they’re likely to trust their HR person and, by extension, their company. This enables the sharing of other instances of crises throughout the workplace. It doesn’t have to stay with this employee, either. Word of mouth travels quickly, and once other employees hear that their emotions won’t go unnoticed or uncared for by their managers, open communication will be the result.

When employees feel valued, they’re likely to trust their HR person and, by extension, their company.

This can open the air space for other serious concerns to come to light, such as sexual harassment. 75% of sexual harassment in the workplace is never reported. This is partly due to the lack of confidence in HR to do something about it. Effective CIT can break the ice for employees to report situations like these and others to their superiors.

Open communication also allows employees to feel comfortable asking for help concerning:

• Mental health
• Counseling
• Alcohol and drug prevention services

When CIT is enforced in the workplace, many individuals with mental health disorders won’t feel like they’re being a burden and can ask for help.

The bottom line

Crises aren’t easy on anybody. Everyone deals with trauma and grief in their way. Not every HR department will have all the answers or know exactly what to say or do when the time comes to de-escalate a crisis.

People will respond to the intervention method that best correlates with their mental anguish. That’s why there are so many coping mechanisms out there. HR should do whatever is strategic, creative, and immediate enough to create a change of behavior at that moment.

Crises can happen without much notice. Conducting CIT is necessary for the workplace to help an employee regain control and balance to carry on with the rest of their life. Optimized CIT training will help an employee carry these techniques throughout their life and help others in crisis.