Workers across wide-ranging industries are experiencing an escalation in the incidence and intensity of customer misbehaviour, from incivility and verbal abuse to physical aggression and violence.

Text on a colour block: Did you know across Australia serious claims relating to occupational violence have risen 128%?*

*Australian Workers' Compensation Statistics 2019-20 'Serious claims for being assaulted by a person or persons more than doubled since 2000-01 (up by 128%)'. Safe Work Australia, November 2021.

Text on a colour block: This is the largest percentage increase in ANY mechanism of injury or disease*

*Australian Workers' Compensation Statistics 2019-20 'Serious claims for being assaulted by a person or persons more than doubled since 2000-01 (up by 128%)'. Safe Work Australia, November 2021.

About the training program

In partnership with Griffith University, we developed the Respect & Resilience program to support NSW employers and workers better manage - and reduce the impact of - customer misbehaviour.

Training is focused on what a customer-facing worker can influence and control when they are 'on the job'. It provides workers with practical strategies to understand, prevent, contain and cope with customer misbehaviour.

Importantly, it acknowledges all workers deserve to be treated with respect and that many causes of customer misbehaviour are beyond the worker's control.

  • What is customer misbehavior?

    Customers are part of every business, whether they're guests, visitors, stakeholders, or clients.

    Customer 'misbehaviour' refers to a range of negative ways customers can act and often follows an escalating pattern.

    This can include lower-level acts like incivility and higher-level acts of abuse as well as even more severe and more commonly reported aggression. Causes of customer misbehaviour vary.

    Some factors can be managed by the employer or the worker, while others relate to the customers characteristics. We are here to help you navigate the factors an employer and worker can influence.

    A flow of 3 photos in a row with a word underneath each image with arrows pointing from left to right. The first photo shows a young man frowning at the camera, the word Incivility is under the image. The arrow points to the right for the image of a customer at a supermarket leaning in and talking to the worker at the checkout, the word Abuse is under the image. The arrow points to the right for an image of a man yelling, the word Aggression is under the image.

  • Who is the training for?

    The training is designed for larger organisations with the capacity to deliver our Respect & Resilience program in-house to their frontline, customer-facing workforce.

    We encourage your organisation to nominate between 2 -4 staff to be come trainers.

    These individual are required to have proficient facilitation skills and support from your organisation to successfully implement the Respect & Resilience program.

    The program is NOT recommended for clinical, first responder or complex mental health-related issues.

  • What does the training cover?

    Participants will get in-depth knowledge of the Respect & Resilience program. They will learn to deal with difficult customer interactions through activities, self-reflection and skills practice.

    The training provides practical ways for customer-facing workers to build resilience and better cope with customer challenges while staying psychologically safe.

    Participants will experience our Respect & Resilience program first-hand, which covers how to:

    • Reduce the incidence of customer misbehaviour through early detection and awareness
    • Apply strategies to get a customer on side
    • Contain or de-escalate customer misbehaviour
    • Bounce back from repeated exposure to customer misbehaviour

    All training material and supporting resources will be given to participants upon completion.

  • How is training delivered?
    This is a full-day workshop delivered face-to-face at either a location of your choosing or at icare NSW’s Kent Street office in Sydney CBD.
  • How will your organisation benefit?

    By participating in our one-day workshop, your nominated trainers will have the capability to deliver our Respect & Resilience program to your front-line, customer-facing workforce. This will help:

    • Build a supportive workplace culture
    • Develop skills and confidence among your workers
    • Reduce the risk and impact of occupational violence
    • Improve employee retention, reduce absenteeism and workplace injuries

Express your interest

If you’re interested in participating in our Respect & Resilience program, submit the below form and one of our Prevention Specialists will contact you within 5 working days.

Contact us
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