Aon Buys Aggression Management Firm

Aon Buys Aggression Management Firm

NU Online News Service, July 11, 4:00 p.m.?Chicago-based insurance broker Aon has acquired the exclusive rights to the Center for Aggression Management, and hired John D. Byrnes, the center's founder and director, as a full-time consultant.

The Center for Aggression Management, which is dedicated to identifying, measuring and preventing the risks related to workplace aggression and violence, is the newest in a line of crisis risk management capabilities established within Aon's crisis management practice, the firm said.

Bill Harrison, managing director of Aon's crisis management practice, said: "Acquiring an aggression risk management capability is an important addition to Aon's already impressive range of crisis management services. In our continuing effort to help clients identify, prevent and manage crisis-related risks, we believe that the Center for Aggression Management will be an invaluable asset to our family of consulting services."

Aon said it would provide clients with comprehensive diagnostic techniques to identify and measure the hard costs associated with aggression in the workplace. The firm said it would work with clients to develop effective policies and procedures to identify and mitigate these risks.

Research compiled by the center indicates that hidden hard costs attributed to aggression in the workplace are substantial. In some cases, the costs total 4.8 days of lost productivity, per employee, per year, as a result of absenteeism created by aggressive coworker behavior.

Additionally, employee aggression can result in high turnover, "presenteeism" (employees who are on the job, but significantly distracted), passive aggressive behavior, decreased employee and customer satisfaction, loss of morale and motivation, and finally, loss of employee loyalty to the company.

According to Mr. Byrnes: "Aggression is in the hearts and on the minds of most people today. Whether in our workplaces or our schools, aggression is something we must measure and control. Everybody should have the right to feel safe when they go to work or to school."

More information about the center, based in Winter Park, Fla., is available on the Web at www.aggressionmanagement.com.