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Description

Managing a Team Facing Customer Aggression: Prevent, Support and Organise the Aftermath

Protecting the health of a team exposed to abusive behaviour and knowing what to do after an incident

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

A manager whose team deals with the public usually sees the effects before naming the cause: absences that multiply, staff who avoid certain counters, constant tension in internal exchanges. Not every incident is reported, colleagues cope among themselves, and the way work is organised sometimes reproduces the very situations that trigger aggression.

Two days to act as a manager rather than as a front-line agent: reduce avoidable causes through work organisation, put in place a protocol everyone knows, run a post-incident debrief and spot the early signs of burnout. Participants leave with a protocol tailored to their own organisation.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the organisational causes that fuel customer aggression
  • Build an incident management protocol that the team knows and can apply
  • Run a post-incident debrief without putting the employee at fault
  • Recognise the signs of professional burnout in team members
  • Organise incident reporting and escalation
  • Support an employee in the aftermath of a serious incident

What makes this programme different

The incident management protocol is drafted during the programme and tailored to each organisation
Post-incident debriefs are practised through role-play
The analysis focuses on organisational causes rather than on employee behaviour

Programme

1Understanding Your Team's Exposure

Looking at what the organisation produces

  • Identify the work situations that generate customer tension
  • Recognise the effects of waiting times, unclear information and rules that are not understood
  • Distinguish an isolated incident from repeated exposure
  • Gather what the team actually experiences

2Preventing Through Work Organisation

Acting on triggers before acting on responses

  • Reduce sources of frustration linked to customer journeys and processing times
  • Adapt reception areas and exposed workstations
  • Adjust rosters and handovers on demanding positions
  • Clarify the discretion given to front-line staff
  • Train and equip the team on the expected responses

3Setting Up a Protocol and Intervening

So that everyone knows what to do at the moment it happens

  • Define thresholds for intervening and for ending an exchange
  • Organise colleague back-up and escalation to the manager
  • Intervene personally with an aggressive customer
  • Specify the course of action in the event of a threat
  • Formalise the protocol and communicate it across the team

4Providing Support After the Incident

Follow-up matters as much as the intervention

  • Run an immediate debrief focused on the facts
  • Offer temporary removal from the position where necessary
  • Support the employee through the reporting process
  • Recognise signs of burnout and withdrawal
  • Refer to the appropriate internal support channels

Who is it for

Managers, team leaders and department heads supervising staff in contact with customers or service users who may become aggressive.

Prerequisites

Supervising a team in contact with the public

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.