By the time a business case reaches the executive, the people who need convincing are usually not opposed to violence prevention. They have a budget to protect, a roster to fill or a question about evidence. Each page below takes one objection, explains what usually sits behind it, and gives you the answer, the evidence and the words to use.
What are the six objections?
Who usually raises which objection?
Each member of the buying group has a different concern, so expect different objections from each. Prepare the answers for the people who will be in the room.
| Objection | Usually raised by |
|---|---|
| “There’s no budget for it this year.” | CFO, operations director |
| “Where’s the evidence it works? What’s the ROI?” | Medical consultant, quality lead, CFO |
| “We already do mandatory training.” | Education lead, WHS manager |
| “We can’t release staff for training.” | Nurse unit manager, operations |
| “More security is the answer.” | Executive, security manager, staff after a serious incident |
| “Violence just comes with the job here.” | Experienced ward staff, some managers |
How do you answer any objection?
- Ask what’s behind it. “No budget” can mean no line, no owner or no confidence. Each needs a different answer.
- Answer in their terms. Cost for the CFO, roster hours for the unit manager, trial evidence for the consultant, compliance for the WHS manager.
- Don’t overclaim. Safewards reduces conflict and containment; no study has proven it alone cuts claims, or that it works on general wards. Saying so makes the rest of your case believable.
- Offer a small next step. A pilot in one area with a baseline and 90-day measures is easier to approve than a program, and its results answer the next objection for you.
The arguments these answers draw on are in Part 2, the financial case, and Part 4 covers presenting the case and running a pilot.
Frequently asked questions
How do you answer “There’s no budget for it this year”?
You are already paying for violence in claims and backfill. The question is where the money comes from, not whether it exists.
How do you answer “Where’s the evidence it works? What’s the ROI?”?
Strong in mental health, promising in emergency departments, unproven on general wards, and no one has a proven ROI. Say so, then offer to measure it locally.
How do you answer “We already do mandatory training”?
Completion isn’t competence. Regulators now say training on its own isn’t enough, and WA’s new Standard sets what the training must contain.
How do you answer “We can’t release staff for training”?
Set the hours of training against the hours violence already takes: restraint episodes, sick leave and months of backfill.
How do you answer “More security is the answer”?
Security is part of the answer, not all of it. Security staff need the same de-escalation skills, and clinicians lead the response.
How do you answer “Violence just comes with the job here”?
Health policy and WHS law say it doesn’t. Treating violence as normal is why most of it goes unreported.