3 Ways CPI Refresher Training Improves Workplace Safety and Culture

We could all brush up on our skills sometimes, even if we feel competent in applying them. Continually refining workplace de‑escalation skills, for one, is crucial as it helps staff remain effective in defusing conflicts, understanding changing dynamics, and ensuring they can adapt to diverse settings, contexts, and personalities. And when the training is brief and efficient, instructors and team members alike feel empowered.

CPI’s 3^rd Edition Refresher Training products are designed to help participants reflect on and deepen their understanding of the key principles and skills they learned in our 3^rd Edition core training programs: Verbal Intervention^™ (VI), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® (NCI), and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention^® With Advanced Physical Skills (APS).

These brief training courses provide Certified Instructors with customizable lesson plans that quickly and easily enhance skills to sustain a safe working environment, support cross-departmental collaboration, and ensure the fidelity of the training.

Refresher Training Reinforces Key De‑escalation Skills

CPI recommends Certified Instructors conduct Refresher Training every 6 to 12 months following initial training of VI, NCI, and/or APS. This frequency helps ensure staff are regularly reminded of the de‑escalation skills that can create a safer work environment for staff and those being served.

To help make the process as simple as possible, our 3^rd Edition Refresher Training products contain customizable lesson plans that give Certified Instructors exactly what they need to reinforce specific training topics with their staff.

Certified Instructors can choose from one of two training delivery formats: classroom-based training or a blended option that combines online lessons with classroom activities. Both formats allow staff to limit their time off the floor while still gaining access to the essential de‑escalation training to keep themselves and others safe. To equip Certified Instructions with the necessary materials to successfully convey learnings, both formats include a Participant Workbook, an Instructor Guide, and a PowerPoint presentation. The blended delivery also features an online course from which participants can earn Continuing Education Units upon completion.

Refresher Training Supports Cross-Departmental Collaboration

When employees across different teams know how to handle conflict effectively, it fosters a culture of collaboration. By equipping staff with de‑escalation skills on a regular basis, they can defuse tensions, leading to smoother interactions among staff. These shared techniques encourage communication and mutual respect.

Both the classroom-only and blended training delivery methods include time for team members in varying roles to work through various scenarios together. Refreshers introduce several new scenarios that are catered to an organization’s specific industry, allowing staff to practice skills they will use in their everyday lives.

Refresher Training Emphasizes the Fidelity of CPI’s Core Programs

CPI’s 3^rd Edition Refresher Training serves as a reinforcement tool by revisiting key concepts, techniques, and protocols taught in the core programs. Refreshers help maintain consistency and fidelity by ensuring Certified Instructors and participants stay up to date on best practices, adapt to changes in policies and procedures, and advance their skills over time. It’s like sharpening the tools in the toolbox to ensure they remain useful and reliable.

When staff regularly review important de‑escalation and violence prevention exercises and reflect on what they’ve learned, it creates a workplace in which everyone can support each other’s safety and well-being.

Certified Instructors whose teams have completed 3^rd Edition VI, NCI, and/or APS training can purchase Refresher Training courses and materials by logging into My Account.

To learn more about how Refresher Training can benefit your organization, feel free to contact us.