One in seven employees don’t feel safe, and neither they nor human resources know how to respond to a violent incident, a Society for Human Resource Management survey finds.

Nearly half of HR professionals said their organizations had at one point experienced a workplace violence incident at some level – up from 36% in 2012. Of those who reported having experienced workplace violence, more than half said their organization had experienced an incident in the last year.

“Companies and HR should and must do more to make employees feel safe at work,” said SHRM president Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. “This data shows we have a lot of work to do in terms of security, prevention, training and response.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to workplace violence in this country, SHRM finds that nearly one-third of American employees and nearly one out of five HR professionals are currently unsure or don’t know what to do if they witness or are involved in a violent incident in the workplace.

“The goal for employers is making your workplace a ‘difficult’ target for violent offenders and being prepared to react quickly,” Taylor explains. “If you make the investment in security and preparation, your employees will feel safer and respect you for valuing their safety.”

Taylor stresses that workers feel safer when employers provide prevention and response training. Another benefit is that more employees know how to react to an incident when after violence prevention and response training.

He says, “Preparing and providing employees with hands-on training helps empower them to react and take action in the event of a worst-case scenario.”