TRAINING BUILT FROM REAL EXPERIENCE
Training is delivered by John Woodward, drawing on 14 years of service with New Zealand Police and extensive experience in high-pressure operational environments.
John's background includes service with the Armed Offenders Squad, qualification as a Police Protection Officer, negotiation, operational training and emergency medical training. He is also a recipient of a New Zealand Police Bravery Award.
Today, John combines that operational background with extensive experience in leadership, workplace training, health and safety, transport operations and SOP development to help organisations better prepare their people for situations that don't always go to plan.
This isn't about teaching people to confront danger.
It's about awareness, communication, preparation and giving people the tools to make good decisions under pressure.
OUR SERVICES
Conflict & De-escalation • Managing Aggressive Customers • Frontline Personal Safety • Lone Worker Safety • Robbery Prevention & Response • Armed Threat Preparedness • Critical Incident Readiness • Workplace Safety & Threat Reviews • Scenario-Based Exercises
Explore the services below to find the right training or support for your workplace.
Armed Threat Preparedness
Preparing people for an event nobody wants to experience.
While armed and active-threat incidents are uncommon, organisations need to consider how their people would respond if one occurred.
This programme focuses on preparedness, survival and emergency response — not confronting an offender.
Training covers recognising a serious threat, immediate protective actions, escape and sheltering considerations, raising the alarm, contacting emergency services, staff and visitor accountability, decision-making under extreme pressure and what employees may experience when Police arrive.
Training can also incorporate controlled scenario exercises to test existing emergency procedures.
Robbery Prevention & Response
People first. Property second.
Robbery is an extremely stressful event where staff may have only seconds to make decisions.
This programme helps employees understand how to reduce unnecessary risk, what their priorities should be during a robbery and what to do immediately afterwards.
Training can include situational awareness, suspicious behaviour, personal safety, avoiding unnecessary confrontation, raising the alarm when safe, post-incident actions, supporting affected staff, preserving useful information for Police and incident reporting.
Drive It can also undertake a Robbery & Workplace Security Review of your workplace, procedures and staff preparedness.
Frontline Personal Safety
Awareness. Decisions. Safety.
Designed for people who regularly work with the public, enter unfamiliar environments or deal with unpredictable situations.
Training focuses on developing situational awareness and helping people recognise when circumstances are beginning to change.
Participants learn about behavioural warning signs, environmental awareness, personal space and positioning, maintaining exit options, dynamic risk assessment, communication under pressure and safe disengagement.
The objective isn't confrontation.
It's recognising problems earlier and making safer decisions.
Conflict & De-escalation Training
Recognise it early. Communicate effectively. Prevent escalation.
Practical training for people who may encounter conflict, aggression or challenging behaviour at work.
Participants learn how to recognise early warning signs, understand escalating behaviour, communicate effectively under pressure, maintain appropriate boundaries and use practical de-escalation techniques.
The programme also covers situational awareness, personal space and positioning, dynamic risk assessment, safe disengagement, when to seek assistance and what to do following an incident.
Available as a 90-minute session, half-day workshop or tailored workplace programme.
Tailored Workplace Training
Your risks. Your people. Your programme.
Not every workplace faces the same challenges.
Drive It can combine elements from our conflict, personal safety, lone-worker, robbery, critical incident and leadership programmes to develop training around the situations your people actually encounter.
We can also combine training with workplace reviews, SOP development, emergency procedures and health and safety support to provide a complete solution rather than simply delivering a course.
Lone Worker & Field Safety
When people work alone, good systems matter.
Lone and remote workers can face risks that aren't always present in a traditional workplace.
Drive It provides practical training alongside reviews of an organisation's existing lone-worker procedures and systems.
This can include check-in and check-out processes, communication, escalation procedures, pre-visit planning, working in unfamiliar environments, after-hours work, personal safety, emergency response and incident reporting.
We can also help develop or improve the SOPs and procedures supporting your lone workers.
Critical Incident Readiness
When an everyday situation suddenly becomes an extraordinary one.
Serious incidents put pressure on people, leaders and systems.
This programme helps organisations prepare for situations where time is limited, information may be incomplete and good decisions matter.
Training can cover immediate priorities, leadership under pressure, communication, allocating responsibilities, staff accountability, emergency services liaison, medical considerations, recovery and post-incident debriefing.
Suitable for both frontline teams and organisational leaders.
Workplace Safety & Threat Reviews
An experienced set of eyes on your people, workplace and systems.
Drive It can undertake a practical review of how prepared your organisation is for conflict, aggression and other serious workplace incidents.
Reviews can examine physical layout, public access, customer-facing areas, previous incidents, lone-worker arrangements, staff procedures, emergency communications, escalation pathways, robbery and armed-threat preparedness, existing SOPs and staff training.
You'll receive practical recommendations covering:
What's working | Areas of concern | Immediate actions | Longer-term improvements | Training requirements