Business Continuity During An Age of Disruption-COVID-19 Q&A

Today's business leaders are grappling with the emergence of the worst pandemic since 1918. COVID-19 has turned the globe upside down.

Regardless of the vertical that you are entrusted to protect, today's security & business continuity leaders play a pivotal role in the safety and resiliency of their respective organizations.

What's really interesting and not so surprising is that many organizations are just "winging it" in terms of their security gameplan.

Organizations now realize the impact COVID-19 has had on the strategic goals, strategic mission & objectives of their business.

Here are (10) questions that business leaders should be asking right now:

1. Is this a good business practice? Being prepared or just winging it?

2. Do this makes sense in terms of safeguarding your people, assets & organization brand?

3. How effective and efficient is your business continuity plan-(BCP)?

4. What's your security posture? Are you proactive or reactive?

5. Are you utilizing the following:

CPTED-Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

Risk Assessment

Business Impact Analysis-BIA

Risk Mitigation

Enterprise Risk Management

Stakeholder Collaborations

All-Hazards Approach

Public/Private Partnerships

6. Has your organization instituted a WFM-work from home, remote workforce policy? If so, how is it working?

7. What steps are you taking to foster your employee's career/professional development?

8. What metrics are you utilizing to measure employee productivity: on-site vs remote?

9. Is your data protected from ransomware, phishing, malware attacks, bitcoin, cryptocurrency?

10. How up to date is your crisis communications plan-CCP? Who is your organization's media liaison?

Whether its work from home-WFH, hybrid, and/or on-site, organizations have a duty of care and OSHA safeguards to adhere to at their place of business.

Share your thoughts and experiences about how this pandemic has affected your business.

Thank you. James

The writer of this article, James A. DeMeo has nearly three decades of experience in the security industry and is considered a foremost subject matter expert on event security. Mr. DeMeo is a retired detective from the Nassau County Police Department, Long Island, NY, having served 21 years in law enforcement. 

Mr. DeMeo earned his M.S. degree in sport management from Adelphi University in 2012. He uses his vast industry experience as the Founder, President, and CEO of Unified Sports & Entertainment Security Consulting, LLC (USESC), based in Raleigh, North Carolina. With USESC, Mr. DeMeo's goal is to create intrinsic value for stadium ownership groups by raising the level of professionalism for event staff while reducing employee turnover. Ensuring that staff can connect with fans on a human level enhances an amazing game day experience while emphasizing the benefits of de-escalation and verbal communication skills for a robust security program. 

Mr. DeMeo participated as an integral part of a research team, along with other esteemed professors, for a poster project presented at the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) conference in June 2016 entitled "Professional Sport Security and Marketing Interface: A Delphi Study. Assessing the Influence of Sport Security Operations on the Guest experience: Using the Delphi Method to Understand Practitioner Perspectives." This research was later published in The Journal of Sport Safety at the University of Southern Mississippi.

On September 1, 2017, Mr. DeMeo was recognized by Security Magazine's: The Most Influential People in Security 2017. Mr. DeMeo enjoys serving as a distance learning Adjunct Instructor for Tulane University-School of Professional Advancement & Security Studies Program where he teaches graduate students about Event Security and Risk Assessments. Mr. DeMeo serves as a distance learning Adjunct Instructor for Mercer University-Stetson-Hatcher School of Business where he teaches undergraduate students about Sport Facilities and Risk Assessments. Mr. DeMeo is also the bestselling author of What's Your Plan? A Step by Step Guide to Keep Your Family Safe During Emergency Situations.