What about Security? Keeping your Organization Safe in the Next Phases of the Pandemic Crisis

As we gradually evolve back to work and a new phase of "normal," there is much that is still unknown as to how it will all play out and what our future holds. The severity and scope of this crisis is unique in our lifetimes. There are some certainties, though, including that this won't be easy, we won't recover overnight, we'll need to be more innovative than ever and teamwork and strong leadership have never been more important. Unfortunately, we also will face negative certainties such as our organizations and people will long be financially challenged, mental health stressors have never been more prevalent, domestic strife and violence spill-over will increase, there will be resentment by some against organizations and managers for real or perceived offenses, marketable and otherwise useful materials will face heightened theft risks, police and other emergency responders will be impossibly stretched, and some will express racism and conspiracy theories through threats and violence.

We appropriately will be making a substantial commitment to and investment in the health and safety of all who will enter our facilities including sanitation and disinfection efforts, health and temperature screening, enforcing distancing, testing, tracking, etc.

But what about your security and workplace violence programs?  It's easy and not uncommon to consider security and other support services as "non-productive" and among the first to be cut when budgets are stretched. While it may be appropriate to mandate temporary budget reductions of all departments, care must be taken not to throw out the the baby with the bath water. While, in a broad sense, safety addresses the prevention of accidental harm, security addresses the prevention of purposeful harm and our organizations undoubtedly will be facing purposeful thefts, threats and even violence and it will behoove us to be reasonably prepared.

So, how do we know whether our security program is cost effectively addressing our present and potential risks and vulnerabilities?  Will your people still feel safe? Where can we cut, if at all?  I suggest the following considerations:

·     Culture  Check the "About Us" page on your organization's website and you'll likely see a statement of your values and mission using terms like respectful, quality, safe, welcoming, accountable, collaborative, compassionate and dignity. While violence can happen anywhere, I find that a respectful and civil workplace is more often a safer workplace. There has never been a better opportunity to use your values as a foundation to inspire your people and build a  safe environment for all. Managing by the Golden Rule should be a mantra today. Your security program should play a leading role in supporting and reflecting that culture.

·     Assess  What are your current related risks and vulnerabilities? How could you and your people be compromised and harmed? How will your risks and vulnerabilities change and evolve during and after this crisis? How will you know? What parts of your security program could be cut and which will be even more essential? This is a particularly critical time to assess your security and workplace violence programs using in-house or contract experts, even if done virtually at this time. The assessment will provide a foundation upon which to build, will help protect against liability exposures and will show your people that you care about them and their welfare. 

·     Measure  Hopefully your security department is measuring its performance which will help demonstrate its value. It will help much to be able to show declines in losses or incidents, calls for assistance, escorts performed, accidents investigated, call response times, alarms responded to, responses to emergencies, tours completed, etc. Likewise, employee attitude surveys will reveal whether your people feel safe at work and whether more needs to be done.  

·        Workplace Violence  All people in your facilities, including employees, contractors, visitors, customers, residents, patients and anyone else who may be on your property or business could be victims or perpetrators of threats and violence. Will you be able to identify and mitigate indicators of potential violence? How can you plan for safely managing potentially triggering events such as terminations, furloughs and lay-offs? Will your people raise concerns to you about domestic violence? Do your people trust you enough and know how and why to report early indicators of violence and other concerns? Does your workplace violence program include the essential components of prevention, mitigation/threat management, response and recovery?  Businesses are more often implementing safe rooms/shelters, enhanced internal communications capabilities and incident command, threat management/assessment teams and staff training.      

·        Awareness  Every one of our employees must know they are essential and active members of the Security and Safety Team. The most powerful, least costly and often most neglected security and safety measure of all is fostering a strong sense of awareness, ownership, involvement, engagement and protectiveness by all employees. Now, more than ever, as employees return they should understand their safety and security duties.

·        Training  One of the first and most critical responsibilities of organizations during the return to work will be training all staff on safety responsibilities such as sanitary and distancing responsibilities.  Added to that should be especially front-line staff training on the duty to report, recognizing potential violence, de-escalation and conflict resolution, and responsibilities during violence and other emergencies. A thought: the down time before employees return to the workplace could be leveraged by providing mandatory virtual safety and security training during that period.      

·        Frontline "Gatekeepers"  During normal times, and even more now, often the most vulnerable employees are those who most directly work with the public - the front-line. Those employees could include receptionists, greeters, sales clerks, cashiers, admissions/registration staff, desk clerks, security officers, etc. These will be the first employees encountered by members of the public who, for various reasons, could be angry, vengeful, impaired and/or bent on committing violence. Steps taken to protect such employees can include training, duress alarms and other communications tools, video monitoring, safe escape routes, safe rooms/shelters, etc.      

·         Security Officers  Security officers can be the most costly, visible and sometimes problematic component of a security program. Therefore, cutting security staffing can appear to be the quickest way to reduce costs. To be fair, it's not unusual for me to see security officer posts or functions placed years or decades ago and not so relevant now. It is also not unusual for security officers to collect non-security tasks or errands over the years that may dilute their security effectiveness. Take care not to use existing security officers for the new safety duties like conducting safety scans at entry and monitoring distancing and unwittingly exposing other areas.  Again, a review of their posts, numbers and functions against measurable data and changing needs and risks can help make the best decisions.

·        Facility Design  I have long held, especially in healthcare, that the fewer public entrances the better and ideally the public should be "funneled" past a greeting function. Now it will be even more important to funnel persons past a screening post. Employees might enter through card reader-controlled doors so as not to dilute the effectiveness of the screening and greeting spaces. As facilities are planned or remodeled, consideration should be given to how persons entering can be greeted and screened, how front line staff can be physically protected and where people can go for shelter. The "new normal" will undoubtedly drive substantial changes in facility designs.

·        Technology  Today's new and evolving security and safety technology can cost effectively expand and enhance security and safety functions. Some combination of video, electronic access control, various alarm, personnel tracking and communications systems that ideally are centrally monitored can go far toward supporting safety and security efforts even at remote facilities. Video analytics and thermal cameras could help with screening temperatures and monitoring distancing.  

Historically, major societal crises like wars and 9/11 have, in the long term, made us stronger and so will this. At the moment it looks bleak and daunting but together we will be better. We can't do too much to protect each other.

Richard Sem, CPP of Sem Security Management has over 40 years’ security and violence management experience. He serves clients across North America in almost every state performing comprehensive security and violence management assessments, targeted assessments (of Security Department/Program, Workplace Violence Program, Accessibility, Outlying Facilities, critical departments, etc.), development of related policies and plans, assistance with planning and expert witness service.

Please call or write if you have questions, would like to discuss an issue or concern, or would like a proposal from us.  

Dick Sem, CPP – Sem Security Management        [email protected]          262-862-6786