Security management is a complex and demanding profession requiring practitioners to possess a wide array of specialized knowledge and skills. Organizations today are placing greater reliance on the security function and the value that the profession adds to the overall business plan. However, the expected growth of this dynamic field will necessitate that organizations compete for qualified staff well into the future.

Consequently, the link between security management and the various human resource functions will become increasingly important.

Human resource functions include planning – Looking at the organization’s short and long-term requirements and using job analysis to determine:

• Duties of the job
• Purpose of the job
• Skills, knowledge, and abilities required for the job
• Staffing: The recruitment and selection of appropriate candidates.
• Appraising
• Designing performance appraisals
• Compensating performance
• Training and development
• Improving employee performance
• Improving the work environment
• Factors affecting the quality of work life and productivity
• Improving the physical environment (ergonomics)
• Health and safety in keeping with OSHA regulations
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships
• Recognizing employee rights
• Bargaining and settling grievances
• Examining the effects of discharges, layoffs and demotions on employees

Getting, Holding Right People

Fortunately, there has been a great deal of interest in human resource management in recent years. This is mainly due to organizations realizing that, in general, success depends primarily on the combined skills, talents and achievements of their employees. This comes at a time when many organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to attract, train, retain and motivate competent staff in order to achieve long-term goals and objectives. Clearly, this is a major concern since it is anticipated that the globalization of markets, continued technological advances and the accelerated rate of change will lead to a more uncertain business environment.

As a result of these strategic factors, security organizations today must take steps to ensure that they will have the right people, at the right time, at the right place and at the right price, to achieve competitive success. This will require that greater emphasis be placed on human resource management to improve both organizational and individual performance. However, to accomplish this, the various human resource functions must be viewed as an investment rather than an expense.

This is an important consideration since a greater emphasis on human resource management can serve to:

• Reduce personnel costs
• Further develop employees
• Improve overall organizational planning
• Provide opportunities for minorities
• Provide effective tools for performance evaluations
• Improve productivity and the quality of worklife in compliance with the law

In summary, integrating human resource planning into the overall organizational planning process can help security organizations to meet present and future challenges. This is important in light of increased competition, changes in the workforce, rapid technological advances, as well as other equally important pressures. Consequently, in the final analysis, many organizations may well find that the difference between success and failure was the investment that they made in people assets today.

About the Source

The International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO), established as a non-profit organization in 1988, aims at facilitating the training and certification needs of protection officers and security supervisors from both the commercial and proprietary sectors. IFPO developed a number of comprehensive distance delivery styled courses; the Entry Level Protection Officer, the Basic Protection Officer, the Certified Protection Officer program, the Security Supervision and Management program and the Certified in Security Supervision and Management program. All programs are designed to be completed through a self-paced schedule of home study. The Foundation publishes a quarterly newsletter, “Protection News.” More details are available at www.ifpo.org.