The 2020 Security 500 Report
Our annual Top 10 Trends, as identified by Security 500 members, include:
- COVID-19 Pandemic
- Business Continuity and Business Resilience
- Cybersecurity
- Telecommuting and Remote Work
- Budget
- Insider Threat
- Executive and Employee Travel
- Staffing and Training
- Theft
- 10.Security Technology
Honorable mentions include Intellectual Property and Privacy/Regulations.
Additional details on the Top 10 trends will be unveiled in a webinar later this month. For more information on the Security 500 webinar, visit https://www.securitymagazine.com/events.
We are also excited to provide data on security budgets – 73% of Security 500 respondents reported budget increases from 2019. Additional data includes where Security 500 members report into within their enterprises; and the use of a security metrics program that defines productivity, value creation and cost avoidance; and whether there is a charter or policy/policies within the enterprise that clearly define(s) the role/authority of security.
Some of the successes, technology and strategies/philosophy changes that enterprise security executives expect to implement in the coming year are included here as well.
What was your security organization’s greatest achievement in 2019 and 2020, to date?
- Embarked on a multi-year, multi-facet, multi-organization, security transformation initiative with 22 new projects and five new programs that will transform our digital future and position us for a more efficient, effective and secure environment.
- Established a global, integrated governance and risk framework/program structure that aligns cross-functional stakeholders to manage enterprise security initiatives.
- Implemented a cyber and fraud incident orchestration, automation and response solution that enables us to gather data and security alerts from different sources. This helps us to conduct threat analysis and define remediation processes by utilizing our resources to more efficiently and effectively define, prioritize and drive incident response processes.
- Implemented a new Workplace Violence Prevention training program to manage training for security, clinical, medical and support staff throughout the organization. We fully certified staff working in our Dispatch Center as Emergency Telecommunications Dispatchers through APCO International to ensure that 100 percent of staff are fully competent and trained to handle high-stress emergency calls in potential large volumes.
- Returning to a proprietary security organization for our uniformed security force on-site after six years of contract security organizations. That new model gave us the ability to pay officers more and make them stakeholders in the operations, and gave us the opportunity to cross train new employees.
- Increasing physical security controls at three major class A office locations through implementation of optical turnstile lanes.
- Implemented a Strategic Performance Management Program with LEAN principals. The application of this process has eliminated waste and created significant efficiencies across the program, along with assigning accountability for every individual assigned. This has empowered the workforce, provided specific direction regarding the strategy and eliminated all communication deficiencies. The program was recognized and awarded by the CEO.
- Restructure of the department to add Business Continuity Management and the Global Security Operations Center under one organization and leader.
- Partnered with District Attorney, Employee Assistance, Fire Department, Police and Sheriff’s departments to improve building security for employees through education and awareness. Our comprehensive training curriculum geared towards specific workplace risks, continues to gain momentum. Well-trained employees are our greatest assets. In addition, the mandatory workplace security training program trains approximately 9,000 employees every two years.
- Have detected and responded successfully to more than 12 million incidents.
- Implemented a proactive risk mitigation intelligence program for executives, enabling our team to put executives into a defensible position.
- Adoption of continuous workforce monitoring as part of our Enterprise Security Risk Management Program.
- For our security organization, there is no greater achievement than saving a life. We offer Hands-Only CPR training to all employees across our enterprise. Over the past year, three of our Hands-Only CPR students saved three lives using CPR.
- We created a Shrink Control Program that helped our company achieve its internal goals for the first time in several years. The program reduced internal shrinkage/loss by more than $2 million.
- Internal customer service survey scores for security department performance rose. Security took over all property related handling (valuables, lost and found, contraband) and have increased item return rate to owners by 18 percent.
- Our Global Security organization detected and disrupted a complex financial fraud matter that protected the integrity of a business that generates approximately $1.1 billion in annual revenue. As part of our investigation, the Global Security team proactively identified a serious, previously unknown technical vulnerability in the company's proprietary technology that is a business core process. The Security team also provided technical guidance that was adopted and implemented in the nationwide remediation. The Global Security team was commended by the Board for having successfully identifying and investigating material fraud in the company’s overseas operations.
- A drop in workplace violence incidents, a reduction in criminal activity on our campuses and approval of organizational structure that added three Captains to oversee six community hospitals.
- Responded to more than 4,000 calls for the year and maintained an average response time of less than two minutes (from call to arrival on scene).
- The installation of in-car cameras in all marked police vehicles and the implementation of body-worn cameras and a new property control system.
- Designed and instituted a global requirement/program for the proof of background checking on contractors who are unescorted in our facilities.
- Piloted a program with the city fire department to respond to low acuity medical issues for students. This first of its kind public-private partnership provides a municipal paramedic and EMT and SUV at high response times, for quick medical assessment and transport for low acuity student patients, as no cost to the student. This has reduced the stress on the city ambulance system, which operates at 100-percent capacity at all times, and reduces student’s fear of receiving an ambulance bill.
- Obtained funding to replace security equipment throughout the corporation to ensure all devices are cyber secure.
- Implemented a specialized Security Educator position that dramatically increased the department’s ability to perform internal and external training on areas related to security. The new employee has provided training for Armed Aggressor, Workplace Safety, Illicit Drug Detection and Identification and Trauma Informed Care for more than 5,000 employees.
What strategy/philosophy changes do you expect to implement for the rest of 2020 and in 2021?
- We have implemented Implicit Bias training for all police personnel. We have created a new website specifically related to transparency to the public, and we have begun reporting Use of Force to the FBI. Fortunately, the Police Department has not had to report any actual Use of Force incidents to the FBI, so each month we have reported "0" incidents.
- Continued integration of 21st Century Policing Pillars into our existing community-based, guardian-style of policing.
- We are developing a Community Services division within Public Safety to serve victims of crime, partner with police in responding to and handling cases and to serve as a learning laboratory for master’s level students interested in careers in crisis work.
- Develop a long-term strategic approach to reduce workplace violence incidents within the healthcare setting. We plan to implement this through additional training for all staff in the organization as well as a robust threat assessment process.
- A continued focus on adaptability to meet and proactively adapt to the ever-changing threats, risks, vulnerability within our current and evolving internal and external environments.
- Enterprise wide roll-out of physical security standards to get to “green” on compliance gaps and continuous evaluation.
- Increased physical security training for all employees and empowerment of all employees into the physical security methodologies.
- We plan on taking advantage of our current school safety audit and hope to obtain valuable information on things we are doing right and areas we can make improvements. Also, we hope to evaluate and identify additional new technology tools that are now available that will assist with raising the level of safety for our schools.
- Increased focus on visitor management, emergency planning and continuity of operations training. Goal is to increase awareness of emergency and continuity of operations planning while considering the lessons learned from our organizational reaction to COVID-19.
- We are developing a Community Services division within Public Safety to serve victims of crime, to partner with police in responding to and handling cases and to serve as a learning laboratory for master’s level students interested in careers in crisis work.
- Begin to ramp up and prepare for health screenings as guests return to our venues. Prepare to manage a healthy and safe workspace and venue space for all stakeholders upon reopening.
- Current worldwide circumstances continue to necessitate increased concentration on providing support and resources for COVID-19 response and recovery, while continuing to support our daily mission of protecting our employees, patients, visitors and facilities.
- Adapt. While still in our COVID-19 response, we had to deal with civil disturbances in our local area. Our external space was shut down to everyone except essential workers.
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