Security Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Security Magazine logo
  • NEWS
    • Security Newswire
    • Technologies & Solutions
  • MANAGEMENT
    • Leadership Management
    • Enterprise Services
    • Security Education & Training
    • Logical Security
    • Security & Business Resilience
    • Profiles in Excellence
  • PHYSICAL
    • Access Management
    • Fire & Life Safety
    • Identity Management
    • Physical Security
    • Video Surveillance
    • Case Studies (Physical)
  • CYBER
    • Cybersecurity News
    • More
  • BLOG
  • COLUMNS
    • Cyber Tactics
    • Leadership & Management
    • Security Talk
    • Career Intelligence
    • Leader to Leader
    • Cybersecurity Education & Training
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Annual Guarding Report
    • Most Influential People in Security
    • The Security Benchmark Report
    • The Security Leadership Issue
    • Top Guard and Security Officer Companies
    • Top Cybersecurity Leaders
    • Women in Security
  • SECTORS
    • Arenas / Stadiums / Leagues / Entertainment
    • Banking/Finance/Insurance
    • Construction, Real Estate, Property Management
    • Education: K-12
    • Education: University
    • Government: Federal, State and Local
    • Hospitality & Casinos
    • Hospitals & Medical Centers
    • Infrastructure:Electric,Gas & Water
    • Ports: Sea, Land, & Air
    • Retail/Restaurants/Convenience
    • Transportation/Logistics/Supply Chain/Distribution/ Warehousing
  • EVENTS
    • Industry Events
    • Webinars
    • Solutions by Sector
    • Security 500 Conference
  • MEDIA
    • Videos
      • Cybersecurity & Geopolitical Discussion
      • Ask Me Anything (AMA) Series
    • Podcasts
    • Polls
    • Photo Galleries
  • MORE
    • Call for Entries
    • Classifieds & Job Listings
    • Continuing Education
    • Newsletter
    • Sponsor Insights
    • Store
    • White Papers
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • This Month's Content
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Security Enterprise Services

Sponsored Content

Experiencing budget cuts related to COVID-19? Optimize your security officer program - Part ll

Part ll: Achieving Process Alignment

InfoCenter-Security Officer Optimization Series-Part 2
May 11, 2021

It’s more crucial than ever for leaders to apply strategic energy

Having established the importance of a strategic alignment initiative, organizations must recognize the need for level-setting expectations with senior leaders and stakeholders, and the necessity of distilling a clear picture of exact business needs, organizational risks and cultural expectations.

Like many areas, security officer programs can evolve and expand organically as various needs are realized and other duties as assigned continue to grow. During this pandemic era, when dollars are stretched to their maximum, it is more crucial than ever for leaders to apply strategic energy in optimizing security officer programs.

Katherine-Anne-1-219x300-copy

 

Aligning with your values and mission

The second part of optimizing your security program is aligning effort around your values and mission. For example, measure where your security officers and other roles are spending their energy. As an early step, granular analytics may not be that useful. Talk with staff in other areas on operations (Ops), facilities, or building and engineering (B&E) to determine if there are potential gaps or areas of overlap in duties. For example, are B&E engineers checking areas for drips, leaks, or spills? Shifting that responsibility to security officer roves or installing water-detection sensors may be a more cost-effective choice. Likewise, are security officers expected to cover responsibilities outside their duties for which they may not be fully trained or comfortable? Employees and guests may not be aware of security officers’ assigned responsibilities and expect them to do more. Asking these probing questions may reveal interesting opportunities.

Certain non-critical or less critical services may need to be shifted to a more self-service model during these times of reduced budgets. Employees may need to be encouraged to more fully utilize available tools, such as online reporting, work-order interfaces, and guests may need to switch to self-service check-in kiosks to connect with their hosts. Security officer services require considerable annual investment and their time should be treated as valuable.

 

Evaluating skill levels for more efficient operations

Security officers may come with a range of skills and comfort levels for various tasks. Are all your officers equally capable of performing required tasks, or do some tasks fall to the same officers repeatedly? As an example, are all officers able to extract and share camera footage with first responders? Or would first responders need to wait for the day shift to provide that data? Evaluating your officers’ skill levels may reveal opportunities for additional training so that all tasks can be spread evenly among the team.

Finally, in some cases it may make sense to outsource certain duties or provide remote options. Remote service options may include contracting for concierge or monitoring programs, or simply enabling a single concierge to serve multiple buildings via computer interface. Focus your on-the-ground capabilities to the needs that truly require in-person presence.

KEYWORDS: budget cuts COVID-19 response physical security

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
To unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024

    Security magazine's Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2024 award...
    Cybersecurity
    By: Security Staff
  • cyber brain

    The intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable cybersecurity...
    Cyber Tactics Column
    By: Pam Nigro
  • artificial intelligence AI graphic

    Assessing the pros and cons of AI for cybersecurity

    Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant implications...
    Cybersecurity
    By: Charles Denyer
Manage My Account
  • Security eNewsletter & Other eNews Alerts
  • eMagazine Subscriptions
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Online Registration
  • Mobile App
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Security audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Security or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Crisis Response Team
    Sponsored byEverbridge

    Automate or Fall Behind – Crisis Response at the Speed of Risk

  • Perimeter security
    Sponsored byAMAROK

    Why Property Security is the New Competitive Advantage

Popular Stories

Coding

AI Emerges as the Top Concern for Security Leaders

Half open laptop

“Luigi Was Right”: A Look at the Website Sharing Data on More Than 1,000 Executives

Shopping mall

Victoria’s Secret Security Incident Shuts Down Website

Laptop with coding on ground

Stepping Into the Light: Why CISOs Are Replacing Black-Box Security With Open-Source XDR

Gift cards and credit cards

Why Are Cyberattacks Targeting Retail? Experts Share Their Thoughts

2025 Security Benchmark banner

Events

July 17, 2025

Tech in the Jungle: Leveraging Surveillance, Access Control, and Technology in Unique Environments

From animal habitats to bustling crowds of visitors, a zoo is a one-of-a-kind environment for deploying modern security technologies.

August 27, 2025

Risk Mitigation as a Competitive Edge

In today’s volatile environment, a robust risk management strategy isn’t just a requirement—it’s a foundation for organizational resilience. From cyber threats to climate disruptions, the ability to anticipate, withstand, and adapt to disruption is becoming a hallmark of industry leaders.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

Security Culture: A How-to Guide for Improving Security Culture and Dealing with People Risk in Your Organisation

See More Products
×

Sign-up to receive top management & result-driven techniques in the industry.

Join over 20,000+ industry leaders who receive our premium content.

SIGN UP TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing