Unfortunately, workers aren’t getting the training they need and want. As I mentioned in my last post, 70% of employees say they don’t have mastery of the skills they need to do their jobs. In that post, I also talked about how too many management teams treat employee training as an exercise in box-checking rather than a mechanism to deliver meaningful results. As a result, employees become frustrated, fail to thrive, and ultimately quit. Then, the replacement hires undergo the same superficial, ineffective training, and the cycle continues.

We’ve defined the problem. Now, let’s focus on the solution.

Understanding Learning and Forgetting Curves

Most people are familiar with the concept of a learning curve. It’s a graphical representation of how performance progresses over time as a student learns and practices. Easy-to-master repetitive activities, like data entry, show fast initial gains that quickly level off. More complex tasks have wiggly learning curves, where students progress significantly, then taper off while skills sink in before the curve tics upward again. Management understands that learning curves differ by subject, and some training takes longer before workers reach acceptable proficiency.

Fewer people are familiar with the forgetting curve, but it’s even more important than the learning curve when desigining effective training programs.

The forgetting curve was developed by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, whose experiments over a century ago showed that human memory retention drops quickly and dramatically after learning new information. People forget 50% of what they’ve learned within an hour of training, 75% in six days, and 90% after a month. Therefore, useful training programs require reinforcement of previous lessons as new information is taught. Imagine the futility of trying to learn a foreign language if you only focused on new vocabulary during every class.

In addition, skill reinforcement requires practice and follow-up after the initial training concludes. You may have taken four years of high-school Spanish, but how much did you retain just a few years after graduation if you never spoke it? A one-time class, regardless of its length, will not be effective if the skills taught are not integrated into a worker’s routine and supplemented with refresher courses and new, updated material over time.

Types of On-Going Training

There are several proven approaches that advance learning outcomes. They include:

Physical Exercise: Physical repetition of tasks, building in complexity, reinforces muscle memory so that required actions can be executed more quickly and with less effort.

Successive Learning: Revisiting and practicing tactical skills and procedural protocols over spaced sessions is effective for developing complex skill sets that build upon each other.

Spaced Practice: Studies have shown that frequent short learning sessions are more effective than longer, less frequent sessions. Frequent sessions help transfer knowledge to long-term memory, resulting in superior recall and retention.

Security Industry Application

Ignoring the realities and consequences of the forgetting curve is perilous in the security industry. Employees who don’t remember what was taught may fail to identify, mitigate, or respond to a security threat as their job requires.  

For example, let’s look at video management systems (VMS). At the most basic level, security guards engage with a VMS while sitting at their post, watching a grid of rotating surveillance views. By all accounts, it’s a pretty dull job.

So, what happens when a severe threat arises, like protesters storming the building? The situational awareness derived from VMS is critical to coordinating the security team’s response. Can the guards quickly search for video clips based on specific parameters? Can they export video to share with law enforcement?

The guards may have learned how to use more sophisticated features of the VMS platform, but that was a while ago, and the steps have not been practiced since. Plus, the guards are now under pressure. Even if they recall some of what they learned, their navigation of the VMS menus will be slow, with some trial and error, rather than the seamless operation that comes with muscle memory. With threats coming from multiple directions, how do they make sense of the situation and prioritize action steps? They have little or no practice making crucial judgment calls in stressful emergencies. Imagine how much more confidently they could respond if theses skills had been reinforced through regular training.

Active shooter and de-escalation training also require practice, and reinforcement. You hope your team will rarely need these skill sets, but if they’re not practiced frequently, they’ll get rusty and fail to deliver when most needed. I could mention many other examples, but they all follow this same pattern. Without on-going training, security teams are ill-prepared to deal with crisis.

Training Resources

The most obvious person to train an employee is that employee’s manager, but managers don’t always have the learning and development knowledge and experience to do it effectively. Management training can help those in leadership positions to be better mentors to their subordinates, but teaching specific skills – in depth – may not be the best use of the manager’s time.

Fortunately, training is readily available through professional organizations like ASIS, SIA, PSA, ESA, and others. Certain licensed employees must earn continuing education credits to maintain their status, but all workers benefit when required to keep skills current – and offered educational resources to do so. Eligibility for such training is a perk of professional association membership.

Training is available elsewhere, too. Equipment manufacturers offer certification courses on their technologies. System integrators typically include customer training with the systems they install. Security consultants are staffed with industry experts who can provide customized training courses based on an organization’s specific needs and align that training with broader risk management initiatives.

In short, don’t let the grim statistics on the state of training deter your organization’s efforts to implement an effective L&D program. The reasons that training is often ineffective can be overcome by focusing on how employees learn and why they forget. With repetitive, reinforced learning and continuing education, your security team members will be equipped to perform optimally, even in adverse conditions, using the full range or resources at their disposal.

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Learning to do new things at work makes employees feel a greater sense of purpose, more confident in their abilities, and more connected to their organization. Studies have proven that companies offering comprehensive training programs are 21% more profitable.[1] Those that provide continuous, formalized education have 56% higher employee retention.[2] Training is a win for everyone involved.

A special report from The Economist, “Learning and Earning,” argues that now, more than ever, adults must continue learning throughout their careers or risk getting left behind. Without on-going education, they are ill-prepared to adapt to today’s quickly evolving technologies and the resulting changes to their jobs. However, most companies and organizations fall short of providing the necessary, high-quality training to support this reality.[3]

 A 2019 Harvard Business Review study reported that 75% of managers surveyed were dissatisfied with their company’s Learning and Development (L&D) function, and 70% of employees said they don’t have mastery of the skills needed to do their jobs.[4] It’s not that companies aren’t spending money. Investment in training programs has been on the rise for several years. Globally in 2022, companies spent approximately $381 billion U.S. dollars on L&D. In the U.S. alone, it exceeded $100 billion for the first time.[5]

What gives?

I have some strong opinions on this topic and have plenty of experience as a student and instructor to base them on. During my career, I’ve been through NYPD Police Academy Recruit training, earned a Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate, attended hundreds of hours of In-Service and Leadership Development courses, and thousands of hours of Professional Development Courses. I’ve also spent ample time on the other side of the classroom as an instructor for the NYPD, an adjunct at a local college, a certified Security Guard instructor, and elsewhere. I’ve seen and experienced what works and what doesn’t firsthand.

Ineffective training isn’t a problem that can be solved simply by throwing more money at it. The trouble begins with weak training goals. Sometimes, companies offer employee training simply to check a box and say, “we’ve done that.” In such instances, it’s not surprising that employees aren’t satisfied. The information presented receives no reinforcement and is quickly forgotten. Exposure does not equal learning.

The goal of training programs should be to help workers master and retain the knowledge and skills taught.

With this in mind, some topics can be effectively taught in a single session or multi-session one-time course. In the universe of security and life safety, one-and-done applies to simple, consistent, and linear processes. Students learn, “You do this, and then this, and then this.” How to use a defibrillator or administer CPR fits in this category. It’s helpful to get a refresher periodically, but in a bind, most people can remember simple, linear tasks that they consider important. For example, I’m guessing most of you reading this can recall how you learned to clear Resuscitation Annie’s airway, locate a certain spot on her chest, and begin compressions to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive” – even if it was a long time ago and you haven’t practiced since.

However, most security-related courses cover more complicated, nuanced subjects, where best practices change with technological advancements. These topics require incremental learning, practice, reinforcement, testing, and updates.

Take Active Shooter training. The Run, Hide, Fight protocols are not taught as a progression – to always run first, then hide, and then fight. Potential targets in an active shooter scenario need to learn how to quickly assess a situation and determine how to maximize the probability of saving lives under extreme pressure. They must practice regularly in different hypothetical scenarios to develop confident decision-making and muscle memory. They may also require proficiency using communication systems for collaboration with other team members and first responders, and security technology for tracking and restricting an assailant’s movement within the facility.

Another good example is leadership training. As security practitioners get promoted within their organization, they may land managerial roles requiring new skill sets. Suddenly, they are responsible for setting security policies, motivating team members, and building stakeholder consensus. Even “born” leaders can dramatically improve their job performance through learning and practice of key skills like communication, conflict resolution, team-building, and strategic decision making. Managers who perform poorly in these areas become responsible for dysfunctional workplace cultures and low team morale, ultimately leading to high employee turnover.

Adding to the challenges of security training is the fact that in many settings, individuals responsible for security-related tasks perform those functions on top of their primary jobs. For example, school office administrators often play critical roles when security threats arise. They may have been shown how to institute a lockdown, call up surveillance video, or issue emergency communications. However, given their many daily responsibilities, they are likely to forget how to execute these procedures from a one-time training.

Instruction for complex operations or skillsets is most successful when learning is separated into manageable chunks, programs continually reinforce and build upon acquired skills, and practice is woven into workers’ everyday routines. Developing and delivering this type of training may seem like a heavy lift, but failing to do so results in an unprepared workforce that represents its own type of security threat. In reality, companies can’t afford to NOT have proven, high-quality training programs in place.

What do the most effective security training programs look like and how can any company – including those with limited internal resources – provide them? Be sure to check back for my next blog post when we’ll explore some answers.

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The post Many Companies Have a Training/Learning Disconnect. Here’s Why. appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

As it is within Law Enforcement, low morale is also prevalent in the security industry, particularly among contracted security officers. They rate their job satisfaction in the bottom 7% of careers.[1] The cause-and-effect relationship between low employee morale and an inferior customer experience is well documented. Therefore, part of my job as a security consultant is to help clients create a positive corporate culture. Yes – our primary business is creating safe and secure environments, but even the best security technologies and programs will fail if they are supported by a disgruntled workforce.

Gallup reports that teams with low morale experience 18 to 43% higher turnover. [2] Glassdoor reports a strong statistical link between customer satisfaction and the well-being of the employees delivering those services. Its study concludes that happy workers lead to happy customers.[3] Research by Eagle Hill Consulting found that 64% of U.S. workers say their employee experience impacts their ability to serve customers, with low-morale workers half as likely to deliver quality outcomes.[4]

Security services management may complain about their workers’ lackluster performance, calling in sick, no-shows, and high rates of turnover, but the root of their problem is often not the fault of the employees. It’s dysfunctional management and the environment they’ve created that makes workers feel unappreciated, unempowered, and underpaid. The first two are things companies can easily fix. As for the third, employees are more than 10 times more likely to leave a job due to a toxic culture than salary.[5] If companies can make employees feel appreciated and empowered, they will save money by reducing workforce churn. This, in turn, could free up money to pay higher wages.

So, how do we fix low employee morale among security guards and others hourly workers in the security services sector? Here is a list of suggestions:

1. Train your supervisors on how to be effective leaders. The number one reason employees leave their jobs is because of their supervisor. The CEO of Gallup, Jim Clifton, says it best. “When you name the wrong person supervisor, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits – nothing.”[6]

Promoting from within has a positive impact on workers because they see that there are opportunities for advancement, but those benefits only accrue if you provide associated management training. The skills that make a successful “worker bee” vastly differ from those needed to manage the hive. Yet 82% of people promoted to supervisory roles do not receive any formal training, according to a 2023 study by the Chartered Management Institute.[7]

• Solicit feedback from employees. Encourage them to offer solutions – not just identify problems. Simply being heard immediately makes them feel more valued – even if acting on their suggestions takes time.
  
  
• Make sure supervisors are clear about expectations and don’t criticize their underlings’ every move, especially if there are no written guidelines defining roles and responsibilities. If your organization lacks such guidelines, create them and put them in writing!  

Everyone on your team, from the top down, should make it a habit to offer praise and recognition for jobs well done. When employees know their efforts are appreciated, they are more likely to repeat them. Small gestures go far!

• Make security guards feel like they are part of a team. Keep them informed about news or changes happening at the corporate level.

Companies that contract guard services will find that those officers are more dedicated when they feel like they are part of the organization where they are assigned to work. They appreciate inclusion in workplace events and value privileges like access to the company gym and break room.

• Empower guards so that they can feel pride in their job. Patrolling a predictable route or sitting behind a desk with no power to do anything gets old fast. Provide guards with technology to maintain better situational awareness and tools that alert them to suspicious behavior. When security officers can be strategic and proactive about how they perform their duties, they’ll find their jobs far more exciting and rewarding.

Many of these tactics can be employed by your in-house management team. Corporate culture doesn’t change overnight, but with dedicated efforts, progress will occur.

Hiring a consultant can be instrumental in moving the process along. An outsider’s perspective often pinpoints problems and strategizes solutions more objectively than managers who have skin in the game and egos that bruise. If that’s you, reach out. We may be security consultants, but solving morale issues is essential in running an effective security team. We’re here to help!

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The post Don’t Let Low Employee Morale Get You Down. Instead, Fix It! appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

For years, AX – formally known as Anime Con – earned the unfortunate nickname of “line-con” due to massive crowds that formed just to gain entrance, which meant headaches for security and operations staff.

Thanks to a unique combination of weapons screening technology, guard and canine services, and temporary security technology – all coordinated by security firm ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ – AX 2022 was a rousing success. The project has been named has been named as an honorable mention in the 2022 Security Vanguard Awards from SecurityInfoWatch, Security Business magazine and Security Technology Executive (STE) magazine.

The Crowd Control Challenge
Based on turnstiles at the entrances, more than 110,000 people attended the Anime Expo over the three days at multiple venues, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, Novo (an indoor club), and the Microsoft Theater.

Efficient screening was the first challenge for Michael Grossman, a senior advisor at New York City-based ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´
Photo: Anime Expo
A carefully crafted screening strategy helped was part of a successful crowd control effort at the 2022 Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
A carefully crafted screening strategy helped was part of a successful crowd control effort at the 2022 Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
Consulting, who was responsible for all security planning and operations, including the preparation of a comprehensive operations plan and the management of the overall on- site security operations.

A massive crowd is one thing, but the vast majority of these attendees came to the AX venues in full costumes – many including imitation weapons. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the event organizer, also required COVID-19 checkpoints.

“We were getting people into the buildings, but the crowding on the outside [creates] a soft target,” explains Matthew Thomas, SPJA’s senior director of operations.

Thankfully, Grossman and the ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ team came up with a multi-faceted solution, combining high-throughput weapons screening technology with good, old-fashioned security officers – provided by Ayvar Security, JRM Security and Executive Event Services – and canine teams from MSA Security Services, a division of Allied Universal. Additionally, RFID badging implemented at the show helped with counting attendees and protected against people getting in without the proper credentials.

“It is not all high-tech, but when you use all those things to your advantage and integrate their use, that makes a system more efficient and there are a lot fewer problems,” Grossman says.

As for the technology aspect of the crowd control technology, Thomas and Grossman zeroed in on the Evolv Express, a high-throughput walk-through weapons screening system that uses digital sensors and artificial intelligence to spot concealed weapons and other threats.

The company claims a unit can screen 4,000 people per hour, and that the technology has been successfully used at stadiums, theme parks, hospitals, schools and other busy venues. Ideally, the technology is accurate enough that people are not required to stop, empty their pockets or remove bags as they are screened.

2022 was the first year that AX used the screening technology, and Thomas – who held previous security operations roles at Universal Studios and Westfield malls – says it enhanced the throughput of patrons from 55 people per hour to 300 people per hour at each entry point.

“Honestly, I think it was a little too quick, and we slowed that down on site just to be very thorough,” Thomas admits. “That was due to my thinking that it is impossible. I am used to the metal detector going off on every belt buckle.”

Achieving Situational Awareness
Grossman – who retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2013 as chief of the Homeland Security Division and later served as SVP of U.S. National Security for Westfield Corp., where he oversaw security operations for 32 malls across the nation – assembled a security command center at AX that coordinated the activities of all security and life safety agencies, including convention center security and private contractors, Los Angeles Police Department, and many others.

Through the assistance of Las Vegas-based Unified Command, a temporary surveillance system was also deployed, with cameras placed at strategic locations to maintain situational awareness at key points throughout the venue. The temporary system focused on areas outside the venues, since the buildings had their own cameras.

“We were working with the existing Convention Center security with their technology and adding on our technology to compliment,” Thomas says. “That really helps us get good angles to manage crowds and respond to certain things from the [security monitoring] perspective.”

Those working in the Unified Command post could monitor cameras, zoom in on nearly any area or focus on certain cameras. “They know exactly the things that need to be seen and where to put cameras,” Grossman says, adding that the command post at AX was similar to one that he might set up for a large wildfire or other major event.

“You have representatives from all the agencies that do security or emergency response in the same room and monitor for 24 hours a day through the entire event,” he explains. “If you don’t have adequate planning, and documented planning, a clear organizational chart, clear lines of communication, and contingency plans, [if] something comes up, it is pretty tough to manage,” Grossman says.

In reviewing the successful AX 2022 security operations, Thomas says “the secret sauce is there right now” to maintain an effective security program for AX in the future. As for similar events, he implores event security managers to take advantage of all the technology and tools available, even if the cost is hard to swallow.

“All it could take is one situation, and you no longer have an event anymore,” Thomas says. “I like spending a bunch of money on security…because [it means] we’ve done the most that we can to protect everybody.”

John Dobberstein is managing editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com.

Project Overview: Anime Expo

Project submitted by: ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´

Weapons Screening: Evolv Technology

Temporary Surveillance System: Unified Command

Video Management System: Milestone

Guard Services: Ayvar Security, JRM Security and Executive Event Services

Canine Services: MSA Security Services

This article is part of the annual Security Vanguard Awards, presented by SecurityInfoWatch.com, Security Business magazine and Security Technology Executive (STE) magazine. Learn more about the Vanguard and its many winners over the years at www.securityinfowatch.com/vanguard.

Article Link – https://www.securityinfowatch.com/security-executives/article/21284746/keeping-350k-anime-expo-attendees-safe

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