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.

The post Unlocking Success in Security L&D Programs 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!

[1] .

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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

If you are considering this as a provider or an end-user, you will need to look beyond the sales pitch to see the true value – and the drawbacks – of this technology trend.

At first pass, the “aaS” model can be very annoying to me as a consumer. I used to go into a store or browse online at the software available and buy it outright. If I elected to upgrade to a newer version in the future I could, but my hand was seldom forced, and the power was all mine.

Now, you are hard-pressed to find a software platform that is not offered in some type of subscription or SaaS model, and this trend is moving from the software world to hardware, systems and services. It is like you cannot “buy” anymore, only rent, but is this all bad?

The Pros and Cons
Understanding some of the pros and cons of this trend can help you understand its value, both to yourself individually and to an overall organization. While there are many aspects of the “aaS” sales model, here are five considerations you should evaluate prior to making the commitment – keeping in mind that one person’s pro may be another person’s con. Thus, consider these points under your own application and circumstances.

1. Limits expensive server hardware: When using platforms like Ava Security, Brivo, OpenEye, IronYun, etc. certain configurations of these services can be cloud-based. This can reduce or eliminate the need for on-premises servers, which are costly and have a limited lifespan.

If your customer is considering a traditional deployment of security technology, they need to consider that the servers installed on premises will come at a high cost and will need to be replaced in 5-8 years. They will also need to consider that they will likely need a Software Service Agreement (SSA) and a preventive maintenance contract to keep the system updated with patches, fixes and version releases. With an “aaS” model, all of this is included.

2. CapEx vs OpEx: While evaluating “aaS” options, take into consideration how the customer will buy the technology. Many construction projects have deeper CapEx budgets to allow for the initial procurement and installation of expensive security technology; however, buying “aaS” typically gets expensed through OpEx budgets and is a recurring monthly or annual expense – which can be more highly scrutinized. Having a thorough understanding of how “aaS” is funded and working out the details with the end-user’s finance department is critical to resolving push-back regardless of what solution is up for consideration.
3. Critical facilities, SOCs and uptime requirements: For facilities that operate in a critical capacity and have an on-site SOC, GSOC, or other real-time point of aggregating security information, close attention to “aaS” features are mandatory. Most “aaS” offerings have some or all features that are entirely dependent on outbound network connectivity; therefore, if the network fails, the security operation loses the ability to access and use the “aaS” product.

When evaluating “aaS,” ask your customer very pointed and hard questions about what services operate and if there are critical services that will not work in the event that outbound network connectivity is severed.

4. Bandwidth and network: The “aaS” sales pitch is typically a good one when it is well-perfected and delivered, but there are some downsides to consider, and integrators will need the end-user’s IT department or a non-biased third party like a consultant to help navigate the sales pitch and dig into the tech requirements of the network.

Having 10, 50, 100, or 1000 cameras at a facility that are going to a cloud-based “aaS” will have big implications on network architecture and bandwidth. Be sure this is fully understood before making a commitment to the “aaS” technology.

5. Proprietary equipment: Some “aaS” platforms openly accept cameras and edge technology from multiple manufacturers; others have cameras that can be used on other systems should you elect to stop using those systems in the future. That said, be warned that this is not the case for all “aaS” providers; in fact, some providers’ cameras are as good as a brick should your customer stop using the “aaS” platform. This could be a costly and embarrassing mistake.

Best Practices
Here are key takeaways for considering any type of “aaS” model for software, systems, or services:

Thoroughly understand what your customer’s needs are before calling “aaS” companies in to do a sales pitch. Not having this will distract you with sales presentation sparkles, bells, and whistles that may be great features, but can deviate from the core performance objectives required to serve the business.

Understand the points of failure in “aaS” models and be willing to accept the risks they present. Knowing exactly where the points of failure are enables the integrator and end-user to build operational processes to stopgap the vulnerability should a failure occur.

Know the total cost of ownership (TCO) of both the “aaS” and traditional deployment of the software, systems, and services you are evaluating.

Don’t go it alone. Bring in IT, Finance, and other key stakeholders of the business to help evaluate the solution from their areas of expertise.

Paul F. Benne is a 35-year veteran in the protective services industry. He is President of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ LLC, a security consulting and design firm in based in New York City. Connect with him at www.linkedin.com/in/paulbenne or visit www.sentinelconsulting.us.

Article Link – https://www.securityinfowatch.com/integrators/article/21278024/tech-trends-security-tech-for-nonsecurity-stakeholders

This article originally appeared in the November 2022 issue of Security Business magazine. Paul F Benne is the President of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ and has over 35 years in the protective service industry.

The post Tech Trends: Everything as a Service appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

By bringing in other stakeholders in the planning process of designing and deploying security technology, a security integrator or consultant can leverage the business objectives of those stakeholders to build security technology that serves an entire organization.

When you plan for a security technology project, think outside the box and bring the as many relevant stakeholders to the table as possible. Security technology can be leveraged to maximize its organizational benefits. Sometimes it requires thinking outside the box; other times a technology’s benefit to a sister department is readily apparent. Soliciting the input of security-adjacent stakeholders will not only lead to a better overall design of the security technology, but it may also revel funding in places the integrator and security department did not expect.

As an integrator, consider the needs of these five key organizational stakeholders. If you do, you stand a much greater chance that the funding can be procured to green-light a project.

1. IT

Your security technology will most likely run on a network backbone, and for that to happen, and integrator and security end-user will need a strong working relationship with the technology stakeholder – typically, IT.

This is important because IT is responsible for the overall “data-highway” of a business. Leveraging this relationship can bring synergies to purchasing, deploying, securing and managing network technologies. Do not go it alone.

2. Facility Management

This stakeholder is running the show, literally. They need information on all aspects of the facility and its operations. Bringing this stakeholder to the table will give insight to what is important outside of the security department’s point of view. For example, managing subcontractors like snow removal, landscaping, cleaning, deliveries, and repair and maintenance services, are all critical to keeping a business running smoothly. Visitor management technologies and apps are a key area to help in this regard.  

Security-based mobile apps, in fact, are often being developed to help businesses cater to the technology needs of clients.

These mobile apps provide their client users with a host of valuable information at their fingertips – from access control to way-finding, duress and incident reporting.

It is now possible to use technology to create a mobile access control app. For example, STid, whose card readers work with any standing access control system, can embed access control credentials into a business’s mobile app.

SaaS solutions like VOLO and Everbridge can support real-time duress and incident reporting. Making the use of these technologies are low friction, promoting easier adoption into a culture.

3. Sales & Marketing

With facilities having better video surveillance coverage than ever, new Automated Intelligence (AI) platforms can leverage those video streams to provide valuable data to drive both business and security decisions.

There are plenty of video analytic-based solutions from surveillance and VMS vendors that are aimed at increasing business intelligence, from retail to industrial manufacturing.

One solution by DeepNorth () uses existing video cameras to drive data-rich reports on foot traffic to, from and within a facility. This data can be used to create heat maps of traffic patterns, dwell times, peak hours and flow rates – all of which can be used to drive the sales of tenant space, merchandise and real estate, as well as adjust staffing, space planning, and increase customer service.

Specific to marketing, many organizations – especially retail establishments – are looking to attract people to their facilities. You never know when security technology may provide a vehicle to drive traffic to a customer. Case in point: One customer I have worked with has annually nesting falcons on their rooftop. They installed a “Falcon Cam” and streamed that video to their website, along with information on the birds’ migration and conservatory efforts in the city. The addition to the website was a hit and brought much more attention and traffic to the building and to the business’s website.

4. Risk Management & Compliance

While the security function of a business typically determines the video surveillance coverage to help with investigations and situational awareness, risk and compliance can play an important role in determining the storage and archiving of video. While most security incidents are discovered and investigated within 45 days, litigation can have a much larger duration needed for discovery.

In some industry-specific cases, such as cannabis growing, archiving requirements can be multiple years. This can be very expensive if this storage requirement is fulfilled as hot storage, onsite.

Introducing this stakeholder to software solutions like the one from Tiger Technology () may make the difference. Tiger Technology’s software ties a local VMS to cloud-based hot, cold, and glacier storage solutions that can drastically reduce the overall cost of long-term video retention requirements.

5. Law Enforcement

Many cities now have formal public/private partnership programs where the business stakeholder can elect to share camera feeds with local law enforcement in real-time. This enables the police to quickly observe and respond to criminal incidents involving the business’s property. If a facility is in a high-crime area, or it is iconic or high-profile in nature this could dramatically help improve police response on or around your client’s property. Integrators and consultants should serve as a trusted resource for customers by helping them to initiate and participate in these public/private partnerships.

Article Link – https://www.securityinfowatch.com/integrators/article/21278024/tech-trends-security-tech-for-nonsecurity-stakeholders

This article originally appeared in the ĚýofĚý.ĚýPaul F Benne is the President of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ and has over 35 years in the protective service industry.

The post Tech Trends: Security Tech for Non-Security Stakeholders appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

I see clients who have spent millions of dollars on feature-rich security technology. The need gets established, the budget approved, and the technology installed, only to be far less effective than what was originally intended or capable. Meanwhile, those in upper management believe that their facility is more secure because of the big spend they approved.

This, unfortunately, is a common trend; they bought the Ferrari and use it like a 1974 Ford Pinto. Here are identified 5 of the most common trends I see in the field:

1. Underperforming or unused technology:I often hear: â€śIt worked well at the trade show when I saw it, but it does not work in our environment” or â€śit was never programmed” or â€śwait, our system can do that?”

The manufacturer, consultant or integrator told the customer about the wonderful things that can be done with the system and its features; however, just a year into operating the system, those features were totally forgotten, never used, or only partially implemented. Why? Sometimes they are easier to sell and harder to implement; other times, no one was watching what was owed to the customer; or worse, the customer was never trained, or the feature was more cumbersome than effective to operate so it was turned off.

2. Poor trade coordination and workmanship: This issue is most significant in access control and door hardware. Typically, doors, frames and hardware are the responsibility of the facilities department, and the electronic access control system is serviced by the security integrator. Its very common for high-traffic doors to require regular maintenance, and the frequent use of these type of doors often put hardware out of alignment, damage jambs, and other door components.

Poor coordination between the facilities department and security leaves a gap that ultimately can leave a facility unsecured.  The security vendor may discover a damaged door that does not allow it to properly secure, but the access control system is technically working. The internal coordination with a facilities department can easily get lost or assigned a lower priority to fix.

3. Insufficient video recording parameters:Shortsightedness regarding frame rate, resolution, retention, and recording methods often undercut the evidentiary requirements needed to support investigations. In order to save storage, system recording parameters are set to motion only and lower frame rate. While this does accomplish the goal of reducing the overall storage requirements of a system, it can have significant negative impact. In doing so you can lose scene continuity, where the camera’s angle to the subject does not capture motion and therefore the recording does not activate or stops early.

A perfect example of this was in a school where two individuals were in an altercation, the one subject had the other against a wall of lockers and was accused of repeatedly punching the other in the abdomen. The camera only recorded the individual running away from the lockers, because the subject’s repeated punching movements were blocked from the camera’s field of view. Had this system been set to record at a minimum of 1fps continuously and then increase the frame rate on motion, scene continuity would have been preserved.

4. No budget for service, support and end-of-life migration: This is especially prevalent in new facilities where the systems were designed and installed prior to the owners’ operations team taking possession of the facility. The cost of ongoing system maintenance, support, and replacement of equipment is not budgeted, and therefore the system falls into disrepair.

This opens the customer’s systems to security vulnerabilities where software and firmware are missing critical patches and updates, and performance criteria are not maintained. When this happens on a public project, it can become more complex – as low bid RFPs often dictate the next servicing vendor, and they typically do not have legacy knowledge of the systems.  

5. Lack of training: One of the most critical of all the trends I see is that system users have limited proficiency in the operation of the systems, especially under duress. Most users get basic “point-and-click” training where they learn general system navigation and operations. This is done when the system is turned over to the owner, but thats about the depth of the training. This is particularly true in schools where the operation of video surveillance and access control systems during emergencies default to personnel in the main office, while the regular system users like the SRO and administrators tend to the emergency. Its very rare that we find end users that have been trained to use their systems under duress in a tactical capacity.

What to do as an Industry

Each of these trends can be mitigated if integrators and consultants step in to fill the gap. We need to pursue excellence at all levels – from manufacturing and design, to installation, training and support.

We must clearly identify the performance objectives in normal and emergency conditions, and to ensure that technology meets those objectives. Further, regular training, and system audits should be conducted to ensure that both the human and technology elements of a system are conditioned to use the technology when it matters most.

In light of events such as school shootings, we must ask ourselves: What good does all of this technology do if it does not stop the threat? Do I need 240 cameras to cover a school if it does nothing to stop or reduce the impact of an assailant?

There is no room for excuses. Like an airbag in a car, smoke detector, or parachute it needs to work 100% of the time, correctly. If the systems we are providing are too complex, we need to put an emphasis on automation and support training until it becomes second nature, as well as regular testing of the systems so it will perform when needed most.

Article Link –

This article originally appeared in theĚýĚýofĚý.ĚýPaul F Benne is the President of ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ and has over 35 years in the protective service industry.

The post Tech Trends: Technology Fails and How to Avoid Them appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.

This weeks tragedy at the Bethel AME Church in Charleston, SC where 9 people were murdered at the hands of a deranged visitor has become an all to frequent occurrence in housesĚýof worship. Today more than ever, churches need to preserve the sanctity of the sanctuary. We live in a fallen world where bad thing happen and the naivetĂ© of thinking that we don’t need to be security conscious in our houses of worship can no longer exist.

I was invited to share some thoughts on the topic of Church Security on the in New York City. You can listen to the segment by clicking on the play button at the top of this post.

In the wake of the Bethel AME incident, I am making my ebook on church security available for free. Please feel free to download it and share with your house of worship. You can download your copy by visiting .

The post Free eBook on Church Security appeared first on ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.