The trials and tribulations of the last year have cast a bright light on the significance of safety and security in the world around us – and never before has the importance of being properly prepared been more evident. As organizations around the globe plan for the new year ahead, many find that now is the time to perform an in-depth risk assessment and make needed adjustments to security protocols. The P4 Companies often assist clients in security and safety analyses, during which time several items are taken into consideration, including:
Protecting Personnel: Consider staff safety first and foremost, through installation of access controls, duress alarms and emergency medical equipment, such as first aid kits or automatic external defibrillators.
Protecting Additional Assets: Organizations should be mindful of the security of physical property, intellectual property, and any equipment, among other things while evaluating protocols.
Considering Most Likely Scenarios: Only spend your resources on planning for issues that could conceivably affect your organization. Weather emergencies are localized, but accidents, criminal acts, or terrorism can occur anywhere…so, plan accordingly.
Risk Probability: Predict the future by examining the past. Loss and accident records are useful tools in future risk planning.
Policy Compliance: Revisit policies and procedures to be sure all are compliant with both legal requirements and best practices, that they are being enforced as written, and that all personnel has been trained accordingly.
Evaluating Potential Impacts: Develop a monetary sense of what the impact of certain risks would conceivably be, whether the organization could recover and, if so, how long that recovery would take. Also, work to determine what the cost of recovery would potentially be.
Additionally, implementing a routine safety and security analysis offers the added benefits of realistically showing your current security posture, highlighting areas which require greater attention, and increasing personnel awareness of security and safety operations that are taken on their behalf. Management should always be expressive of their support of the analysis, take appropriate action to address issues that have been identified and plan for ongoing analysis. If your organization is ready to take the next step in preparing for the year ahead, visit P4 Security Solutions or P4 Protective Services, or call us at 312-502-1702, today!
Dan McDevitt is the Senior Vice President of Consultation Services for the P4 Companies. To learn more about Dan, click here.