A recent Security Barometer quick poll investigated uniformed security officer programs and the burden they face to cut budgets. Roughly four out of five programs are experiencing significant budgetary pressure from their executive management.
The uniformed security officer program is one of those areas that seem to have a target painted on its back when it comes to budgets and planning. They are usually a significant portion of the security budget and consequently easily draw attention to themselves during financial reviews.
What Can Be Done
An efficient business will continually examine the cost effectiveness of the programs within the organization. Leaders of these programs should always be prepared to provide the evidence that their programs are either providing value to the business that meets or exceeds their cost, or alternatively finding ways to improve the cost-benefit ratio.
It is surprising then that measures of quality and improvement do not appear to be as common as one would think. Roughly a third of the participants in this quick poll did not provide metrics showing the value of their uniformed security officer program.
Next Steps
Even if your uniformed security officer program is contracted out to a third party, it is still to your advantage to be able to produce evidence that the program is meeting its objectives and providing value to the organization. If the program is not doing that then it is to your benefit to identify the shortcomings and seek to correct them prior to an executive team audit.
You can download a PDF of this resource below.
