Quality and Performance Elements for Sustainable Success
Too often, corporate security programs are launched with good intentions but then left to run without regular review or quality checks. When these programs derail it is the result of missing foundational elements that keep them aligned with strategic goals.
This is where program quality and performance elements come in. If you have not built these elements into your programs, or have not revisited them recently, you may be running off course without knowing it.
Why Quality and Performance Matter
Across hundreds of security program assessments that the SEC has conducted, one theme emerges consistently: most breakdowns in corporate security are not due to a lack of effort—they're due to the absence of structure, integration, and accountability.
Symptoms include:
- Workplace violence teams do not coordinate with investigations.
- Lack of functional integration (e.g., executive protection is not connected to legal, HR, or travel).
- Metrics focus on activity counts, not business impact.
- New hires are onboarded without training or context.
- Quality of service is never evaluated after the fact.
This disconnect leads to fragmented functions, underperformance, and missed opportunities to mitigate risk and add value.
To counteract this, our research shows there are eight universal quality and performance elements. These are not theoretical, they are the backbone of high-functioning programs, regardless of the security domain.
The Eight Quality and Performance Elements
Provided below are some examples for each category.
- Governance and Policy
- Executive-level ownership is essential.
- Policies must be clear, accessible, and updated regularly.
- All employees must be aware of policies relevant to their role.
- Continuous Improvement
- Program documents and protocols should have review schedules.
- After-action reviews are critical for feedback and course correction.
- Subject-matter expertise must be validated and maintained.
- Methodology and Documentation
- Every program needs defined scope, purpose, and responsibilities.
- Documentation must be tailored to stakeholders and easily accessible.
- Methods must be standardized yet adaptable.
- Partnerships and Collaboration
- Internal and external stakeholders must be identified and engaged.
- Geographical and functional alignment is vital—disconnects here are common failure points.
- Use RACIs (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to define roles.
- Include diverse skill sets and promote open lines of communication.
- Metrics and Reporting
- Measure relevance and impact, not just volume.
- Reporting should be audience-appropriate and trend-aware.
- Include profit/loss implications where possible.
- Reporting calendars and obligations must be clear and consistent.
- Onboarding and Training
- Develop structured onboarding and cross-training programs.
- Match roles with readiness, qualifications, and performance metrics.
- Integrate innovation and best practices into regular training cycles.
- Do not assign people beyond their skill sets or their experience level without appropriate support and guidance.
- Quality Control and Assurance
- Set and share quality standards across teams.
- Ensure deliverables meet cultural, regulatory, and geographic requirements.
- Evaluate final outputs through independent review and team feedback loops.
- Staffing and Organizational Structure
- Ensure roles, qualifications, and job descriptions are current and aligned with needs.
- Staff must be effective with the business units they support.
- Access to key business skills, such as IT, accounting, software and legal, must be built into the structure.
The Risks of Skipping the Process
Security leaders often assess their department and give themselves passing grades, yet serious issues remain hidden at the program level. One program may function at a 9 out of 10, while another is failing silently at a 2, or does not exist at all.
Evaluating at the domain or program level is where meaningful insights and improvements emerge. Without that, you miss the broken pieces, duplicate efforts, or fail to gain access to high-risk areas that need attention.
If you haven’t been through a process that assesses quality and performance at this level, your program is likely out of balance.
What is at Stake and What is Gained
When organizations implement these universal quality and performance elements:
- Risk is reduced through integration and accountability.
- Costs decrease by eliminating duplication and inefficiency.
- Quality improves by enforcing standards and reviews.
- Stakeholder trust grows through consistency and professionalism.
- Job satisfaction and productivity increase due to clear expectations and better onboarding.
- Organizational value improves through better performance and insight at the strategic level.
In short, these elements help your programs stay on track and help your team demonstrate their true value to the business.
The Takeaway
If you're not assessing at this level, you're not optimally managing risks. You might be further off track than you realize. Also, if your security programs were launched without stakeholder input, without risk-based design, or without performance measurement then they’re missing essential components for long-term success.
The SEC can help you assess and strengthen your quality and performance elements specific to your organization’s needs for any or all of the 24 domains we have identified that security may be responsible for. These universal concepts apply to all.
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