Management Perceptions May Pose Biggest Threat to Security Employment

October 19, 2010, Washington, DC—Change in corporate leadership, a lack of leadership buy-in or support of security programs, and difficulty showing the value of security programs are the three issues that security and risk professionals believe pose the biggest threats to their jobs, according to a recent survey conducted by the Security Executive Council.

The survey, conducted in August, asked both the Council's Tier 1 Security Leader members and its community at large the question, “What in your organization is putting your continued employment at greatest risk?” It generated one of the highest response rates of any Security Barometer poll the Council has run.

Eighteen percent of respondents identified corporate leadership changes as the biggest risk to their continued employment, and another 18% marked lack of management buy-in to the security program. Sixteen percent chose difficulty demonstrating value, and security program failure accounted for another 11%. Click here for full results.

Overall the results demonstrate that security and risk management executives face a diversity of challenges that are capable of threatening their employment. These risks are largely determined by each organization's perception of the need for security and its unique culture, or what the Council calls “organizational readiness” toward security. Thoughtful and visionary leaders will recognize the need for an honest assessment of management’s expectations and their security organization's ability to adapt.

The Security Executive Council has been researching and creating solutions to mitigate these risks to security continuity and has an ongoing initiative to educate corporate executives about the reality of the security program and the value it can add to the organization. The goal of the Council is to assist security leaders in addressing each of the risks to employment identified in this survey. To learn more about organizational readiness and to assess how your program is aligned with your corporation’s business objectives, visit www.securityexecutivecouncil.com or e-mail contact@secleader.com.

About the Security Executive Council
The Security Executive Council (www.securityexecutivecouncil.com) is an innovative problem-solving research and services organization. We work with Tier 1 Security Leaders to reduce risk and add to corporate profitability in the process. A faculty of more than 100 experienced security executives provides strategy, insight and proven practices that cannot be found anywhere else. Through our pioneering approach of Collective Knowledge, we serve corporations and organizations of all types and sizes. The Council is quickly becoming the foremost voice on organizational risk mitigation leadership. We welcome all aspects of the security community to become involved. If you are a practitioner, vendor/contractor, media company, professional association or educational institution, contact us: contact@secleader.com.

Contact:
Marleah Blades
Manager, External Relations
256-689-0242
mblades@secleader.com

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