Security Policy and Procedure Development

Of all the vital assets a company has, none are more important than its employees. An educated and properly trained staff can take an organization from obscurity to distinction, from dismal failure to smashing success.

Conversely, a staff with little knowledge of the proper procedures to follow can doom a company to disaster. This misfortune could take place slowly at a glacial pace or faster than anyone thought possible. But slowly or quickly, the calamity that ensues is caused by absent or improper policies and procedures.

How can company employees be successful in their jobs if they aren’t given the correct guidelines to follow and direction to take? The answer is, they can’t.

Employees that have not been given concise procedures to perform their duties, or a set of policies to inform them what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior in the workplace can’t be expected to perform at their best. Unfortunately, in the majority of organizations, owners and managers expect ideal performance day after day without giving employees the tools to succeed.

And when the deficient policies and procedures relate to protection of the workplace, these dangerous conditions could risk the safety and security of the organization’s employees, assets, client relationships and the ever-important company reputation.

Secure Strategies is the solution to this dilemma. We are advisors to small, medium and large companies across New England, and over the years have provide the correct tools to thousands of employees, so everyone knows what to do and how to do it. 

So what are policies and procedures anyway?

"Policies" are management instructions indicating a course of action or a guiding principle.  They are high-level statements that provide guidance to workers who must make present and future decisions.  They can also be generalized requirements that must be written down and communicated to certain groups of people inside, and in some cases outside, the organization. 

Policies are mandatory and can also be thought of as the equivalent of an organization-specific law.  Special approval is required when a worker wishes to take a course of action that is not in compliance with policy.

“Procedures” are specific operational steps or methods that workers must employ to achieve a certain goal.  For instance, in many hospitals there are specific requirements for assuring the security of public entrances after normal business hours.  In this example, a policy could describe the need for checking the entrances on a pre-determined schedule after 5:00 pm. The corresponding procedure would detail the proper steps to take to make sure the door is locked properly, what to do if the locking hardware is malfunctioning and who to contact to ensure the repair will take place.

What if I don't have proper policies and procedures?

When there is a lack of policy and procedure, the employee is left with no firm guideline or standard to follow; he may be misinformed or under-informed, and he may make up procedures on his own to fill the gap in his base of knowledge. Either of these scenarios can be disastrous to not only the employee, but to the organization, its customers and its reputation.

Secure Strategies can give your employees the tools to succeed. We are well-versed in Policy and Procedure creation, implementation and training. Here are some topics of the policies and procedures we have developed to help companies become successful and secure:

• Background Checks

• Bomb Threats

• Sensitive Document Control and Classification

• Drug and Alcohol Use

• Emergency Response Plans

• Identification Badge Use

• Incident Reporting Forms

• Lock and Key Control

• Mail Handling Procedures

• Non-Disclosure Agreements

• Pre-Employment Screening

• Security Program Management

• Suspicious Package Handling

• Employee Termination Procedures

• Visitor Control

• Weapons Policy

• Workplace Violence

Call us today to discuss how to make YOUR organization more secure, safe and productive.