How often do you go to the doctor
for a checkup? For most of us it not as often as it should be and perhaps for
even more of us it is when something is wrong and we need to fix it. Certainly
we would all agree that this is not the best approach, but none the less we do it
still the same. As we get older or body either become more prone to catching
some type of virus or we build up an immunity and strong resistance. But really
does invulnerability exist, or have we simply addressed a particular threat,
remaining open to the countless others.
We inevitably become victims to the
next attack, as no attack regardless of similarity is the same. Time, availability of resources, and yes the
current condition of your health and wellness program will impact how you respond
and your recovery efforts. This concept should be considered with regards to
your companies’ security efforts, as the saying goes ‘an ounce of prevention is
worth more than a pound of cure’.
But before we go any further,
when thinking of security I prefer to use the term ‘Loss Prevention Program’.
In the first instance ‘loss prevention’ speaks to any incident or event that
may cause the forfeiture of assets, and if you are a fan of my writing then you
know that there are 4 types are; 1) People, 2) Property, 3) Information and 4)
Reputation. The word security has been relegated to crime loss, whereas loss
prevention speaks to loss resulting from;
A.
Human
Error - negligence / intentional / accidental etc.
B.
Natural
Disasters - hurricanes, severe weather conditions, earthquakes and tornados
etc.
C. Mechanical
Failure – wear and tear
Also program speaks to multifaceted
approach to mitigate these inherent risks associated with operations. Be they
internal controls, physical and electronic security, there are no ‘magic
bullets’ thus the initiatives must work in unison together to accomplish the continuous
task of preventing loss.
With that said, what is the
condition of your loss prevention program and when was the last time it received
a good checkup? If the answer is never or not with in the last 6 months they
perhaps you should conduct one. When doing so you must ask the following
questions;
1.
The
nature of our business and what matters most?
2.
Where
/ what country do you do business in?
3.
What
other business types operate in your immediate area?
4.
What
threats are we prone to because of industry?
5.
Who
will own the program and lead the initiatives?
6.
How can
we strengthen our existing systems, making them robust, resilient, efficient,
and effective?
7.
How
much are we prepared to spend to maintain what we have in place?
8.
How
much are we prepared to spend to make improvements on the current program?
9.
What
impact will these improvements have on staff and customer relationships?
10.
How
often should we review / revisit the program?
These are all important factors
to consider and cost certainly is the major determining factor, especially
because the return on investment for security infrastructure is not as tangible
as other capital costs. Never the less is very important part of doing
business, so the investment must be made, but reasonable and practical process
need to be taken. Hence the importance of analyzing initially and on a
continuing basis the proficiency and success of the loss prevention program.
Gamal
Newry
is the president of Preventative Measures, loss
prevention and asset protection training and consulting company, specializing
in policy and procedure development, business security reviews and audits, and
emergency and crisis management. Comments can be sent to PO Box N-3154 Nassau,
Bahamas, or e-mail
gnewry@gmail.com
or visit us at
www.preventativemeasures.
org
