How to Create An Effective Corporate Security Plan
Incorporate vulnerability assessment, risk analysis and a team approach
A corporate security plan, is a document that outlines your organisation’s security requirements, security philosophies, strategies, objectives, programs, and processes. It also provides a detailed outline and assessment of the risks and the mitigation plans including risk of violence, theft, fraud, and other security threats along with how to assess their probable impact on your business.
It should review and include any current crisis prevention, management, and recovery programs you may already have in place.
A corporate security plan will help you to:
- Conduct an effective, efficient assessment of your business site and security personnel.
- Make decisions about security values, strategies, contract relationships, technology and equipment.
- Use all this information to construct and make decisions on your corporate security plan and then implement it into the management structure of your business.
Vulnerability Assessment
The customary approach to physical security measures has been making sure alarms are installed, signs posted, and security guards patrol, but a considered security plan will contain much more. You need to begin with a thorough vulnerability risk assessment whose sole function is to identify your organisation’s vulnerability to specific loss events that include:
- Life and limb
- Irreplaceable assets as well as routine business documents, both hard and electronic
- All assets
- Ensures business continuity in case of a security breach, theft, violence, or other issue
Risk Analysis
Once the vulnerability assessment has concluded what to protect, the next step is to conduct a risk analysis to determine the risk of the specific loss events. Consider the following questions:
How likely is it that this loss event will occur?
How likely is it that this event will be successful against your current countermeasures?
What is the negative impact to your organisation if this loss event occurs?
Finalise Your Corporate Security Plan
Once you have completed your vulnerability assessment and risk analysis you have an outline to finalise your corporate security plan.
Assemble a team of key stakeholders, representatives from:
- Human resources
- Legal counsel
- Facilities
- Operations
- Corporate / contracted security
Many organisations choose to hire an independent security consulting firm such as ourselves to help identify issues that are overlooked or find problems that company employees and managment may not consider.
It is this expertise that allows you to develop the plan and then implement it.
