With the start of the PyeongChang 2018 XXIII Winter Olympics February 9 – 25th we are right around the corner for this large-scale event putting South Korea in the international spotlight. Games will be held at multiple venues from the Alpensia Sliding Center, Jeongseon Alpine Center, Gangneung Ice Arena, Kwangdong Hockey Center to the Yongpyong Alpine Center. Numerous sponsors of the games from multi-national corporations will be participating sending staff from the US to South Korea to be on-the-ground for the better part of the games.
Here are some items for consideration in your planning for travel to the region:
North Korea and its propensity for sporadic, unusual behavior are of the most serious concern for these games from a safety & security posture. What North Korea will do is unknown but they have proven themselves in their desire to be a disruptor on a large scale.
With the location of the games largely on the eastern side of the peninsula, bear in mind via automobile this is a standard 4-hour drive one-way from Seoul/Incheon airport. If there is inclement weather, it could easily be much longer. Alternatively, South Korea has built a high-speed rail as an option as well, which initial indications it will be about a 3.5-hour trip if this route is chosen instead although it is new and has yet to really be tested.
A number of the multi-national corporations are planning on housing their traveling staff overnight in Seoul for up to 2 nights prior to making the travel to the eastern peninsula. With the long-haul flight and time difference doing so allows the traveler to refresh before the additional half-day+ trip ahead of them.
Those who will seek a luxury SUV please understand that these are in short supply and high demand. South Korea doesn’t tend to import lots of vehicles, but Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalade’s are an available option, although again in limited supply.
English fluency of dedicated drivers is rudimentary. They can manage required tasks ok, but one can’t really have an in-depth conversation with them. The Bilingual Executive Protection Agent (Close Protection Officer or CPO) is better, although these personnel too – like the luxury SUVs – are in short supply.
Any CPO agent your team may desire to accompany your principal to the games will additionally need a ticket purchased for their entrance to the games as well, just like any other attendee.
For any engagement related to the games, PRS’s vendor partner in-country does require a 30% deposit up-front which is non-refundable. We will need to work hard to secure proper resources so is best to start this planning early while the best personnel are still available.
As many of our clients are discovering, offices and a host of other workplaces in the Province of Ontario, Canada are presenting them with new legal obligations to protect their employees from Workplace Violence and Harassment. The Ontario Ministry of Labour Health and Safety inspectors enforce the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This Act is to facilitate a strong Internal Responsibility System (IRS) in your workplace.
Most immediately, companies with operations in Ontario, Canada need to be aware of these requirements:
An employer MUST assess the risk of workplace violence and present a full plan to the joint health and safety committee or to a health and safety representative [OHSA s. 32.0.3]
The risk must be reassessed as often as is necessary to protect workers from potential workplace violence [OHSA s. 32.0.3(4)]
The law requires that all of your workplaces be assessed, including offices, shops, site, and even any mobile staff (bus drivers, truck drivers, delivery personnel, outside sales, etc.)
The process is very detailed and employers must consider:
The Nature of the Workplace
The Type of Work
Conditions of work
Apart from a full physical security review of corporate facilities and work spaces, employers are encouraged to engage staff at all levels within the organization, such as front-line staff, supervisors, union officials and more. Depending on the outcome of initial assessments, further special assessments and documentation may be required under this legislation. The Act identifies certain work and workplaces as being associated with “higher risk of violence: such as:
Handling cash
Transporting People and Goods
Working Late Nights
Public or Community Contact
Isolated Workplaces
Workplaces Located in Areas Found to Have High Crime Rates
These workplace violence prevention assessments and programs are obviously sensitive in nature and could expose your company to legal risks, if performed by in-house staff. These programs also require a very seasoned security professional that can work in conjunction with your local Health and Safety staff and committee to collaborate effectively.
Premier Risk Solutions, LLC has been active in assisting our clients to comply with the provisions of the Ontario Workplace Violence and Harassment law. PRS is uniquely qualified to assist these clients as I personally understand the United States practices firms have in place currently. As I previously lived in Canada and obtained Canadian citizenship (dual national) while living there,
I understand the inclusive process that should be used to engage local staff. As we all know, many times a US approach to Canadian operations is not always best and we need to be sensitive to that fact. Just ask US companies that moved into Canada, only to close within 12 months because of a poor understanding of the market and the culture of our northern neighbors.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of working with a small team of Canadian professionals to assess an entire provincial worker’s compensation system with numerous far-flung offices and a variety of work spaces across the vast province. At times these offices and their staff faced significant threats of violence, and at times physical assault due to denied claims. I recall assessing one office when a call was received and their client stated he was on his way with a firearm. Fortunately, we could get the office into lock-down and the local police department was only one block away. This irate man did come to the worker’s compensation office (minus any firearm), and was promptly arrested for these uttered threats.
If you have operations in the Province of Ontario, please contact me to see how PRS can assist you with these important legal requirements.
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Serving US: Seattle, Bellevue, San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Las Vegas, Reno, Portland, Vancouver WA, Honolulu, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, Washington DC, New York City, Boston
Serving International: Vancouver Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
Last week I interviewed with FOX5 in Las Vegas and was asked about changes in security on the Vegas Strip. The interview lasted quite a bit longer, but for the segment, they took a few soundbites and the story came out well. My colleague, Evan Levitt, advised that since 9/11, many of the casinos have already been doing quite a bit behind the scenes in working with The Fusion Center and Law Enforcement to identify and interview individuals who may cause concern. Another local colleague, Rich Diaz, has eight bomb dogs currently covering several of the major casinos and event centers. My comments about the first responders and LV Metro PD were left out of the interview, but I will say again that their response on that tragic day was amazing. The Las Vegas community responded quickly and maintains a great support even a few weeks later. I’ll stand by my statement that the Strip is a very safe place to be. Check out the interview here: https://youtu.be/SlsvJQPeYN8
It is truly hard to believe that yet another annual ASIS International Seminar & Exhibits has just concluded. Dallas provided a convenient location to see, learn, and network. While my corporate security and vendor colleagues and I get a tad older each year, it was great to see the younger generation learning and working that exhibit floor.
I recall the days when the exhibits occupied a small room. Two or three companies produced the electronic security devices we knew and loved. Getting to all the exhibits was more than possible during our week at ASIS each year. As the number of companies and exhibit floor space grew, Roy Bordes, CPP helped us sort out which companies and technologies were worthy of our limited ASIS exhibit floor time. Roy is sorely missed by those of us that knew him.
While PRS has not been paid a fee, and does not specifically endorse any of the products discussed, we thought it would be fun to put forth our list of top security tech for 2017. It is not a detailed technology review and as with all technology, you really need to assess your needs case for applicability.
This year I identified and visited 17 exhibits in between our client and vendor meetings. Here is my Top 5 List of interesting products for 2017…
# 5 – Facial Recognition – Blue Line Technology / www.bluelinetechnology.com
These former law enforcement officers have taken a technology that has been around for some time and has often presented challenges and have tamed the beast to a degree. It really depends on the application, but Blue Line’s product deployment can be intimidating for an illegitimate user of a space. While the system can tackle one-to-many scans, we all know that the size of such databases makes a search slow as a snail. Blue Line’s true processing power shines with a dedicated door or portal application. The system integrated with a number of existing products.
A camera and credential reader greets the user. A fraudster with invalid credentials will not want to come here. I can see this very effective for a convenience store, high-end jewelry store and related retail. Of course, no credential is presented in this scenario, but a thug with a hoodie or face mask is not going to gain entry. In corporate environments, vulnerable IT rooms, C Suite offices, and other sensitive areas would be served well by Blue Line Technology. Two-factor authentication that moved the security beyond a card. Too many good features to list here. They plug and play with a wide variety of existing security systems.
Who is watching your video surveillance systems besides your GSOC operators? Will your corporate video system be used to launch the next wave of global Bot Net attacks? Razberi’s solution is an appliance that plays well with many of the popular video systems currently on the market, such as Genetec, Verint, Milestone and others. The company will be expanding their offerings to include additional add-on units to protect any size camera network.
The appliance monitors and provides MAC addresses/Device Bonding, firewall, whitelist, unusual internet traffic, poor passwords and more. Like any appliance, Razberi updates firmware easily and efficiently to protect against the latest threats. Any corporation with video surveillance systems from small to large needs to consider this extra level of protection.
Report Exec has been around for many years, providing security incident reporting and analysis, dispatch, alerts, asset tracking and more to the corporate security world. Omnigo has provided similar software to government and law enforcement. Recently, acquired the product known as Report Exec and is refining and enhancing their product offerings. A new enhancement centers around the alert portion of the tool and the refinement of GPS data. Keep an eye on Omnigo as this company re-examines their government, public safety and corporate security offerings.
For years, governments and the intelligence community have used a variety of techniques to protect sensitive discussions and meetings. Some may be familiar with Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and more. Now, Intelligent Devices has taken this concept and created a range of products that are available to corporations. I can see applications related to highly sensitive Board of Director’s meeting prior to a public company’s Annual Meeting and such.
The company screens clients and does not sell to everyone. In fairness to them and national security, I will say the systems use speech masking and some other techniques, to protect conversations and computer/data traffic from eavesdropping. Very interesting tech and another company to watch.
We are all very familiar with companies monitoring Twitter and other social media to track discussions regarding your company or event. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is nothing new. However, over the past month or so PRS has been researching a product that offers something more. Our journey culminated at ASIS 2017 at the LifeRaft exhibit. This exciting product twist comes from a community by the sea that we don’t equate tech to – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Tracking people, assets, accessing intelligence not just from social media, but the dark web and elsewhere, LifeRaft develops an impressive collage of data. The data is presented in such a way that a GSOC or analyst can take it and do something with it. Many, many cases use for this product and great people to do business with. From executive protection to fraud prevention, Navigator from LifeRaft is worth checking out.
According to leadership expert John Maxwell, the Law of Magnetism is one of 21 irrefutable laws of leadership. At its core, this law states that who you are is who you attract. If one is to believe in a set of values they will attract talent who also believes in the same set of values. In the security profession, we pride ourselves on being discrete with our employer’s & client’s information, honest in our communication, and innovative in our thought-process towards our approach to problems. These are all terrific traits; but how do we know before hiring someone to our team that they will meet the job benchmarks and fit into the team environment & corporate culture created?
At PRS, we believe in honesty, integrity, hard work, reliability, and innovative thought processes towards real-world solutions. We want to surround ourselves with the best-in-class talent possible while also striking a balance in our team so we all complement each other’s strengths & opportunities. We strive to find like values in those who desire to work with us and/or represent our brand. Recently, PRS has put together a group of subject matter experts to work towards establishing a new, fresh approach to talent selection. This exclusive benchmarking process will first be implemented in our Executive Protection Services. Though a key accountability assessment we will deliver a custom-tailored job bench-mark for each role within Executive Protection, scoring our final candidates for positions based on:
Behaviors
Driving Forces
Acumen Capacity Index
Competencies
This process encompasses soft skills which we compare against well-defined, agreed-upon organizational needs. This approach is based on extensive study and input from a group of subject matter experts, thus providing the maximum opportunity for success within the position. The ideal candidate meets or exceeds the benchmarks created for the position. The gap analysis report crafted for each candidate identifies their match to the job and where they may be over or under qualified, also allowing PRS to focus on developmental growth within it’s people. Our new bench-marking process allows us to use predictive analytics to determine performance and best fit for each client’s unique needs. We are able to identify each team member’s competencies, skills, and style allow best fit selection. The overall process leads to reduced costs for the organization for hires later determined not to be a fit, increased morale, reduced turnover & stress, and reduction in potential risks to reputation and organizational brand image. We have to date provided best-in-class personnel and this new, fresh approach to Executive Protection selection will allow us to elevate our talent while enhancing the client experience. The ultimate benefit is our client’s satisfaction and the establishment of a long and successful relationship. Further, our new process is fully EEOC and OFCCP compliant with no adverse impact showing reliability and validity as PRS is an equal opportunity employer.
How would you like the ability to know how a candidate thinks and fits into your culture before they ever set foot into your program? The hard skills (concealed weapons permits, industry experience, and related resume listed items) are relatively easy to locate. The soft skills are more difficult to find. We believe our unique approach on talent selection and career path development will be ground-breaking and that those customers who desire to participate in this will yield TERRIFIC results (the PRS senior leadership team has already experienced it by going through this process ourselves)! Our newly defined program allows the use of science and empirical data to assist in finding the best quality agents for your roles.
Co-Authored by Al Robinette, President, Career Path Consulting & Development
Trusted Global Private Security Services
Serving US: Seattle, Bellevue, San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Las Vegas, Reno, Portland, Vancouver WA, Honolulu, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, Washington DC, New York City, Boston
Serving International: Vancouver Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
Corporate culture is by no means a new concept and both its significance and role in the Executive Protection (EP) world should come as no surprise. Growing up, we had a set of rules to follow in our own homes that may have differed from our friend’s parent’s rules. While we may have come from a very relaxed environment where wearing shoes inside the house and using curt language was acceptable most any time, this was not always the case when we went over to a friend’s home. We knew that over at Jimmy’s house, his mom did not allow any shoes on her carpet and during dinner, only his parents spoke. These differing customs often came with mild criticism and mockery but were accepted as part of the deal when it came to hanging out with Jimmy. It is no different today when doing EP work.
The key to surviving in the EP world not only consists of recognizing the elements of corporate culture but adapting your EP plan to strike a balance between the overall mission of safety and the sometimes quirky desires of the client. On the surface, one could say that the corporate culture includes the values, policies, and generally accepted practices within the organization. In reality, it goes much deeper.
Forbes contributor, Jacob Morgan, defined it well in his 2015 post on How Corporate Culture Impacts the Employee Experience when he said,
“Regardless of what you believe culture is or where it comes from, the one thing that is common is that culture is about feeling.”
As an EP specialist, you may find yourself one day working with a banking or insurance executive where a more formalized appearance and set of interactions is required. The company’s existence for the last century has likely been based on a strong tradition of trust and stability. Business attire is considered mandatory for almost every setting outside of the office and the EP team is expected to meld into that formalism to conform with the company’s image of one people can trust. Communication is almost always strictly professional and the use of “sir”, “ma’am” and “my pleasure” are commonplace. The very next week and you may find yourself on a detail with a young, dot com executive whose instant net worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars was precipitated by a company acquisition or a public offering. In this case, your client may be the sandals and board shorts type of “executive” whose Friday afternoon schedule is often determined by the big wave action in Ocean Beach. They may also frown upon formalized greetings and ask you to address them by their first name. They will occasionally ask for your opinion on things (and as we all know, the usual question involves how long it’s going to take to get to the next place they are going.) The changes in your behavior, mannerisms and dress are based not only on a corporate policy (or lack thereof), but also on an overall feeling that you get for how to adapt to that client’s culture.
Balancing your EP program to adapt to a specific corporate culture is somewhat easier in a formalized setting. There is very little left to chance and ambiguities are often not part of the equation. A rigid structure of protocols, that EP agents can appreciate, is often adhered to without question. We can set our proximity, plan our vehicle positioning and in many instances, know exactly what to expect from our clients. A more relaxed environment, similar to those in the Silicon Valley companies and in the entertainment industry, presents its own unique challenges. The EP must not only be able to adapt in terms of dress and appearance, but also in terms of procedures and protocols. Casual clothing may be acceptable, beards and several days growth of stubble may be encouraged. Similarly, the proximity to a client may be governed completely by the client’s desires and the situation in which they are in public. General practices for remaining near the client may be thrown out the window when they say they don’t want anyone even remotely near them. EP agents must keep in the back of their minds respect for their client’s desire for a certain measure of privacy. I’ve had instances where it seems as though every attempt I made to close the distance between myself and the principal was like the invisible force when similar poles of magnets repel one another. I would move 5 feet closer and he would move 5 feet further away. Often, it is not the client’s desire to have protective agents around them but in fact, a decision mandated by a Board of Directors or other organizational security elements (such as the company’s internal corporate security division, a professional management company, or event/venue policy.) Despite all of this, you just may find that individual agent and individualized corporate cultures may not mesh well together. Even the best attempts at adapting to your client’s corporate culture may not work and a better-suited EP agent is put in as a replacement.
There are oftentimes no definitive answers as to how to handle situations until it comes to that point where one needs to make a decision. The ability to adapt to a changing environment and make decisions based on the totality of circumstances, helps to ensure success in what we do today. Researching a company’s history, speaking with company employees and discussions with colleagues in the industry help give some insight into your clients culture. Doing one’s homework helps in the continuing efforts to balance the need to ensure the client’s safety with the ability to keep the client amenable to having us around.
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Serving US: Seattle, Bellevue, San Francisco, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Las Vegas, Reno, Portland, Vancouver WA, Honolulu, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Columbus, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, Washington DC, New York City, Boston
Serving International: Vancouver Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea
I had the pleasure of attending the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) annual convention in Boston this week. Overall, it contained a somewhat surprising number of travel security & risk management related education sessions and found the principle of Duty of Care to be thematic throughout the program. General David Patraeus was a keynote speaker highlighting US politics and military perspectives as related to operating in the global environment. ASIS International Chief Knowledge Officer Michael Gips participated as a panelist on a discussion related to travel risk management at general session as well. Individuals from Facebook, Berkshire Hathaway, Northwestern University, Marriott International, and many others spoke on relevant topics in separate sessions as well. The presence of such titans of industry and their leading the way by speaking on travel risk issues showcases the importance of safety & security being incorporated into today’s meeting and event planning.
From my personal perspective, there were two very important takeaways from the convention:
1. There are over 70+ countries around the world that criminalize LGBTQ in a variety of ways. This is a complex and complicated issue for corporations to deal with properly today due to the legalities involved however Duty of Care cannot be ignored or neglected or it may come back to bite the organization that does choose to delay their dealings with addressing this from a policy/procedure stance. Be sure your management team involved in HR, Corporate Security, Travel, Legal, and operations are all having a dialogue on how best to address this for your organization.
2. The best practices that our company (PRS) are currently employing for meeting & event planning safety & security risk mitigation are in fact in-line with current industry best practice. This is reassuring to hear that other industry stalwarts are following the same approach & methodology that our team practices regularly, start with a detailed risk assessment of venue, program agenda, VIP’s activities, asset allocation to determine your risk mitigation (gap analysis) plan to include personnel staffing, technology as well as policies & procedures awareness. The more the travel industry professionals can become educated about these best practices and on a global scale, all the better. We need to continue to raise awareness of the importance of what security practitioners do to support the meetings & events planners and articulate its importance.
At PRS, we will continue to refine our process as there is no “cookie-cutter” approach for each & every client but rather take the overall high-level areas to address (which should be largely consistent from one industry to another in risk assessment for events) and customize the content for each area for that client and venue. With each & every event project we undertake there is a key takeaway learned to help us better help our clients on future engagements and we do take every advantage to help make our support services to you/your company more agile, scale-able and efficient to ensure a seamless, optimized, zero loss event.
