Introduction
A company is an organization made up of people working together in a bid to achieve the objectives set by the company’s stakeholders. The fact that an organization is made up of many tangible and non-tangible assets it therefore calls for the services of a security director. Thus, a security director is an essential requirement both by law and the management of a company if at all the company wishes to run its errands without any shortcomings whatsoever (Mark, 2007, p.67). As a matter of fact, the security director works closely with other members of the organisation as well as other external support organizations like the fire-fighters, police force, hospitals just to mention but a few.
The true meaning of a security director has greatly changed over the decades. Today’s security director is extremely different from what it was some years ago when security was just about safeguarding only. This change has been greatly influenced by the rate of globalization as well as the expansion of organizations. A security director by definition is the personnel who have the full responsibility of ensuring the safety of the entire organization including employees, tangible assets, digital and non-digital information. It can thus be said that the company delegates the whole issue of safety to the company’s security director.
The security director by the hierarchy in most organizations is in the top management team with his or her juniors being the security officers of the company (O’Hara, 2010, p98). Though at times the company may opt to outsource their security services, the security director is usually an employee of the company. As a requirement, the security director should be one person that is ready to face and overcome challenges as this responsibility is full of many up comings. It can be said that the security department is one of the most sensitive departments in most organizations regardless of size or location (Fickes, 1998, p.73).
A large company will have a security team made up of the director and other juniors, while in a small company the duties may be carried out by a single individual. Due to this, the person who is to be dedicated to all this responsibility should be able to prove that they are the fit candidates and able to integrate security with the objectives of the company.
The Roles of a security director in the company
Each and every organisation will have different functions for their security director; however, the major role of a security director in a company is that of making sure there is safety in the working environment. This is because of the simple reason that most major companies prefer being situated at a distance from the town center where security is minimal (O’ Hara, 2010, p.67). Others located within the town center may also face security problems from the city Allers. The safe working environment is what leads to optimum production hence output. Therefore, some of the roles played by a security director include the following;
Monitoring and reporting incidences
Monitoring and giving full reports of incidences is one of the major functions that the security director is entitled to do as part of their duty. They should be able to give an account of whatever happens within the company’s premises in or out of their presence (Mark, 2007, p.56). They have the responsibility of producing a report to the other managers of the organization before discussing the course of action to be taken depending on the weight of the matter. Because of this, the security director liaises with the security officers on the ground so as to make sure they give him even the slightest details of the company’s progress in terms of security.
Routine checks of the company’s assets
It is the duty of the security director to perform routine checks within the company’s premises so as to ensure that all the assets are safe. This is important as it helps in early detection in cases of loss or misplacement hence reducing the cost of replacing lost items.
Performing research in cases of intrusion
In instances where the company has been invaded and some of the company’s assets have been interfered with, then it is the role of the security director who leads any research to be conducted in a bid to find the causes of the invasion (Fickes, 1998, p.123). Once the problem has been sorted out, this is the same person who puts the right measures so as to avoid future occurrences of the same problem.
Supervision of the installation and management of security systems in the company
The security is responsible for ensuring that any installations regarding security to be fitted in the company’s premises are done in the correct way. The management of such systems also lies on in their hands such that they are answerable to any shortcomings or failures.
Safeguarding the company’s information
Most large organisations usually have a separate information security director other than the overall security director. However, this security director is usually entitled to the secret information of the company and making sure that it does not leak out to the public or the non-intended recipients. They do this by being the only people responsible for publishing information in the company.
Control movement of company’s property
The other function of the security director is that of ensuring that any movement of people and property in and out of the company’s premises is regulated and controlled (Turner, 2003, p.34). This in turn helps in proper maintenance and safeguarding of the property hence leading to proper accountability.
Discussion
From the roles listed above of a security director, it can be clearly seen that this is not an easy task in an organization. Some of these duties have to be done routinely though some may be periodical while others may be frequent depending on the sensitivity. The many and sensitive obligations require that the security director be a competent individual. It is thus essential that this person be embraced with good communication skills so as to be in a position to seek and pass information correctly to and from the other members of the company. It also requires that such an individual be detailed and sensitive with their work. This is because the security matter is very crucial to the company (Turner, 2003, p.32).
The other requirement essential for the fulfilment of the roles of the security director is the support and cooperation from the other departments of the company. When the security department and the other departments are in good terms it makes it the work of the security director easy as everyone becomes responsible for themselves as well as the custody of the company’s property. In circumstances where the relationship between the security department and the other departments is not good, then it always calls for extra watch by the security personnel as cases of insecurity will be very prompt.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, the security department headed by the security director is very essential in any company that minds about its welfare. The need for security can therefore be said to be what brings about the security director of the organisation who controls the security of the company (Hartley, 2008, p.65). Research shows that some organizations have deteriorated because of effects of security problems most of which have been brought about by the improper control of the organizational security. This therefore indicates that for security to be up to date in the organisation there has to be a regulator and controller who is the security director.
In a company where security matters are well defined and up to date the operations also run smoothly hence efficiency. For example, people will even be more comfortable to work over night shifts in companies where they feel safe as compared to those where security is not provided. This therefore brings a great difference in the final output as the latter company will announce lower productivity than the other company (Hartley, 2008, p.102). Apart from productivity, efficiency and safety, security is part of the requirement by law that each company should posses for issuance of the operations licence in most of the developed nations. In the less developed or developing nations, the law is sometimes not stringent yet this is where security problems are very rampant.
References
Fickes, M. (1998). The Security Director’s Role. McMillan Publishers, UK.
Hartley, D. (2008). Business Focus Now Dominates Information Security Manager Role. Mediatec Publishing Inc.
Mark, B. (2007). Security Officers and Policing. Barnes Noble.
O’Hara, R. (2010). The Rise of the Security Director. United Publications Inc.
Turner D. (2003). The Security Officer’s Role. Security Education Systems, Washington D. C.