A security awareness training program is not just a one-time thing, but a process in itself to change employee behavior enough to increase their ability to consciously make more secure decisions. That is so much more easily said than it’s done. The reason why a security guard company should create a security awareness training program is due to the fact that the human brain is complex and various factors influence human actions.
The traditional training approaches are simplistic and one-dimensional in nature that do not prove adequate in case of security guards equipped with patrol software and already well-versed in security procedures. Therefore, the need to create a security awareness training program arises, where collaborative efforts of different subject matter experts can enhance their human instincts.
So, here are a few specific guidelines that will help your security guard company to create a more efficient as well as productive security awareness training program.
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Keep It As Relevant As Possible
Employees, irrespective of the industry they’re working in dread training that is not relevant to their daily work. As a result, many are not engaged, and a lot of others refuse to participate. So, while creating your security awareness training program, try to customize the training content and its complexity for guards in accordance with their roles & responsibilities. Provide specific examples or include scenario-based training using patrol software to help them encounter situations in their day-to-day activities.
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Break Down The Content Into Pieces
Human beings have a very limited attention span which is especially true in case of new and unfamiliar material. Plenty of studies conducted on how to effectively communicate new information during security awareness training programs boil down to this very fact. Therefore, it suggests that the training program should be broken down into manageable pieces that a guard trying to understand a patrol software, for instance, can easily go through in one sitting than an hour-long session with no progress.
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Use Effective Ways To Communicate
Communication is everything in a security awareness training program. Without it, the chances of your program to take off successfully are negligible. So, first of all, include a subject matter expert who possesses all the skills required to develop or conduct the security awareness training program. Eliminate, or at least minimize the use of technical jargons other than what’s relevant and necessary. Keep it real and simple as the everyday lives of the security guards.
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Keep The Morale Of Your Guards Up
In addition to communication, motivation is another key prerequisite of successful training to a point that it can truly make or break your whole effort. So, this process to galvanize the guards about training begins way before they are even required to take it. A security manager or an officer can play a significant role in that case. Special care should be given to those who participate only because of the requirement of the organization and finish it with little knowledge gained.
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Conduct Random Security Drills To Test
The last and the final step a security guard company should take in creating a security awareness training program is to conduct random security drills to test the effectiveness of the training. Not that going with the old traditional way to test is wrong, but this can help you determine the improvements required at both ends. So, conduct random mock drills based on different scenarios using a patrol software not only to assess security guards’ skills in a more realistic manner but also to prepare them to feel more comfortable to tackle similar situations in the near future.
Since setting up such training will require sufficient funding from the management, ensure they clearly understand how these guidelines will create an effective security awareness training program capable of mitigating the risks.
