How to Manage Security Halfway Around the World

Tips for managing security in a global company

"In some countries, electrified fencing and canine units are very effective, but in others their use is not culturally acceptable or legally permitted."
- Anton Bommersbach, head of global security, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.

At 3M, David Schrimp, director of corporate security services, has a full-time staff of 15 overseeing security both in the United States and at more than 60 locations abroad. At a given site, "we may have a full-time security manager, or someone who wears that hat 10 percent of the time, and everything in between," he says. "We work closely with them in partnership to gain insight into local conditions and apply the corporate policy in the way that makes the best sense for that local environment."

Bommersbach says Wrigley has established corporate security standards around the globe, but most are "objective-based" rather than "solution-based." In Wrigley strategy-speak, that means that a regional security managerâ¬at Wrigley there are four such managers, responsible for the Americas; Russia; Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India; and the Asia/Pacific regionâ¬works with the local security coordinator to establish security standards that meet corporate objectives. Bommersbach cites an example of protecting a perimeter. "At some locations this objective is met by the installation of an 8-foot stone wall supported by infrared cameras, while another site may use an array of photo-electric beams, cameras, sensor lighting and guard patrols with no wall or fence. In some countries, electrified fencing and canine units are also very effective, but in others their use is not culturally acceptable or legally permitted," he says.

By sharing ownership with the local security representative, a CSO can respect the local culture and not seem like the corporate heavy, swinging into town to rap local knuckles. "When I first came here, the department was perceived as much more of an auditor of standards; it wasn't always well-perceived," says Bommersbach. "So I completely removed the whole audit function from the scope of our responsibility. Now we're more of an ally with local management in putting an action plan together. The whole process has been modified to be more of a partnership."

Happily, this collaboration doesn't just pay off in better security; it also leads to greater business efficiencies. At 3M, Schrimp did joint risk assessments of plants last year with the company's EHS (environmental, health and safety) organization. EHS assesses the safety of plants (using American Chemistry Council voluntary guidelines for chemical plants) while Schrimp's group looks at security risks. "We found that by combining our skill sets to conduct facility reviews, we satisfy both safety and security requirements during the same visit," notes Schrimp.