How to Manage Security Halfway Around the World

Tips for managing security in a global company

In addition to training, Brooks advises CSOs to actively communicate with security managers abroad and keep the information flowing. That also means soliciting their feedbackâ¬it needs to be a two-way street. "People responsible for security need questions answered. For example, if someone makes a recommendation on how to secure a facility, let them know why it was or wasn't implemented. When using [other] people, not direct reports, you have to get their buy-in; they have to feel valued," he says.

Let Your Managers Assess Their Own Security

Bommersbach's team typically conducts security reviews annually, and the regional managers work directly with the local security representatives to develop an action plan. But as previously noted, Bommersbach has made the process more collaborative so that corporate security isn't viewed as the big, bad audit guy. Part of that change involved letting the local reps do more self-auditing, in which they can identify their own strengths and weaknesses.

Schrimp's team developed a self-survey tool, which he refers to as a "lite" version of 3M's full security survey. The security reps fill out the survey of their own facilities and send the results back to St. Paul. "Based on the scores, we are able to identify risks, prioritize travel and put resources where they're needed most," he says. His regional security managers also do full surveys when they visit the site to complement the self-surveys.