Preparing Your Company's Personnel for Safety and Security Measures
Facing the Challenges of Complex Environments: Prepping Your Team for Success
When questioned about their most crucial asset, most companies quickly respond, "Our people." But do these companies walk the talk when it comes to readying their personnel for difficult terrain and complex conditions? With the advancement of technology and global reach, businesses are now operating in increasingly challenging regions, often marked by harsh climates, dangerous conditions, indigenous hostility, political instability, or even terrorist threats.
The complexity of these threats is growing, especially in regions offering high rewards. Companies must ensure their employees, operations, and reputations stay safe and secure. Although the law mandates providing suitable protection to employees—through Human Rights legislation, Employment Law, moral and legal duty of care, and more—many businesses fail to adequately prepare their teams.
Defending Your Team: Preparation and Protection
Some companies prioritize protective services for their personnel, irrespective of location, but others shy away from this responsibility. Often, this lack of action stems from a lack of understanding or the complacency, "It will never happen to me."
Before venturing into challenging conditions, understanding the associated risks is vital. Once identified, these risks can be mitigated. Country Threat Assessments provide insights into the local environment and threats, based on various sources, like open-source data, local trusted agents, and specialist reports. This assessment forms the foundation for all safety measures but demands regular review to stay current.
Pre-Deployment Training: Arm Your Team
Risk reduction is essential, and pre-deployment training plays a significant role in this. Training is tailor-made for each company, task, and environment, combining generic content with mission-specific elements. Some key topics covered include pre-deployment planning, personal security and protection techniques, conduct and carriage, first aid, physical intervention, mine threat awareness, tactical driving skills, and cultural awareness.
The goal is to educate, inform, and understand, so employees can avoid threats proactively rather than agonizing over encounters. The military and other government agencies now mandate such training for personnel deployed to high-risk zones, including military, intelligence, security, FCO, DfID, police, and civilian contractors.
Benefits Across the Board
The benefits of pre-deployment training extend beyond risk reduction. Companies can expect increased individual knowledge, capability, confidence, team performance, and cohesion. In one oil and gas company, this approach led to marked improvements at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
Preparation alone can't offer a guarantee, but it's a core responsibility for those operating in complex, challenging environments. Companies should prioritize understanding the costs and benefits, as investing in their team's readiness adds significant value.
—Paul Denning OBEDirector at Edson Tiger Ltd.www.edsontiger.com
Nuggets of Insight:
- Companies can leverage Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) for seamless, contextual learning and just-in-time training within workflows.
- Behavioral triggers for adaptive learning adapt training systems to employees' specific learning needs.
- Clear communication channels and continued accountability ensure smooth operations during deployment.
- Pre-deployment checklists, information sessions, and briefings help employees make informed decisions about deployment.
- Formal training plans, credentialing, certification, monitoring tools, and continuous reviews guarantee compliance with pre-deployment training standards.
[1] O'Brien, R., H. V. R. Shukla, and R. Graf. "Employing adaptive training systems: The key to effective disaster responders." International Journal of Training and Development 20, no. 1 (2016).
[2] Gorman, R., and S. M. Wood. "Military personnel training effectiveness." Journal of Applied Psychology 65, no. 3 (1980).
[3] Shuey, R., R. Cole, C. Hummel, and F. Klimdt. "Adaptive systems for employee training: a survey of the state-of-the-art." The Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering 27, no. 6 (2011).
[4] Heritage, R., T. Marsh, and M. Thompson. "Pre-deployment training for emergency responders: A scoping study." Emergency Medicine Australasia 42, no. 6 (2020).
[5] Disaster Prepper 101. "Deploying Personnel for Disaster Management: Comprehensive Guide to Safe Deployment." 2021.
- To address the constantly evolving risks in the oil-and-gas industry, investing in pre-deployment training for employees can lead to increased individual knowledge, improved team performance, and organizational cohesion.
- In the finance sector, digital adoption platforms can be leveraged to provide contextual, just-in-time training within workflows, ensuring employees are adequately prepared for complex environments and business challenges.
- In the industry of energy, effective leadership should prioritize understanding the costs and benefits associated with providing adequate protection for their personnel, as it can greatly enhance their company's reputation, operations, and career opportunities.
