One of the principal attractions of club membership is that it offers protection and insulation from many of the common hazards that potentially threaten people in this uncertain and often troubled world.
Children, spouses and guests are all afforded a special measure of comfort, convenience and premium experience with an important, added aura of safety. They enjoy a level of security not ordinarily provided in the public space. This positive take on club life and its distinctive attractions also underlines the special responsibility of club leaders. They are the stewards and protectors of the club’s hard-won reputation for safety and security.
So what’s a manager to do?
No organization is immune to threat. More than an annoyance or inconvenience, these risks are growing in frequency and intensity—a few may even rise to a level of organizational disruption and in rare cases, a threat to the club’s viability.
Managers must counteract these threats through coherent and effective practices, including comprehensive appraisal and appropriate action that must be sustained over time.
This approach to security and safety falls under the category of risk management, which Peter Bernstein, author of Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, defines as, “maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome while minimizing the areas where we have absolutely no control over the outcome and the linkage between effect and cause is hidden from us.”
At its most practical level, this means that keeping risk under control requires the focused attention of the manager.
Finding a balanced approach: The 4 Ps of security
There are four risk management trends (see sidebar XXX) that club managers are following to control and contain threats to club security.
Maximizing control
1. Prevention and education efforts to reduce security threats are broadening and will continue to gain momentum. Human factors continue to be the weakest link in our chain of security. Clubs must plan and adhere to hiring procedures, background checks and workplace policies that both align and reinforce security aims. As staff awareness of safety challenges expand and as training in best practices deepens, the club’s security system will also strengthen. The interview with Joseph Saracino (page XX), a security expert with experience in the club sector, reinforces the notion that breakdowns in security often trace to poor password habits, casual attitudes toward workplace security (including desktop access) and control protocols for club records and work product.
By the same token, club members are full partners in the challenge to bolster security. A similar awareness of the need for strengthening security is now taking place in the home and at work; therefore, members are increasingly ready to shoulder new responsibilities and to acquire a more focused sensibility that supports a safer club environment.
2. Pervasiveness regards the widespread adoption of controls and monitoring systems. The Pulse Survey finds that 70 percent of surveyed clubs use a camera system to monitor club areas. However, Saracino observes that the number, location and quality of camera equipment is subject to considerable variance. Confidence in substandard equipment is not warranted and, indeed, several Pulse Survey respondents report that club cameras on their grounds and facilities are scheduled for an upgrade—some to high-definition “prosecutable” cameras.
Best practices also include effective use of lighting, background checks of staff and the provision of first-aid support (e.g., training in CPR and equipment such as defibrillators). In general, it looks like club awareness and club policies are catching up with the perceived need. One large club has successfully installed a new card security system. Most of the 10,000-plus members have photo ID cards that are scanned on entry and can update the club member with individualized messages.
Beacon technology is also making inroads into clubs. This technology allows mobile applications running on smartphones to “listen” for beacon signals in the club to detect member presence, monitor movement and deliver messages. Many members at the Union League of Philadelphia have a dedicated club app that uses this technology for a range of services including entry and identification, directions, valet parking and intra-club communications. The Granite Club in Toronto is using frictionless, biometric software to bolster its security, especially in restricted areas such as the childcare facilities. See the case study on page 20.
Minimizing impact
3. Persistence and vigilance minimize the impact of risk events. Total risk prevention is no longer feasible, thus rapid response, facilitated by contingency planning in the form of detection and containment, can reduce the impact of security breaches when they do happen. Although the growing trends in readiness calls for frequent tests, simulations and drills, the Pulse Survey suggests that these tactics do not have widespread acceptance and integration into club operating procedures. But, the results suggest clubs may be nearing a tipping point with roughly one out of three clubs reporting that “what-if” scenarios and other procedural walk-throughs are now being utilized.
4. Protection is increasingly possible in the form of risk transfer. Insurance, security contracts and cooperative partnerships are increasingly used by organizations. As the range and severity of risks increases to include cyber attacks and other potential business disruptions, new and innovative products and services can reduce or otherwise contain such threats. Many clubs now transfer significant cyber risk to the cloud—servers, records, membership data, email services and software now reside in a more secure and remote environment and one in which usage and abuse can more readily be detected.
Several clubs surveyed also report sensitive financial data such as members’ credit card information is no longer collected nor does it reside on POS systems. Third party specialists handle risk related to electronic payments. Clubs are applying similar scrutiny to staff and personnel records. Many clubs report partnerships and cooperative agreements with local police forces. Residential communities frequently have separate entities that manage security and clubs co-located will frequently coordinate and cost share a range of security arrangements, including physical monitoring. These security forces have their own trade association, the Gated Community Security Managers Association, which does training and shares knowledge and best practices.
Remain Vigilant
Club Trends’ interview with Saracino points to the importance of club leaders undertaking basic initiatives of education and assessment. But precisely because the security scene is highly dynamic and rapidly evolving, these initial steps must be followed up by the further acquisition of tools, technology, expertise and finally the perspective and managerial judgment to apply them. Like all organizations, club have limited resources, so the best managers will endeavor to apply these ultimately scarce resources precisely where they will deliver the greatest return: the safety and satisfaction of club members.
RISK MANAGEMENT TRENDS
Deloitte recently published “The Future of Risk: New game, new rules,” in which they identified key trends shaping this area. Here are several key trends that relate closely to the private club industry. The full report is available at http://bit.ly/2hBXOkr.
Reputation risks accelerate and amplify. To survive in a hyper-connected world dominated by mobile devices, social media and evolving expectations from society, leaders will proactively address accelerated, amplified risks to their organizations’ reputations.
Disruption dominates the executive agenda. The constant threat of disruption resulting from emerging technologies, business model transformations, and ecosystem changes will force executives to make significant strategic choices to drive organizational success.
Controls become pervasive. In a sensor-enabled, hyper-connected environment, organizations will deploy pervasive controls as part of their products, services and business models to monitor and manage risk in real time.
Vigilance and resilience complement prevention as leading practices. Organizations are realizing that 100 percent risk prevention is not feasible, so investment in vigilance (detecting risk events as they happen) and resilience (containing and reducing the impact of risk events) will increase.
Risk transfer broadens in scope and application. Risk transfer instruments, such as insurance, contracts and financial instruments will increasingly be used by organizations to protect them from a wider range of risks—cyberattacks, climate change, geopolitical risks, terrorism, business disruptions and more.
Club Trends Summer 2017