Your greatest risk and asset

By Stephen Hoare

Even the most comprehensive polices or most rigorous training programme won’t automatically ensure employee compliance. This is especially true if employees are asked to change their behaviour or do something that they don’t understand.

When it comes to employee compliance keeping it simple and logical is more than just common sense. Where behavioural change is required, especially when it comes to matters of security and reputation protection, organisations that provide explanation as to why the policy is in place and provide training and regularly remind employees of their responsibilities will be most rewarded. 

If an employee understands that the behaviour required of them is deemed necessary to protect their employers' bottom line and ultimately their own job security they are likely to comply. This notion is supported by IDC who found that well implemented security policies reduce laptop theft by 85 percent.

Organisations should ensure that the role of the employee is simplified. This is risk minimisation. It's likely that you have an ID badge that is programmed with your access permissions. This is far simpler than handing each employee multiple keys.

Safer investment decisions

Products and systems that offer the levels of protection demanded by you and your customers that are also easy to use are safer investments than alternatives that may offer a short term saving but result in poor levels of compliance and ROI. As the world's leading physical laptop security brand we've looked at how we can support our customers so they enjoy high compliance levels and ROI when they invest in our products. A laptop lock that is simple to use is far more likely to be used than one that is complicated. 

At Kensington, we have taken our 'smart made simple' brand promise to a whole new level by simplifying the five-step process required to use existing laptop locks into one easy step, without compromising strength or protection. The benefit for organisations that specify laptop locks in their security policies is that the lock is simple for employees to use, removing any acceptable excuse to the employee that ignores a policy that expects laptop lock usage. 

Smarter policies

The right policy and approach to enforcement is as important as the right product solution.  This is important because you should expect full compliance without disrupting your employee's existing daily routines and productivity levels. The right policy will foster a culture where responsible behaviour is expected and where peers feel empowered to encourage others to comply with their organisation's policies. 

The acid test of a policy is its effectiveness. Is it complied with?

I use this logic relative to laptop security. It's simpler to protect your organisation against the effects of laptop loss such as fines, lost productivity, disruption and reputation if you don't lose them in the first place. The most effective first line of defence against laptop loss is a laptop lock. The most effective laptop lock is one that is actually locked to a laptop.

A common sense approach to security policies is supported by research analysts IDC, who found that organisations underestimate the cost of downtime by 31 percent.

We've worked with them to provide a 'cut & paste' policy that can be easily adopted by organisations from any sector. The policy presents a common sense approach to laptop security in and out of the office that also provides a framework for your organisation to educate and remind employees of the importance of complying with policy. 

Employees don't need to concern themselves with installing the latest anti-virus software, IT departments do this for them. Issuing locks that are simpler to use and deploy is one less thing for your IT personnel to worry about. Issue the new ClickSafe locks and they may even sleep better. 

Download Kensington's policy and learn more about their new ClickSafe locks at www.simplersafersmarter.com

About

Kensington's Security Business Development Director, Stephen Hoare, has a deep understanding of the challenges that face organisations. He positions Kensington as a partner rather than a supplier, offering value added services which help businesses with bespoke physical protection solutions, deployment and compliance measures unique to their requirements.