Relationships and Allies

(Download a Saveable PDF Worksheet of this Relationships and Allies guidance)

An assessment of your internal organizational relationships and allies includes an examination of Security’s role in corporate functions and its relationship to other business functions. There are two parts to this assessment. The first part addresses factors that are involved in cross-functional relationships.

These worksheet pages were inspired by and are based in part on this 2004 article by  Mahesh K. Nalla PhD: Assessing Corporate Security Departments' Internal Relationships and Linkages with Other Business Functions, Journal of Security Education, Volume 1, Issue 1, pages 29-40. This article presents research on this topic from Security directors and managers from the Fortune 500 and Fortune Service 500 companies who were surveyed to assess the corporate security departments’ relationship to other business functions. Purchase ($37.00) and download Dr. Nalla's article in PDF format, which provides benchmarking information from the companies surveyed. The major categories of respondents included chemical/pharmaceutical, financial, manufacturing, service, and utilities companies. The article also contains information about security reporting patterns.

Relationship to Other Business Functions

1. Are Senior security personnel included in the corporate strategic planning process?
   
   

   __ Always

   __ Usually

   __ Sometimes

   __ Rarely

   __ Never

 

2. Does Security have its own mission statement?
   
   

   __ Always

   __ Yes

   __ No

   If Yes, is the mission statement up to date and in alignment with other corporate and divisional mission statements?

   Corporate: __ Yes  __ No

   Division:      __ Yes  __ No (answer separately for each division Security supports or services)

 

3. Does Security have its own strategic plan?
   
   

   __ Yes

   __ No

   If Yes, is the strategic plan up to date and in alignment with other corporate and divisional strategic plans?

   Corporate: __ Yes  __ No

   Division:      __ Yes  __ No (answer separately for each division Security supports or services)

 

4. Are cross-functional councils, groups or committees involved in setting the priorities for major security risk mitigation actions?
   
   

   Check all that apply.

   __ Always

   __ At Security’s Request

   __ At Management’s Request

   __ At Business Unit’s Request

   __ Rarely

   __Never

 

5. How strong is Security’s influence in determining the priorities for asset protection and risk mitigation actions?
   
   

   __ Absolute

   __ Major

   __ High – as Part of Routing Collaboration

   __ Usually Given Consideration

   __ Low

   __ None – Management Dictates

 

6. What is the level of Security’s participation in the following corporate or divisional decisions?
   
   
1. Physical site location
   

   __ Major   __  Medium via Requests for Input
   __ Low       __None – role determined after decisions

2. Physical site design
   

   __ Major   __  Medium via Requests for Input
   __ Low       __None – role determined after decisions

3. Employee hiring process
   

   __ Major   __  Medium via Requests for Input
   __ Low       __None – role determined after decisions

4. New employee orientation
   

   __ Major   __  Medium via Requests for Input
   __ Low       __None – role determined after decisions

5. Employee training
   

   __ Major   __  Medium via Requests for Input
   __ Low       __None – role determined after decisions

 

7. Regarding acquisitions and mergers, what is Security’s level of advance participation?
   
   

   a. Assess acquisition or merger candidate’s security profile

     __ Always  __ Sometimes  __ Never

   b. Assess requirements for integrating the security functions

     __ Always  __ Sometimes  __ Never

   c. Estimate budget for integrating the security functions

     __ Always  __ Sometimes  __ Never

 

How would you characterize the roles (whether de facto or specifically assigned), attitudes and effectiveness of Executives and Business Units in ensuring security effectiveness within the organization? (See also the Security Ladder of Involvement guidance.)

Position or Business Unit	Role	Attitude	Effectiveness
a.  Chairman
b.  President
c.  Accounting
d.  Administration
e.  Communications/PR
f.  Corporate strategic planning
g.  Facilities
h.  Finance/Accounting
i.  Health/Safety environment
j.  Human Resources/Personnel
k.  Information Systems (IS) /       Information Systems (IT)
l.  Internal Audit
m.  Legal
n.  Logistics
o.  Manufacturing
p.  Marketing
q.  Operations
r.  Quality
s.  Real Estate
t.  Sales
u.  Other (add as needed)