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Companies "Face" New Security Measures December 31, 2001
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by Paula Santonocito.
What a difference a millennium makes.
Although technology has continued to transform the workplace in terms of information and efficiency, the threat of terrorism and several recent high-profile incidents of employee violence have placed emphasis on the use of high-tech tools for increased security.
Background checking is one example of this. Technology-based identification systems are another way in which employers are attempting to grapple with workplace security.
Where creating a more secure work environment may have once been an issue for the corporate security department, HR may now find itself involved in an issue that's at the forefront of many companies, and on the minds of many employees.
Evolution of a Process
Yet, to some extent, HR has always been involved in employee security.
In the not so distant past, as part of the hiring process, the task of taking employee photos for ID cards was often relegated to the corporate human resources department. The process was fairly simple: when an employee reported for work that first day, he or she would fill out a stack of forms, and then proceed to get a photo taken. A copy of the photo would be affixed to an ID card, and another would go in a file somewhere, very often never to be referenced again.
The identification process was less about security and more about a badge that welcomed an employee as a member of the corporate club.
But that was then, and this is now.
In the wake of Sept. 11, companies throughout the United States are rapidly inventorying their security protocols. So says Datamatics Management Services Inc., a consulting and software development company, which recently introduced a solution intended to help secure the workplace.
Clocking In
Datamatics has added a new product called photoClock to its TC-1 management software. Originally aimed at attendance record keeping, employee scheduling, and other labor management tasks, the integrated software now includes a security feature that can used in conjunction with other TC-1 functions; photoClock can also be used independently.
"In many cases, security has been out of reach financially," says Bill Loss, director of marketing for Datamatics Management Services, indicating that, because the product is software-based, it allows an organization to use its existing computers.
"Through photoClock, a company is able to enhance security in a facility by using a centralized database where an employee photo will reside," he explains.
Employees continue to use whatever means of identification a company has chosen for its basic security level. The system works with ID cards that have been programmed with barcodes, magnetic stripes, or by proximity. It can also be used with biometric identification, such as the Recognition Systems HandPunch, or a fingerprint, eye or face scan system.
Screening employees
Loss tells HRWire that when an employee enters a company facility, his or her photo is displayed at the point of entry and simultaneously on another computer screen--for example, in a human resources department.
Because the photo has been secured and validated, the system's feature is unique, he says.
Norman Heinle, president of Datamatics Management Services, tells HRWire the objective behind the system is to make an organization's employees feel more secure.
He shares the experience of visiting the corporate headquarters of Emigrant Savings Banks in New York City, a company where employees are required to wear ID badges with photos. Once in the building's lobby, workers must pass by a security guard before getting on an elevator. The guard, he says, must look at the small photos on the badges and attempt to ensure that the badges are valid and current.
Seeing the difficulties, Heinle recommended photoClock. "It's a system whereby the termination date and the control times are all governed by computer," he says.
"When an employee has been terminated, 'terminated' appears in big letters."
Furthermore, he explains, a guard no longer has to look at a one-inch by two-inch picture on an ID card, which he points out can be misleading. Instead, a four-inch by six-inch photo appears on a computer monitor.
Heinle tells HRWire that Emigrant has plans to install the system at its headquarters, and may eventually implement it at branch locations as well.
Security Concerns Since Sept. 11
How concerned are companies about workplace security in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks?
According to the HR Implications of the Attack on America survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 56 percent of respondents indicate their organizations will put higher security provisions in place as a result of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
What about the reaction of the workers themselves?
The same survey has nearly a third of all respondents saying they expect employees will be more wary of their work environments.
Susan Lennen, clinical director for Integrated Insights, formerly HHRC, a provider of employee assistance programs serving organizations nationwide, confirms that calls from employees worried about workplace security have been commonplace since Sept. 11. She says managers have also been calling, asking for guidance on how to respond to workers' concerns.
Ongoing Issues
But, as Lennen points out, terrorism and employee concerns related to its threat is only one issue. Workplace violence, she says, which takes the form of an individual employee threatening someone, an altercation between two employees, or a domestic violence situation, is an ongoing issue.
She indicates that, again, Integrated Insights receives calls from both employees and managers who are concerned about actual or potential situations in the workplace. "The calls are constant and ongoing," says Lennen, who has been with the organization for 10 years.
She tells HRWire calls about workplace violence have increased this year, although she notes some of the increase may be in response to incidents that were brought to national attention.
The impact of workplace violence can have a profound effect on employees, says the SHRM Workplace Violence Survey, which indicates that elevated stress levels and increased fear were the two effects most often cited by respondents following a violent incident at their workplaces.
Increase Security, Increase Serenity
While increased security measures may not prevent terrorist attacks or keep the workplace entirely free of violence, taking action may provide some peace of mind.
According to Nick Ventola, president of Campbell-Ventola, a New Jersey insurance company that recently installed photoClock, the system can't hope to eliminate every potential threat, and it certainly can't prevent an incident like the attack on the World Trade Center.
"But it sure conveys a different attitude to our employees, and sure helps us in terms of identifying our personnel and conveying a higher level of security to both our clients and our employees," he says.
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