Growing the Security Talent Pipeline Through Corporate Social Responsibility

It isn’t just about a paycheck for employees anymore.

Today’s employees, particularly Millennials, are attracted to companies that demonstrate a commitment to philanthropy and giving back to local communities—and this provides a “win-win relationship” for employers who seek a competitive advantage in hiring with a commitment to foster a workplace environment with engaged employees.

In fact, we should be proud of the fact that many members of the Security Industry Association (SIA) maintain robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs both at home and around the world, through such initiatives as Mission 500, a charity recognized by SIA at our annual SIA Honors Night celebration. In September, the Reputation Institute announced that Bosch was among the “10 Companies with the Best CSR Reputations In 2017.” Recently, G4S Secure Solutions was recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Palm Beach County as an “Outstanding Philanthropic Organization” for its participation in Habitat for Humanity home builds and the G4S Cycling Team charity rides.

It is never too late to enhance your existing CSR programs to attract and keep qualified employees. There are two resources that immediately come to mind that may help SIA members to augment their existing CSR programs.

First, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) offers ISO 26000: 2010, voluntary guidance and recommendations to businesses of all sizes about how to structure, evaluate and improve social responsibility programs. The guidance encourages the adoption of the following core principles within a CSR program: accountability, transparency, ethical behavior, respect for stakeholder interests, respect for the rule of law, respect for international norms of behavior and respect for human rights. Additional information about ISO 26000 can be found at https://www.iso.org/iso-26000-social-responsibility.html.

Second, some SIA members have begun to align their CSR programs with the principles developed by the UN Global Compact, which describes certain business values—related to the workplace, the environment and ethics—that should become integrated within a corporation’s culture and impacted stakeholders. For more information about the UN Global Compact principles, please visit https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles.

SIA is proud to represent companies with robust CSR programs. In 2018, SIA will be reaching out to its members to learn more about their CSR programs and share these initiatives with college and university students—our future industry leaders.