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ESTABLISHING THE DECISION CRITERIA

Increasingly, corporate boards are considering EP programs for their top executives – and they are asking their chief security officers a number of tough questions.

Do we need an EP program for our principals? Which criteria should we use to make the decision? Can we benchmark EP with other companies? If we do decide to mandate it, what should such a program include, and what are our options for setting up the program?

Unlike many other corporate decisions, the path to a board- mandated EP program is not something you learn about in business school. Corporate security officers and managers are hard-pressed to recommend the right EP program, and they sometimes find it difficult to discuss the importance of EP with their principals and the principals’ staffs. Here’s what one company did to better understand their options.

 

The challenge: We were referred to the chief security officer of a Fortune 500 company whose board was considering an EP program for its key executives.

Before mandating such a program, the board wanted to learn more about what an EP program actually is, which alternatives it should study when deciding the character of the program, how it could be organized, and of course, how much it would cost. The chief security officer asked us, on a consultant basis, to lay out its options.

Could É«Ç鱦±´Â® Services prepare a report that would allow the board to decide whether or not – and how – to mandate an EP program?

 

The solution: Based on our experience with other Fortune 500 companies in related industries, we were able to create an overview that described best practice and common practices – and the difference between them.

We described the various elements of a solid EP program, how each of the elements adds value to the organization, and how they work together in a systematic approach.

We outlined a number of alternative solutions and examined the budget consequences of each alternative. We developed a full set of options, including organizational charts, KPIs and customizations for implementing the alternatives incrementally or all at once.

The report also illustrated the importance of managing expectations and relationships between the principals, their support staff and other corporate departments in order to best set up the organization for success.

 

The result: The report facilitated well-informed discussions between the board, the relevant principals and the corporate security organization.

The chief security officer now has a clear idea of his options in setting up a viable EP program. The board has the information it needs in order to make a decision about mandating such a program. And the principals are better able to express their expectations and demands regarding a protection program.