Julie Myers Wood, CEO of Guidepost Solutions, returns to the Innovation In Compliance podcast this week to talk about how companies can get back to the workplace safely. She tells Tom Fox that this far into the pandemic her conversations with clients have changed to address longer-term issues. Customers are asking questions about security protocols and how to keep people safe, as well as keep business open.

 
Increased Efficiency 
Julie says that Guidepost Solutions delivers technology solutions customized to each customer’s needs and existing security platforms. For example, more and more businesses are looking for touchless technology so that they can protect their customers and keep their doors open. Tom comments that this improves business efficiency on a whole and credits the pandemic for forcing us to improve our processes overall. 
Work From Home 
Tom and Julie discuss the security challenges working from home presents. Julie remarks that companies have to think about creating campaigns to target those issues so that their employees can avoid problems. Tom asks her how her company handles doing investigations such as risk assessments – which are usually done on-site – remotely. It’s very challenging, she responds and describes the workarounds they have had to create to get the job done. 
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
“We went to work as a company on diversity and inclusion initiatives, and I think that’s really brought together people at various levels of our company in a new way – in a great way,” says Julie. “We want to make sure that people from all backgrounds feel included, want to come to Guidepost, want to stay at Guidepost, and that we’re able to recruit folks from all different backgrounds, all ways of life.” Tom asks Julie to speak to the leaders that say that a diverse talent pool doesn’t exist in their industry. She responds, “They didn’t exist because you weren’t looking.”
Protecting Vacant Facilities
Tom mentions Guidepost’s advocacy for a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment for vacant facilities. He asks Julie why it’s important. She replies that they believe it’s just regular security maintenance to ensure that there are no new problems in the physical, as well as cyberspace. “There may be all sorts of new problems in their neighborhood that didn’t exist before,” she reminds listeners. So if you’re thinking about reopening, it makes sense to do both a physical and cyber risk assessment.
 
Resources
GuidepostSolutions.com 
JWood@guidepostsolutions.com