Aimee Regan, pictured, is responsible for the operation and development of the First Security retail and commercial portfolio. Regan joined the company to work with and develop the retail and commercial sector. She has a sound understanding of the commercial and retail market place having had 14 years’ experience in a variety of roles including profit protection, incident management and risk management. Our interviewer Una Riley writes:
I met Aimee Regan at the Carlton Club in London. With all the election hype it seemed fitting that female security professionals should meet up in what was once one of the oldest gentlemen’s clubs. The club was founded in 1832 and it took almost 200 years to allow women full membership which happened in 2008. However, the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to ascend the magnificent staircase at the Carlton Club as an honorary member with full rights due to her position as the former leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office across the political party spectrum. Now men and women are welcomed at this great venue. It is not that long ago that the first women began to lead the way as the first of their gender in many areas of business. Until relatively recently there were very few women in this industry especially at managing director level; although things have changed greatly, we should remember tradition and history in context as something we should appreciate and respect. Today more women are selecting the wider world of security as their career of choice.
I was recently chatting to a friend who told me about the good work that Regan was doing so I contacted her to enquire if we could meet up and here we are in the splendid Carlton Club. What was once the all-male members bar is now a comfortable reading room cum function room. The new bar is situated to the rear of the building with a delightful contemporary terrace attached for alfresco quaffing and casual eating. We decided to have lunch in the dining room which was much quieter and more conducive to the interview. I started by asking Regan how she got into security.
She said: “I started on the retail side working for Homebase in various operational management roles from early 1993 to late 2001. During that time I had interaction with the Loss Prevention side of the business and found it fascinating. I was invited to join as a regional Loss Prevention officer in 2001 and by 2005 I had been promoted to Divisional Security Manager and investigator. I enjoyed the work immensely. During that time I was dealing with the private security sector from a client’s perspective and I identified areas that I would like to see improved. The opportunity for me to put my ideas into action came when I started working for the Compass Group in 2010.”
I enquired what sort of ideas she had that would make a difference to the business. Regan replied: “’The first thing was you can’t shrink away from shrinkage.” She went on to say: “Shrinkage is a term commonly used in the retail industry, which refers to any loss that impacts the company’s bottom line, generally due to internal or external theft or lack of compliance with procedures. Seventy percent of shrinkage is commonly within the control of a company since it is due to internal theft or issues with processes. However, whilst profit protection was fairly well established among retailers at that time, it was much less common in contract catering.”
Regan went on to explain that her profit protection team worked with the client site managers to build the correct behaviour and processes into their day-to-day jobs. They also taught managers how to prevent theft and reduce risk, by introducing basic security procedures such as a register for keys, arranging ways to keep money more secure, or managing stock more effectively. There is no doubt that Regan is professional and passionate in her approach to business but I wanted to know more about her transition from the client sector to that of a security service provider and what makes her different; so I asked if she were to describe her style of brand of working, what would that be? Regan sat back and thought for a moment then said: “I would describe myself as a creative thinker…with attitude! Essentially I am a solution provider.” I asked for an example and she recalled two of her main initiatives was the introduction of a ‘Shrink School’ and test purchasing. She said: “Both of these innovative platforms was very successful in reducing shrinkage.”
Regan explained how the ‘Shrink School’ was a training course with a difference that looked at various ways to combat theft and how to implement simple procedures to reduce risk. Managers were given tips and advice on how to create their individual action plan to ensure that their people and profits were safe and secure. What was also interesting was the way that they had addressed the duty of care to honest staff members who might be in a position where they knew that their supervisor or manager may have committed a theft. Regan explained that this was a hot topic and one that had to be dealt with in a creative and understanding manner since the person reporting the incident was likely to feel vulnerable and insecure. She explained the mechanism to allow staff who might find themselves in such a situation be able to commuunicate their concerns without fear of retribution via a specialised website. She then described Test Purchasing working in a similar way to mystery shopping by conducting regular unannounced audits on stock, cash and compliance. Regan is confident that this type of measure of performance ensures compliance and is an example of good corporate governance within any organisation.
She said: “With our new approach to security and our aim of culturising the staff to know that we conducted a zero tolerance attitude to all forms of shrinkage … attitudes began to change. The staff began to realise that we meant business and by investigating any deviations…no matter how small. The staff realised that we would investigate thoroughly all incidents of staff theft or malpractice in line with our company HR policy. Eventually this culture ensured that all new staff had an instant awareness of our working practice and it made for a more contented work place as far as I am concerned … people knew exactly what was expected of them.”
We continued chatting for ages about Regan’s enthusiastic and creative approach to solution providing and her success within the Profit Protection department by driving business profitability. She said: “This template was used to establish global Profit Protection minimum standards over 49 countries. During that period I also chaired an industry Loss Prevention forum for three years working in partnership with hospitality providers, some of which were Starbucks, Costa and SSP. The basic security gaps that I had identified whilst working on the client side enabled me to provide creative solutions that eventually resulted in culture change and acceptance of security as a vital part of the overall business plan resulting in more profit for the business.”
We spoke about her role as regional director for First Security retail and commercial division which she assumed in 2010. She said: “I love my role it enables me once again to be creative regarding solution providing. In an ever changing security landscape it’s imperative that security providers meet current and future security needs. With my retail background I am able to provide our clients with security services that meets their needs. As an organisation we are constantly horizon scanning to enable us to develop fit for purpose strategies that are based on continuous collaboration and communication with our clients. This combined with our ongoing analysis of our service provision is enabling us to drive the improvements of our growing range of security solutions.”
She continued to explain that this outcome is even more rewarding conducted during the consolidation period after a period of acquisitions. I asked if she was involved with any of the industry lead bodies and she replied: “I am a member of the Security Institute and the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals.” I asked about her involvement in the WCoSP. Regan said: “I have been a member for almost two years now and I have been finding my feet as far as the Company is concerned. However, I want to become more involved going forward.” I enquired what area of the WCoSP she would like to be involved in. She replied: “Probably the young members area, or indeed the membership committee.” I asked if she would be interested in going through the chair at some stage. Regan smiled and said: “I would be honoured to be Master of the WCoSP one day but I am aware that I will have to gain the experience working on a committee prior to seeking a Court position. However, I would like to go through the Warden process and perhaps one day become Master.” I have every confidence that will happen and look forward to the day.
