I recently caught up with James Kelly CEO British Security Industry Association (BSIA) to discuss the re-integration with Skills for Security (formerly SITO) and the continued navigation of an increasingly complex regulatory landscape along with the latest news on what projects have kept both the BSIA and James busy since the last time we met.
I first met James at St Pancras station in early 2012, where, after two years as Chief Executive of the BSIA he was keen to share his thoughts on the challenges facing both the Association and the industry at large. At that time James enthusiastically discussed his plans for the BSIA’s future. Almost two years on, we met again and I was eager for updates on the progress he has made towards the objectives he outlined to me in our first meeting.
First on the agenda, of course, was the issue of regulatory change, which remains a top priority for the BSIA as it continues to seek clarity from Government on behalf of its members. Last time we met, James outlined the BSIA’s swift action in response to the Government’s initial announcement that the Security Industry Authority would be abolished, and the pivotal role that the Association had played in coordinating an industry-wide response through the formation of the Security Regulation Alliance, which was a contributory factor in retaining a regulatory framework. I asked James how he felt now regarding the situation.
“Three years on from that announcement, I’m happy to report that much activity and lobbying has gone on in the background, and the BSIA continues to play an influential role in shaping the future of regulation in our industry. However, there’s still a long way to go, and our industry still urgently requires clarification from Government on the costs and timing of regulatory change.” Since we are no further on regarding clarification I asked James what he considered to be the road blockers to getting this sorted.
He said: “We have reached a particular impasse on the requirement for primary legislation, which is the key barrier we’re facing at present. Despite the unprecedented consensus among industry, the SIA, Home Office and other stakeholders on the structure and detail of the new regime, the Government has still failed to identify a definitive legislative vehicle by which the proposed changes can be enacted, despite the opportunity presented by the Anti-Social Behaviour and Policing Bill. As such, the Government’s original implementation target of 2014 is in real jeopardy, and many security companies are struggling to make financial forecasts for the coming years since there has also been no clarification on the cost of the new regime.”
We talked at length about regulation and his plans to ramp up the pressure on Government through a series of direct communications and meetings. He also explained that through involvement and lobbying for the Government to appointment a Director of Security (a government official with direct responsibility for the Home Office’s relationship with the private security sector) he was pleased when it was announced that Stephen Phipson was appointed to this post in early 2013. James went on: “To let this important programme fail at this stage would be a travesty, the BSIA will continue to apply pressure on the Government to take action. I have personally written to the Home Secretary on the subject, and will also be taking the message forward at both Conservative and Labour party conferences later this month, while speaking out in the media about the potential impact of inaction. In addition, we’ve galvanised our members into action, encouraging them to write to their own MPs, while the association remains vocal in its defence of the industry’s needs. In addition to discussions on regulation, we have championed the industry’s ability to support the Police, and early engagement with Police and Crime Commissioners was a crucial element of getting this message across. Interestingly, despite many Labour PCC candidates having publicly opposed private sector involvement in policing, our roundtable discussions have revealed that they are in fact disinclined to oppose such partnership working, provided that sufficient checks and balances are in place. Of course, many of our members have demonstrated fruitful partnership projects with police forces across the country, and we continue to highlight these success stories to Ministers, MPs and other influencers as our political engagement programme continues to gather momentum as the 2015 General Election looms.”
Public affairs is an area where the BSIA has enjoyed particular success over the past recent years. James listed a long line of successes in this area, not least the positive results of the series of active Parliamentary roundtable meetings, which have resulted in the Association renewing its dialogue with the Labour party for the first time since they left power in 2010. James is already anticipating the impact on the security industry of an election in two years’ time and his focus on strategic business planning has continued to build a new era of stability for the BSIA. With James at the helm I envisage these set to strengthen even further in years to come. With my past involvement with the BSIA and the many years that I spent dedicated to the association it is so good to have a CEO who has the sense of parity required when leading a trade association that has so many sections…both large and small. I can’t applaud James enough on what he has accomplished since he took on the position. James is a keen strategist and forward thinker regarding each of the individual sections as well as the bigger picture. I wanted to know more about the BSIA plans for the future.
James said: “Since the introduction of the association’s first business plan in 2010, we have gone on to identify nine strategic value propositions, a set of corporate goals, and a comprehensive strategic plan of how to achieve them. Each section of membership now has its own bespoke business plan, and the combination of all of these factors will demonstrate more clearly the benefits that member companies gain from their involvement in the BSIA. Our 2012 members’ survey revealed a high level of member satisfaction, with the majority of members reporting that the BSIA is a ‘listening organisation’ that takes on board and acts upon their opinions and needs. Clearly we were pleased with this result, but we’re not resting on our laurels – and continue to dedicate efforts to both the recruitment and retention of members”. I enquired if that had equated to new members joining the association?
James smiled and said: “This year, we’ve welcomed The Shield Group back into membership – completing our coverage of the Infologue.com Top Ten Guarding Companies, and we are also enjoying a consistent member retention rate of well above 90%, a noticeable improvement on previous years.” At our last meeting we talked about the financial position of all trade associations and how important it was to have the core foundation in place. We had discussed the loss of SITO to the association and how important it is for a trade association to have a training platform and partnership. Well, I am happy to say that a lot has changed since then. Financially, the BSIA is in a much stronger position than it was two years ago, and continues to stabilise as surplus funds are reinvested into new member services and other benefits. The most obvious manifestation of this is the association’s recent acquisition of Skills for Security, the sector skills body for the UK’s private security industry. I was delighted when the Association announced earlier this year that the ‘fusion’ has been restored, and was eager to hear from James about the progress made in the months since then. I couldn’t help but beam when I asked him to comment on this new relationship.
James smilingly said: “I’m pleased to report that Skills for Security is now fully integrated into the BSIA and Terri Jones, who has a wealth of experience in the sector skills industry, has been appointed as Director General”. James went on to explain that promoting Skills for Security will be at the heart of the organisation’s development. We also discussed the revitalised marketing and PR which has developed rapidly in the last couple of years. James eagerly discussed the many highlights in that area, one of which was the launch of a detailed report into the scope and number of CCTV systems in the UK – which took place at an official press conference in Westminster in early July. This was of major interest to me since I introduced the first BSIA CCTV manifesto whilst Chairman of the CCTV section. We spoke in depth about this topic and James said. “Being able to further the CCTV debate with an authoritative report on the number and scope of surveillance systems in the UK resulted in record levels of coverage in the national media, TV and radio appearances. The effective use of the full marketing mix – including a developing presence in social media – has enabled the BSIA to build its media presence year on year, reaching unprecedented audience numbers and harnessing online debate to maximise the BSIA’s exposure.” I mentioned that Amanda Beasley – Head of Communications was doing a great job and James agreed. He explained that the cohesive team was one to be proud of.
We further discussed marketing and communication and in particular ‘below-the-line marketing’ such as getting out and about and engaging with end-users and key stakeholders, along with BSIA’s events programme which is getting busier by the year. James said: “Our events portfolio continues to be hugely successful, and is attracting high levels of sponsorship on a consistent basis with the introduction of new events both here and internationally.” James is keen to develop the BSIA’s presence at overseas events and will be attending the IFSEC South East Asia in Kuala Lumpur whilst becoming increasingly involved in the UBM partnership worldwide security events including IFSEC South East Asia and IFSEC Istanbul. The wider world of security is a term that can be truly associated with the BSIA.
