In our weekly Library Card Series we highlight a selection from our resource library to help introduce the content to our industry partners.
For this post of our Library Card Series we will be reviewing a customer service and security tool promoted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) entitled The Power of Hello. A key to this principle is that any vigilant employee can observe and report suspicious behavior, and if all employees are trained to recognize suspicious behavior it will increase the security of the entire organization. Using a method coined as OHNO, employees can observe and evaluate suspicious behavior.
The OHNO approach stands for:
- Observe– Being observant of all surroundings and watching for suspicious behavior. Some examples consist of putting down a suspicious bag, expressive talk of violence, using abuse language, etc.
- Initiate a Hello– Smile, make contact and say Hello. Use greetings like “I will be here in case you need my help.”
- Navigate The Risk– Ask yourself if the behavior you have observed is suspicious. Some questions you may want to ask yourself is “Has the individual been avoiding security?” or “Why is this individual taking pictures of exit signs and security cameras?”
- Obtain Help– Obtain help from management or authorities. To organize your thoughts to explain to authorities, use the 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When, Why.
Forbes’ recent article about budtenders arming themselves as dispensaries increasingly become targets of robbery attempts highlights the need for vigilance. Obviously, if a situation gets to a point where the assailant has drawn a gun, it has already gotten out of control, and whether an employee has a weapon or not, the outcome is very unpredictable. Employees should be encouraged to speak up if they see something suspicious. Actively assessing the risks and keeping good situational awareness can possibly stop a situation from fully ramping up. Helping employees understand signs us suspicious behavior should be included in regular employee trainings. And remember OHNO: Observe, Initiating a hello, Navigating the risk, and Obtaining help.
Additional Related Resources:
- Review the FDA post on See Something, Say Something
- Review the Homeland Security Suspicious Activity post
To find more valuable resources covering a wide variety of topics, visit the resource section of our website, and check back to our blog every Tuesday for our Library Card Series where we highlight different resources from the library.