Challenge:
In 1995, following the wake of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, President Clinton established the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) to set minimum physical standards for gaining access to facilities occupied by federal employees. Since then, the ISC has been delivering an evolving compendium of standards, keeping pace with evolutions in technology. In 2010, the ISC standards wentthrough a dramatic change; security standards were now “customizable”, allowing potential threats to be categorized according to their relative risk, decreasing the overall cost. This complex approach created some degree of confusion amongst the ISC membership. Three primary agencies, DOJ, GSA and DHS, took the initiative and elected to collaborate in training their personnel on the updated standards.
Solution:
The DOJ, GSA, and DHS turned to trusted advisor, eMentum, to develop the training approach. In 2011, eMentum recommended a training pilot as the first step, which was highly successful and generated a great deal of interest in the Risk Management Process. eMentum created a customized training plan using best practices in Adult Learning theory and the ADDIE process to create an interactive program that both optimized in-class learning and created a long-term foundation to continue to hone and perfect attendees’ Risk Management skillset. Detailed feedback was captured both during and in post-classroom sessions via Reaction Sheets distributed to each student. The training course provided comprehensive training materials; emphasized practice over theory, with extensive “practical” field exercises in which trainers would leverage real-world experience on simulated site locations; instituted a rigorous materials development process, including rounds of SME drafts, editorial revisions, and peer reviews; followed a highly detailed schedule with simultaneous work cycles to move training materials through the development process efficiently across multiple agencies and representatives; documented logistics for the training, including the schedule for the training itself; and developed a post-training plan including lessons-learned, an online survey of participants and created an online community of interest for training alumni.
Business Impact:
Several classes were run under DOJ, DHS, and GSA from 2012-2013, and January 2014 marked the transition of the instruction to the federal government’s premier training organization, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The Risk Management Training program is currently the only class that is officially certified by the ISC, and as a result, the government-wide adoption of the training program has been extremely positive. In the latest overall ISC Risk Management Program evaluative survey gathered in November 2015, the course scored a 4.79 rating out of a possible 5.00 points, making the program among the top rated classes that the OPM has ever offered. eMentum maintains a key role in both the curriculum design and the delivery of the ISC Risk Management Process training course.
Quick Facts:
- In 2010, the ISC standards went through a dramatic change that made security standards “customizable”
- Three primary agencies, DOJ, GSA and DHS, took the initiative and elected to collaborate in training their personnel on the updated ISC standards
- The Risk Management Training program is currently the only class that is officially certified by the ISC and is among the top rated classes that the OPM offers
- 20 three-day classes with over 400 students from 40 distinct agencies/components have been taught the Risk Management Process since its inception.
- Beyond the Classroom: eMentum’s marketing approach has integrated monthly newsletters and short, engaging videos to keep graduates up to date on the latest in Risk Management.