An article on The Unseen Standard and Research
There seems to be endless discussions concerning standards and training in the EP business. It is my opinion that all practitioners want standards but they want standards that match the training they have received. If they went to xyz EP school they want the standards to be what that school taught. Also keep in mind that it is the job market that determines the skills and experience needed for employment – not the training provider.
Although there is no federal license for the EP industry there is a government agency, the IRS, which has standards that a large and important segment of the job market must follow. Also that same market segment must also follow the procedures as outlined in their Kidnap &Ransom (K&R) policy.
When Joe Autera of TSVDI and I speak at a conference and we bring the IRS and K&R scenario up – I am surprised (shocked) at how few know it exists. Most corporate practitioners are well versed on K&R, but not the IRS regulations. When a client asks for an explanation of the IRS rules we guide them where to look and give them all the information we have, but let them know we are not accountants or tax attorneys. In fact just recently VDI did exactly that, except the company was not a client. Joe Autera mentioned the IRS regulations to a Director of Security and sent the information, a short while later Joe receives a phone call from the security director thanking VDI for making her look good, and mentioning that VDI has a client for life – her words not VDI’s. The only reason I mention that experience is that you can do the same, either for an existing client or a potential client.
And then there is the ex-student who paid thousands of dollars to go that xyz EP school mentioned above that has no knowledge of the IRS regulations or the concept of K&R Insurance. I have to ask – didn’t that EP school you went talk about this? For the educated consumer of Protective Services the IRS regulations are one of the most important issues involving employment, training providers should at least make the student aware of them.
I suggest those xyz graduates that would like to learn more about the IRS do the research themselves and develop one of the most important skills in this business or in fact any business – the skill of research. This is an article by Larry Snow on research and how to do it. It won’t talk about guns – diamond formation, watches, combative techniques, but it could be the single most important skill you can learn.
http://tbos.tv/how-to-effectively-use-the-internet-as-a-research-tool/