A CSO Career Change: Scott Wolford, CPP

Scott Wolford, CPP’s law enforcement career ended abruptly. He served with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for 15 years before he was hit by a car and had to retire, dramatically changing his plan to serve as a trooper for his whole career.

At that point, he had no idea what he wanted to do next. Mentors pointed out that the skills he developed as a state trooper could be valuable to corporate America, so he started expanding his horizons and exploring the resources available through ASIS International. He started in private security as a second shift supervisor before being promoted to security manager and then director at Nationwide Insurance.

So, what law enforcement skills did Wolford leverage in the private sector?

“When you’re out there [patrolling], you’re by yourself,” he says. “You have to be self-motivated. You have to have self-discipline. Attention to detail will save your life. You have to be adaptable, and empathy plays a big role in that.”

Although most people have a connotation of police as the “big tough cop,” Wolford says, nuanced and empathetic interactions make a huge difference for the officer’s safety and the wellbeing of the people they serve. One of Wolford’s training officers in the highway patrol asked him if he had a spare $75 in his pocket. Wolford said no, and the trainer noted that neither do most people who get stopped by police but that’s how much a traffic ticket costs. So, Wolford would think twice about whether the driver’s behavior could be corrected with a warning or if it merited a citation.

In the private sector, empathy helps Wolford be a more understanding and influential manager. If a security guard is underperforming—not paying attention to the security desk and playing on his phone instead—Wolford could call him to the office and rail at him. Or, he could sit down and have a discussion with the guard about why his situational awareness at the desk is so important—not only for his own safety but for the safety of the entire company and the associates who may be looking to him for help. Choosing the more nuanced, supportive path can produce a more engaged and effective team.

In addition, that empathy helped Wolford guide people through terrible situations when they were feeling stressed or panicked. In the private sector, that skill translates well to crisis management and incident response.

“While there’s the opportunity for things to go really bad in the private sector, most of the time the things that people get upset about are not life-or-death situations,” he says. Remembering his public sector background, Wolford can apply a reality check, reminding crisis managers that they are going to make it home at the end of the day and that they typically have enough time to make well-considered and discussed decisions.

There were, of course, some areas that needed extra attention when changing between law enforcement and private security, especially communication.

“A lot of your written communication in law enforcement is writing a statement,” Wolford says. “You want to put as much detail and anything they might ask you about, you want to have in your statement. If you write a document like that in corporate America and send it off to a vice president, they’re probably not even going to look at it. Too long, didn’t read, right? You learn to hit the main points. Being a communicator, use the power of three— you learn to emphasize just three main points. That is what I always try to keep in mind when I am sending off communications, whether it be up the chain or down the chain.”

Being a communicator, use the power of three—you learn to emphasize just three main points.

Another essential lesson was that “your priorities are not necessarily someone else’s priority,” Wolford says.

When rolling out a new enterprise-wide visitor management system, Wolford wanted to implement the system on a Monday, but a company senior vice president nixed the idea. The VP reviewed all communications going out to associates on Monday mornings, and he flagged that the visitor management system announcement would be one alert too many, and it could negatively influence the adoption of the system. A delay of a few days to a less hectic morning would mean that associates had a gentler, less overwhelming introduction to the new program.

“It really helped me focus on the associate experience,” Wolford says.

Claire Meyer is editor-in-chief of Security Management. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her directly at [email protected].