SMT Online Web Exclusive

Profile: James Kelly (chief executive, BSIA) (Part One)

20 Jul 10

In the first instalment of BSIA CEO James Kelly’s inaugural interview with the security sector’s trade media, he talks exclusively to Brian Sims about his initial impressions of the Trade Association and the industry at large.

By Brian Sims

Last November-December time, the security profession found itself speculating – with much anticipation, it must be said – on who would fill the chief executive’s role at the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) vacated in August by David Dickinson’s successor, John Bates.

Finally, just shy of Christmas Day – Friday 18 December, to be precise – we all knew who would be stepping into the premier Trade Association’s ‘Hot Seat’.

BSIA chairman Stuart Lowden – who’d done a marvellous job of holding the fort after Bates’ somewhat sudden departure – announced that James Kelly was the successful candidate, and very much “the right man for the job”.

Not from the industry but most recently the chief operating officer and subsequently managing director at another trade body – the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) – Kelly has now been ‘in post’ for close on seven months. How, one wonders, is he finding life in the fast lane of the private security sector and, closer to home, the BSIA itself?

“Being totally honest, Brian,” explained the law graduate and holder of an MBA from the University of Strathclyde, “I think the BSIA is an extremely dynamic Trade Association in as much as the membership is very active. That membership is also passionate about development and improvement of the industry as a whole, and I’ve been greatly heartened by the degree to which many practitioners are willing to be involved at the sharp end.”

Having said that, Kelly also feels there’s far more work to be done on cultivating an even wider participation for members in the Association’s activities, and for two main reasons.

“For a start, selfishly I know research has continually shown that the greater the number of members involved in the actual running of any Trade Association and taking an active role in its associated discussion groups and committees, the more likely they are to renew their membership year-on-year. Why? Well, the answer’s pretty simple. It’s easy for them to see the value they’re deriving from that activity.”

Kelly continued: “However, on the flip side of the coin, it’s important we engage with as wide a community as possible in all of the work that we’re doing. This includes projects aimed at improving working practices and the overall quality of the private security sector.”

Direct involvement and engagement

A key mantra, then, appears to be ‘the more the merrier’, certainly in terms of the BSIA’s total membership base. Kelly has already decided to write to a number of the 17 Sections now presided over from Kirkham House to try and encourage even greater participation.

“Why not strive for more direct involvement and engagement in what we’re trying to do on the members’ behalf?” suggested Kelly. “At the end of the day, what we do is all focused on giving back to the members. We’re always trying to add value to their membership and, ultimately, add value to their businesses. As a result, we can help to increase their profitability.”

Wearing a tie that pretty much mirrored the BSIA’s corporate colours, Kelly sipped from a cup of coffee in one of the ninth floor meeting rooms at SMT Online’s Ludgate House headquarters where we’d convened and then imparted his perspective on the Trade Association’s structure.

“First and foremost, we have a sound structure, Brian. The regional committees seem to work well in terms of disseminating messages and the communication of various central initiatives. The 17 Sections represent most if not all factions of the security sector. What I want to do now is try and help those various sections cross-communicate on a better footing.”

He then cited the BSIA’s Security Consultancies Section as “a classic example”. Why so? “Our consultancy members deal with every facet of the security sector. That being the case, they need to be kept abreast of what the key issues are for the various other BSIA Sections. Similarly, the other BSIA Section members need to know what those consultancies are all about and what they can deliver on their behalf.”

Kelly is overtly astute in recognising that integration is – generally speaking – the essence of business life in this day and age. “Cross-communication inevitably facilitates integration,” he asserted. “When they’re looking to buy security or marketing services, at the same time clients increasingly seek a wider range of solutions that protect every facet of their operation.”

Ergo, an innate ability to be able to provide a joined-up response to client needs is, in Kelly’s considered opinion, going to deliver a competitive advantage to the BSIA’s customer-facing member companies.

Looking to create a London-centric footprint

A week prior to our formal interview, Kelly and I met up at The Ming Court restaurant on Ludgate Hill in The City for a most splendid luncheon. We talked about anything and everything, including politics, the news agenda, the security sector and life in the marketing world.

Without doubt, it was one of the most enjoyable and relaxed business luncheons I've ever attended in my 20 years as a professional journalist.

While we’re on the subject of locations, had Kelly formed any opinion on whether leafy Worcestershire – nice and all as it is – ought to remain as the BSIA’s beating heart when, more than ever before, there’s a defined requirement to be close to Parliament and all of the crucial political and policing partnerships forged across London and the South East?

Are there any formal plans in place for a London base, I wondered? “Yes there are, Brian,” responded Kelly in quick smart fashion. “We’re going to open a London office at some point later this year. A Worcester office will remain, though, as we don’t need all of the staff to be in the Capital.”

In truth, Kelly’s vision is that the majority of the BSIA’s dedicated team members will likely remain in Worcester. “Whether that’s at Kirkham House or another base remains to be seen,” he continued, “because where we are just now does seem to be a rather large building for our needs.”

The BSIA’s currently creating even more of an ‘architectural void’ – for want of a better phrase – as Kelly and Co are in the throes of relocating the SaferCash team from Worcester.

Putting two and two together, then, one could easily speculate that Kirkham House will soon be looking for a new tenant.

Kelly was keen to press home the point about “a London footprint”, and I urged him to do so. “Several of the key industry Stakeholders with whom I’ve held brief discussions on this matter would really welcome such a move. The major Stakeholders are here. The largest and most influential police force, too, as well as the Regulator and, of course, Westminster and Whitehall. All are absolutely vital to us going forward.”

Unlike his predecessors, Kelly does not reside in the Worcestershire area (in fact, he dwells contentedly in the Hertfordshire town of Weston, Hitchin with his wife, son and daughter).

“We have a great team in Worcester, and I try to be at Kirkham House as much as I can, but unfortunately with so many of the key meetings occurring in and around London this precludes me from nipping back to the office for the last two or three hours of the day.”

Up security hill and down policing dale

Quite rightly, Kelly has spent much of the time since his official start date of 11 January “being very visible in the industry”. He has been up hill and down dale, learning the security profession’s many and varied nuances, talking and listening to those deemed to be ‘in the know’.

“At times my wife has likened me to a travelling salesman living out of a suitcase,” said Kelly with a wry smile on his face. “I now know like the back of my hand where all of the country’s roadworks are, and I can visualise the road networks a lot better into the bargain!” Useful skills both.

“Seriously though, Brian, in a role like mine it’s absolutely vital to get out and about and be seen in the industry.” An assertion that brooked no argument whatsoever from my side of the table.

In the wake of all that networking, how would Kelly sum up the view he has subsequently formed of the industry per se?

“Clearly, there’s a great diversity of players within each sector. You have the SMEs, then there are also the big corporates. There’s a diversity of views and opinions about how this industry should and ought to be developed, but I’m confident that we can reconcile any differences of opinion.”

Kelly readily admitted that, even among some of the bigger security companies, there’s sometimes a split opinion over whether or not the Association should be developing standards.

“Some security companies feel they’re big enough and powerful enough to differentiate for themselves,” explained Kelly, “but I would argue that, broadly speaking, clients – and the procurement professionals in particular – need to have in front of them a range of companies from which to choose their service partners.”

In short, Kelly feels the BSIA needs to assist in making the purchasers’ choice that much easier for them. “We must be looking to reach a stage whereby clients can easily, quickly and readily identify who are the higher quality and best performing companies in the private security sector.”

How to entice new members into the fold?

Plenty of the top quality security companies are already under the BSIA’s wing, of course, but then again there are good companies in the sector who are not (for whatever reason). With one of his stated desires being to increase membership, how will Kelly entice those who have yet to ‘believe’?

“We do have to reconcile that situation, Brian. I remember being challenged earlier in my career about the assertion that any Trade Association automatically represents the best the industry in which it operates has to offer and, as I said, clients do need a means of identifying who’s the best.”

Without any pregnant pause, Kelly elaborated: “When a security company signs up to an extensive commitment to standards, such as the British Standards and Codes of Conduct and Codes of Practice, all of which detail at great length how they’ll perform in their contract dealings, surely that must be an assurance to purchasers that the service provider is going to abide by those standards at all times?” If I were a buyer, I’d certainly like to think so.

“There’s no proof that companies outside of BSIA membership will automatically do so. It must be said, too, that those companies who do buy-in to standards must still be subject to strict inspection and enforcement otherwise the whole premise [of membership] will be completely devalued.”

On that note, the BSIA must always be ready, willing and able to expel members if they break the strict Terms and Conditions outlined for inclusion.

“We’ve acted on that promise only recently, Brian,” said Kelly. “If companies themselves promise high standards then they must meet them and exist by them. The badge of the Trade Association speaks to purchasers that the member company in possession of it seeks to deliver high quality performance. This cannot be undermined at any stage.”

Preconceptions: corroborated or dispelled?

As a security ‘newbie’, if it were the case that Kelly came to the industry with any preconceptions have they been corroborated or otherwise dispelled?

“If I’m honest I approached the security sector with an open mind,” he replied. “Having served as the public face of the marketing services industry for many years, it was nearly always the case that you’d have to confront a number of perception and image challenges.”

Expanding the theme, Kelly – who was directly responsible for revenue generation, cost control and member service delivery at the DMA – told me that ‘below the line’ marketing activity was never seen as being anywhere near as glamorous as the above the line stuff (such as glossy advertising).

“Therefore, although it was highly effective and extremely easy to measure in terms of its success rate, ‘below the line’ marketing didn’t really have the same image. Thinking about it, I suppose to a certain extent I did expect some perception and image challenges in the security world as well.”

According to Kelly, those challenges “probably do exist” (albeit to a lesser extent than they likely did say ten years ago, but “they’re still there”).

To combat that reality, and with his promotional hat well and truly on, Kelly told me that he can see a time when the Association might actually run an ongoing communications campaign targeted at consumers and extolling the benefits of trading only with BSIA member companies.

“It could be some form of radio campaign,” he posited while thinking out loud. “Either way, we do need to tackle head on any lingering doubts that may persist among the client base about the level and quality of service provision in the security sector.”

Can we lose the ‘grudge purchase’ tag?

Sadly, security is still seen as a grudge purchase for so many ill-educated and – without wishing to put too fine a point on it – ignorant Boards of Directors, including some of the bigger purchasing operations. To my mind, in a post-9/11 and 7/7 world that status quo beggars belief.

Does Kelly feel this is an intractable problem, or can it be solved at some point (and, hopefully, sooner rather than later)?

“I really do feel we can meet this issue head on, Brian. In truth, that very point was put to me when we ran the Manchester Security 2010 event a couple of months back. I was interviewed by BBC Radio Manchester early one morning, and the interviewer politely suggested we only run this event because our member companies can make money out of it.”

The journalist concerned also invited Kelly to respond to the assertion that the security sector exists merely to trade on the fear of crime and criminality (as well as the counter-terror agenda).

“My retort was that security is an investment. We’re trying to make client businesses in the community that much safer and more secure. Security shouldn’t be seen as a grudge purchase. It ought to be, and should be, perceived as an investment, and a long-term one at that. It’s no different to preventative legal advice for businesses that helps them steer clear of massive pitfalls later on down the road.”

Concluding the first part of our discussion, Kelly stated in no uncertain terms that security “must be seen as an integral element of business operations”. It does facilitate a secure base from which to promote products and services, whatever industry the customer may operate within.

“To my mind, service providers must concentrate on generating a solid confidence in the business community that they’re there to help them. If you’re talking about the private sector, that help must be seen to assist the maximisation of profit.”

If it’s the public sector, on the other hand, then clearly the private security industry has an increasingly vital role to play (even more so in view of the spending cuts put forward by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, after which any lingering doubts about policing numbers not stacking up will surely be summarily dispelled).

In Part Two of this exclusive interview, to be published on SMT Online tomorrow morning, James Kelly chats to Brian Sims about managerial style, the political landscape, policing and SIA regulation