In anticipation of GSX, we sat down with presenters of upcoming sessions in order to get a better understanding of the topics at hand. This week we are featuring, “Frontline Workers in Crisis: Leveraging Integrated Security Systems to Address Today’s Greatest Workplace Safety Threats,” presented by Brandon Davito, Senior Vice President of Product and Operations at Verkada. Read on for what he had to say and don’t forget to register for GSX 2024!
Q: How did you become interested in frontline worker safety?
A: Since the very beginning, Verkada’s mission has been to protect people and property. And as we have grown and scaled our business – today, there are more than 1 million Verkada devices online protecting 24,000 organizations across 85 countries – I’ve learned about the challenges that keep our customers up at night.
Amid an uptick in violence against workers in customer-facing roles last year, we conducted research to better understand the frontline worker experience. Among the most concerning findings: more than half of retail workers regularly worry about erratic or aggressive behavior and theft from customers. Similarly, more than half of healthcare workers in frontline roles regularly fear being assaulted at work.
The enormity of this issue can’t be understated. The retail industry is the largest private sector employer in the United States, accounting for fifty-two million workers. That’s one in four Americans in the workplace.
Retail has long been a starting point for many careers. With better tools and training, we can make a real difference in protecting the safety of retail workers today – and importantly, their careers over the long term.
Q: Tell us about your presentation at GSX and why security professionals should have frontline worker safety on their radar.
A: At GSX, I’ll be sharing the newest findings from our research on frontline worker safety in healthcare and retail. We’ll also have time to discuss what this means for leaders entrusted with keeping their workforces safe – everything from the technology that can support teams to thinking through retention, compliance, and training.
Q: What advice would you give security professionals interested in frontline worker safety?
A: My advice for security professionals entrusted with protecting frontline workers is to never underestimate the power of communication. From my conversations with customers and partners, I’ve learned that the more that the security tools, systems, and processes are communicated and shared with frontline staff, the safer they feel. Consider hosting regular training sessions, adding signage in breakrooms, clearly labeling tools or otherwise making them visible, and asking for regular feedback about what is or isn’t working.
Q: How do you see workplace safety evolving in the next 2-5 years?
A: I’m optimistic that between improvements in technology to both deter and respond to events that more and more workers will begin to feel safe on the job again. Even in just the past year, I’ve seen how many more customers have shifted from primarily using security systems as reactive tools for investigations to proactive tools that can identify and mitigate risks before an incident occurs—for example, being able to automatically detect abnormal or unsafe traffic patterns in stores and send an alert. I have no doubt that AI will also dramatically improve the proactive technologies and solutions that retailers leverage to protect their frontline workers.
Q: Why do you attend GSX?
A: Spending time with customers is invaluable. At GSX, I’m able to spend quality time with customers learning about new pain points or issues that are emerging, which helps me and my team to build products and solutions that better address and anticipate their needs.