How to Keep Your GSOC Engaged and Ready

A GSOC is a key tenet of any security strategy, and because of this you want your team to be prepared and ready to act in a moment's notice if something were to go awry. But, if we’re being honest, the goings-on at a business when it comes to physical security threats are mostly dull (which is exactly the way we like it!). Monotony, however, leads to complacency and complacency is a GSOC's nemesis. As the Director of HiveWatch’s vGSOC, I have a few things I do to keep the team engaged and ready:

1. Training, training, and more training
   
   If there is one tried and true way of keeping your edge, it's making sure your GSOC operators are trained and retrained. At HiveWatch we have developed a robust list of standard operating procedures, unique to every client we have, and work consistently to make sure we maintain a level of efficiency and consistency that exceeds expectations.
   
   Training involves not just technical competencies revolving around various SaaS platforms, but soft skills like phone etiquette, written communications, and teamwork.
   
   Previous events are used as real world case studies for our team to react against, establishing a baseline for personnel metrics. We also use those same events to workshop how things may have been approached from a different angle, allowing proactive discussion from the newest operator to a senior supervisor.
   
   
2. Culture as a core competency
   
   A sure way to avoid fatigue is by creating a great company culture. I know it sounds a little far fetched, but hear me out. At HiveWatch we are still a growing business, so there are not too many degrees of separation between our operators and the COO or CEO, and we intend to keep it that way. Open discussions are not only allowed, but encouraged. In addition to an open work environment, we utilize a variety of methods to ensure that all employees feel included, which leads to low turnover rates and a desire to grow professionally.
   
   In addition to making sure everyone hired feels welcome from day one, we also bring diversity and inclusion to our hiring practices. As the hiring manager for the vGSOC, I look for atypical professional backgrounds to grow our team. While having a security background can be a plus, we look to train our team from scratch, allowing for a greater variety of solutions to present themselves during a security event. After actions and lessons learned can then be applied to future training and can contribute to personnel feeling responsible for contributing to the team in multiple ways.
   
   
3. A focus on mental health

It’s no secret that while uneventful a majority of the time, this profession has the potential to impact one's mental health. Not only can the job influence an operator's state of mind, but they have their own lives outside of work, and we are very cognizant of that fact.

My number one concern is the wellbeing of my operators and supervisors. It is because of that, that I encourage breaks whenever possible, the use of both paid time off and sick time, and our open door policy to be used with me at all hours. If my team is not as healthy as they can be - mentally, physically, emotionally - then how can they be expected to handle the worst that may occur at any given time?