What makes a successful business
Innovation, finding the right talent, network and customers that drive sales.
But even with all these boxes checked, all these would collapse if there are no robust plans to safeguard your employees and business. Mr Jack Ho, General Manager at The Star Performing Arts Centre, tells us how the company took steps to strengthen the vigilance and resilience of their workplace and gives entertainment-goers peace of mind.
Over the years, The Star Performing Arts Centre has hosted international celebrities, countless events and world-class concerts.
With multiple access points and different densities of crowds - from 5,000 people attending a concert to 20,000 people attending church service on another day. This makes it vital for all staff at Star Performing Arts Centre to be trained to stay alert and vigilant to potential security risks.
People matters for a safe and successful organisation
The 70 full-time staff are augmented by part-timers, and all are trained to be ready in times of crisis. There are regular reviews of the organisation’s SOPs and crisis management training.
Over the last few years, the importance of security was cascaded to the staff during town hall sessions and quarterly staff meetings to emphasise the importance of respective roles and responsibilities.
During the yearly intensive training, key components like terrorism, bomb threats, chemical attack, fire evacuation, data protection, crisis management are covered. All staff will then have to take an online test to ensure that they understand and are well-prepared. New staff are trained as part of their induction to the company too.
There are practical drills and exercises, such as simulated exercises in partnership with SPF, to help staff better understand and be more meaningfully engaged on what it meant by being SGSecure-ready.
The company also sends customer-facing staff and those in the Facilities Department for first aid, CPR and AED training.
An inclusive corporate culture builds a cohesive workplace
“ A culture is not reinforced overnight, it takes time and consistency is key. ”
– Ms Sarah Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing, The Star Performing Arts Centre
Sarah shares how the management of the company makes a whole lot of difference in instilling core values. Senior management walks the talk in engaging all staff, regardless of race, religion, and occupation-levels.
From staff bonding sessions, lunches to sports sessions, these activities build trust and respect in the organisation and help management detect signs of radicalisation.
Plans in place protect the workplace
Large crowds pose an easy target for terror attacks. To mitigate risks, security and proper measures and plans in place are critical for business continuity.
“ We are in a place that is highly visible and we need proper measures in place to mitigate risks. Having an SG Secure rep and a risk officer help to drive the overall security plans for the company. This is critical for business continuity. ”
– Mr Jack Ho, General Manager at The Star Performing Arts Centre
As such, The Star Performing Arts Centre has two forms of security in place – venue and event security to address the different types of customers in the three performance venues (The Star Theatre, The Star Gallery, The Star Loft). Venue security oversees the security of the venue, while events security handles crowd control.
Two years ago, there was no proper risk management plan.
Today, the executive board and management of Rock Productions have completed a comprehensive enterprise risk review of all their business entities, including The Star Performing Arts Centre. This includes identifying key areas of risk (financial, strategic, operations, health and safety, technology and compliance) as well as taking effective steps to reduce the risk, and assigning responsibilities to the various stakeholders.
Besides appointing an SGSecure rep, they have a risk officer who works with the SGSecure rep to ensure that workplaces and key business functions are well-protected.
With cyber threats as one of the top concerns for every business, staff at The Star Performing Arts Centre are taught on data protection, while the company takes care to ensure that security measures are in place, including firewall, security software, instilling SOPs, and reminding staff to be cautious to detect cyber risks.
A strong network and partnership is key for business growth. This applies not just to driving sales and profit, but also partnering the community to enhance safety and security.
The Star Performing Arts Centre is a member of the Safety and Security Watch Group (SSWG) One North Cluster. The SSWG, an initiative of the SPF and SCDF, equips business community within a geographical cluster with strong measures to fight crime and terrorism threats.
During table-top exercises with SPF, gaps are identified, and that helps The Star Performing Arts Centre constantly improve their crisis plans. Working with SCDF, fire evacuation plans are made more comprehensive, and such exercises help the company gain valuable insights.
The company also works with GSK building, located at One-North in the Rochester Park area, for the use of their office space in an emergency.
Besides strong partnership with the community, an effective communications platform is crucial to help organisations act swiftly during an emergency. The company uses group-based communications channel which aids in effective crisis response planning and implementation of their communications plan in emergencies.
Staff and senior management have undergone media training to be more prepared on crisis response measures – taking another step towards being SGSecure-ready!