Trust is an essential ingredient to any successful operation.
Trust in leadership means employees can concentrate on their jobs. Trust in partnerships means you can count on every entity in a project to do their role correctly.
And trust in your staff means leadership can focus on big picture goals for their organizations without getting bogged down in micromanagement of day-to-day tasks within their organization.
Trust is a healthy aspect of all operations, especially when it comes to airports, but it creates challenges when it doesn’t exist.
Airport Business recently completed its 2023 security technology survey and one of the most concerning issues airport leaders are reporting is a lack of trust.
Only 55% of respondents said they trust their tenants are conducting proper security training and screening of their employees. Coupled with the fact insider threats are now the No. 1 security concern for airport leaders, you have a recipe for disaster.
It’s easy to understand the concern. The workforce shortage isn’t relaxing and a lot of organizations are going to try and get as many people as they can and onboard them as quickly as possible.
But everyone has a vested interest in the security and safety of the airport. Incidents create challenges across the system and breed new regulations. Proactive steps are always the best course of action. And most aviation service providers have more sense than to let security concerns wane in favor of more employees.
The challenge isn’t based on hard facts, but a lack of communication. Interviews with respondents revealed no hard facts to prove or disprove their concerns. It’s easy to think there’s a risk at hand, but it’s even easier to prove there isn’t. Just communicate.
Tenant/landlord communications always have challenges, but building a pipeline of communication is beneficial for everyone. Sharing your plans and raising concerns provide valuable insight into the needs of both the airport and the businesses who call it home.
Consider how you connect with your airport or your tenants and where it falls short. Make a commitment to clear and concise communications with each other. Understanding each other’s needs and goals will come a long way.
When we first started asking about biometric usage in our readership survey, less than 15% of airports had plans to implement the technology because of concerns they had. Six years and lots of communication later, that number is now up to 55% planning to implement the technology by 2030.
Trust is earned. It takes time. It’s hard work. But committing to two-way communications is the best start to earning trust and having your partner reciprocate back to you.
