New Benchmark Offers Detailed Comparison Data for Security Programs

July 22, 2021 – The Security Leadership Research Institute (SLRI) has released the results of its 2021 Corporate Security Organizational Structure, Cost of Services and Staffing Benchmark.

A few highlights:

• 41% of respondents operated at the Director level.
• Average security budget reported was $13,254,850.
• On average, respondents reported one security employee for every 93 employees.

Security leaders have used the budget, title, and reporting data provided by this benchmark to avoid budget reductions and secure job title changes to better reflect their level of responsibility.

The 2021 results include more detailed data breakdown and more comparison data than previous versions of the benchmark. The full report includes:

• report-to level by organization revenue
• domains managed compared to security budget
• report-to function vs. reporting level
• budget by square footage
• budget as a percentage of revenue
• budget by sites covered
• budget per employee
• uniformed security vs organizational employees
• personnel cost as a percentage of budget

The report also details security’s responsibility and accountability by program (e.g., supply chain security, IT forensic investigation, business continuity, asset protection), broken down by revenue, number of employees, budget, and more.

The SLRI carefully vets responses and respondents to ensure a high level of confidence in the reliability and accuracy of benchmark data. No other organization focuses exclusively on quality, meaningful research specific to the corporate security function.

For more detailed highlights of the Corporate Security Organizational Structure, Cost of Services and Staffing Benchmark, click here.

To access the full report, participate in the benchmark. It takes only 15 minutes to complete. And please consider letting your peers at other organizations know about this effort. The more participants we have, the more valuable information we can provide.

This benchmark is just one of the many research initiatives the SLRI conducts to assess trends in corporate security. To learn more or to become involved, click here.

About the Security Leadership Research Institute
The Security Leadership Research Institute (SLRI) provides independent and actionable research to the security and risk community. The SLRI was formed because of the need by the security industry to document the entire spectrum of corporate security risk mitigation through research. The SLRI conducts many forms of research, including benchmarks, practitioner quick polls, state of the industry and trend reports, and custom research for individual companies and security leaders.
Learn more: www.securityexecutivecouncil.com/about/research_institute.html.

About the Security Executive Council
The Security Executive Council is the leading research and advisory firm focused on corporate security risk mitigation strategies and plans. We work with security leaders to transform security programs into more capable and valued centers of excellence. Watch our 3-minute video for a quick overview or visit us at www.securityexecutivecouncil.com.

Media Contact:
Marleah Blades
Manager, External Relations
256-689-0242
mblades@secleader.com