The Role Of Human Resources In The Mitigation Of Insider Threats In Nuclear Organizations

Due to its unique nature, the nuclear industry requires a highly trained, competent and trustworthy workforce. It is important to hire the right people with the right attitudes and qualifications at the right times. In this paper we aim to demonstrate how facilitating effective integration between the human resource function (HR) and other management functions will allow for the creation and implementation of and cohesive and cross-cutting strategy for identifying security sensitive positions and then ensuring that they are appropriately staffed. When properly enabled, the HR department is well placed to support the function of ongoing oversight and timely review of these security sensitive positions, and to intervene in the critical pathways to insider threat, creating choke points to prevent an employee who is experiencing difficulties from progressing through to the ‘hostile act’ stage. This paper examines where and how the HR function can intervene on these critical pathways, and explores these key enablers, including the role of senior management and the importance of an appropriately trained and resourced HR team. This paper also considers how HR can be used to mitigate against the siloed structures which can be an impediment to the creation of an effective insider threat programme. We also aim to demonstrate how specific Human Resource Management activities carried out by the HR department can support the development of a competent and suitable workforce and contribute to the development of an organizational culture that promotes safety and security. The observations and good practices in this paper have been developed in collaboration with industry and academia, and drawn from a variety of countries and company cultures as well as a broad spectrum of organizational types. Any conclusions and examples of current good practice are designed to be applicable to a wide range of nuclear organizations, from power related facilities to transportation and research and development.