Helping Security Officers integrate seamlessly into faith communities

Overview

A major UK strategic outsourcing and energy services company needed to onboard a number of security officers to work in over 130 Islamic faith-based sites across the UK, including mosques and schools. To support the security guards to engage with the communities in collaborative partnership, we identified clear and recognisable situations and provided simple techniques for building cultural awareness, tackling risks around overconfidence and setting the foundations for preparedness and trust.

The challenge The solution Impact

Client profile

Energy and facilities

64,000

The challenge

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Importance

Our client was recruiting Security Officers to a new engagement which was providing services to Muslim communities – including faith schools and mosques. This was a high-profile project overseen by a government department, and the potential cultural and reputational risks of getting this type of work wrong are very high. Urgency was intensified by a sharp rise in Islamophobic incidents following the 2024 riots. Therefore, they rapidly needed to give these new recruits awareness, tools and knowledge to engage with this community in a respectful and supportive manner, before being deployed. As an existing client, they sought our help in providing tools for behaviour change and effectively addressing any common biases.

The solution

Insight

We sought input from members of the Muslim community and security officers, as well as reviewing key literature on “diversity” training. These findings helped us to think about how to design a truly effective intervention. We found that:

Diversity interventions are often ineffective because they focus on awareness raising on attitudes and unconscious biases, leaving them without practical tools for behaviour change

A lack of a basic understanding of cultural and religious diversity existed which could hinder effective communication, trust-building, and collaboration with Muslim communities

Some members of the Muslim community downplayed the threats made to them, having a sense of accepting that ‘it’s just one of those things that they have to deal with’

Employees are often left on their own to interpret what they have learned, leading to an overconfidence around what people think they know when it comes to cultural mores

An up-front behavioural survey we conducted showed that indeed, 76.4% of security workers were confident of their knowledge of the traditions and practices of the Muslim culture

Interventions

Following our insights, we needed to foster collaboration and partnership between Security Officers and the community, rather than positioning community as an external group that Security Officers need to “manage” sensitively. We wanted tackle any overconfidence in the skills required to work with the community and avoid any oversimplification of Muslim cultural norms and faith.

To do this, we created a short, action-focused intervention that was mobile first so they could go through it on their own devices and in their own time.

It focused on daily situations they might encounter such as…

How to respectfully enter and patrol a mosque’s sacred areas

Dealing with peak times and prayer times

Executing typical security procedures

Escalating incidents or concerns appropriately and safely.

We also created realistic dramatised video scenarios to support decision-making judgement in more complex or fast-moving situations.

The learning had a strong emphasis on reflection, relevance, and personalisation. Officers were not just taught what to do, but why it mattered - anchoring their role in allyship and community trust.

Our approach not only delivered a high-impact learning solution at pace, but also set a new benchmark for culturally responsive training in the security sector. It demonstrated how thoughtful design, grounded in behavioural science and community insight, can drive real-world impact - enhancing both organisational performance and societal trust.

Impact

This programme delivered measurable, high-impact results demonstrating clear alignment with strategic goals, cultural transformation, and operational excellence.

1. Quantitative Outcomes

Cultural Sensitivity: Pre- and post-learning surveys with over 500 officers revealed a near 50% increase in cultural sensitivity, with statistically significant improvements in understanding of mosque etiquette, gender segregation, and religious practices.

Learner Preparedness: 89.7% of officers reported feeling more prepared to work in faith-based environments after completing the training.

Reduced Support Needs: 74.9% of officers stated they required less support post-training, indicating increased confidence and competence.

Learner Satisfaction: The programme achieved an NPS of 91, with high ratings across all learning topics, including mosque etiquette, incident reporting, and working in faith schools.

Engagement and Reach: The programme was successfully scaled to over 3,000 officers across 695 surge sites, with seamless LMS integration enabling real-time tracking and compliance reporting.

2. Qualitative Impact

Community Trust: Officers reported feeling more confident in engaging with Muslim communities, and early anecdotal feedback from community members indicated increased feelings of safety and respect.

Behavioural Change: The training addressed the “illusion of explanatory depth” - where learners initially overestimated their knowledge - by revealing gaps and building true competence through immersive, scenario-based learning.

Organisational Alignment: The programme reinforced our client’s “People First” culture by embedding inclusive behaviours and aligning frontline delivery with strategic ED&I goals.