There’s no doubt about it, the face of the security systems industry is changing. The pace at which technology is evolving is forcing us to add new products and services just to remain as viable businesses, and it isn’t a bad thing. I’m sure you’ve all heard the 20% number that has been talked about since before I entered the industry back in the Sos. That’s the r in 5 homeowners who have a home security system, a number that really hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. But with the advent of the Internet of Things and the drastically reduced price of entry for homeowners to add home automation, the question on everyone’s mind is how much more of the 80% will now be interested in the solutions we sell.

Our industry is on the cutting edge of new technology with features such as connected homes, smart thermostats, energy management, and life safety. Just as your fingerprint can unlock your smartphone, now you can also unlock your front door using your phone from anywhere around the globe. Forget about losing keys; technology has come to the point where all of your security, safety, and convenience features are combined into an easy-to-use service. These new developments have not only created an influx of new customers, but they have attracted many new faces to the field and even brought back industry veterans like myself. The ability to use cutting edge technology to safeguard people and secure their property is another reason why industry professionals find their careers so rewarding. We are not only providing enhanced home and business protection; we are giving our customers peace of mind.

And you ain’t seen nothing yet. Brand name companies such as Google and Apple, industry leaders such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon, and DIY companies such as Canary and Piper are all making their way into the security systems industry through the connected home market, which is projected to be valued at $21 billion by the year 2020. We can only expect this industry growth and expansion to generate newer technologies, which in turn will ignite new ways we can use these advancements to provide a higher level of service to our customers. These one-off products, most of which are not connected into an entire system, will not be able to replace what our industry has been doing now for decades.

Despite the innovative qualities each new product boasts, they do not have the peace-of-mind we can provide. We take pride in being life-safety experts and we have the experience, skills and outstanding customer service to back it up.

All of this is fundamentally changing the face of our businesses, and you’re kidding yourself if you think it is only a fad. Ten years ago, you might not have associated the words exciting, cool, or technologically­ advanced with the security systems and alarm industry. But for successful businesses today, those are some of the words that define them.

The security industry of yesterday is not the security industry of today, much less tomorrow and we can apply this same logic to the workforce. The workforce of yesterday will surely not be the workforce of tomorrow, thanks in part to millennials. This year, I’ve had the pleasure of being a speaker with two of my industry friends, John Jennings and George De Marco, at a couple of industry events: the 2015 ESA Leadership Summit and the California Alarm Association (CM) Convention. The topic of our discussion at both events was titled “What’s keeping you up at night… and if it’s not, it should.” One of the things that should be keeping leadership awake at night is the transition taking place in the security industry, and all dealers need to use a critical eye in evaluating their employees relative to the changing landscape.

Let’s talk about Millennials for a minute. The term is given to those born between 1982 and 1993, and they are starting to make up an increasingly larger part of our workforces. They’ve gotten a bad reputation, and to be honest I think it is one that is undeserved. Studies have shown that if you’re around my age or consider yourself a part of Generation X or the Baby Boomers, you would probably describe Millennials as entitled, easily distracted, and having a poor work ethic. But what it comes down to is a matter of perception. What my generation might consider ‘entitled’, theirs considers a ‘high sense of self-worth’. Where some see a group of workers who are easily distracted, they see themselves as being creative, and so on. And regardless of if you perceive the millennial generation as negative or positive, within the next ten years they will make up 75% of the global workforce.

Dan Schawbel, founder of WorkplaceTrends.com and a fellow ESA Leadership Summit presenter, has similar views on building the workforce of tomorrow and how it specifically relates to millennials. What are millennials looking for in the workplace, and as security companies, how are we aligning with them? After listening to Dan’s presentation, it’s best to conclude that social recruiting, flexibility, intrapreneurship, community, internal career opportunities, real-time feedback, mentoring, and transparency top their list. And if you think they’re asking too much, you’re wrong. These are all great programs and initiatives we need to start incorporating to attract these individuals to our industry.

In order to drive this industry forward, we need people who have entrepreneurial skills to continue to expand our security and life safety product offerings and create better systems and processes within the workplace. One way to do this is to encourage employees to challenge the status quo. Employees in a customer-facing position may have a better perspective on what works well and what is best for the customer, than maybe the owner of a company. It’s our job as leaders to encourage these employees to push for industry change and new ideas. In turn, we are creating a better experience for our employees and the customer. And this shouldn’t just be an initiative for larger companies. Smaller companies should have the same aspirations, and may even have an advantage because of their close customer relationships.

It’s no easy task to reposition ourselves for the next generation, but as members of ESA there are plenty of resources available to help. In fact, the Industry Advisory Group, of which I’m part, recently launched a new website, www.GetIntoSecurity. com, dedicated to helping outsiders understand how exciting this industry can be, and insiders understand how to position themselves to reach them. There’s also a new tool kit for you to maximize your recruiting efforts, including a video that can be rebranded and various other collateral. You can find all of these resources at www.ESAweb.org/toolkit. The next few years will be an interesting time for us, as technology continues to play an increasingly important role in what we do, and baby boomers like me begin to exit the industry. The best thing you can do for your business is begin to prepare for the change.