HR’S ROLE WHEN LIVES ARE AT STAKE
Ashley Duncan, HR Manager, SafeHaven Security Group
“What if he comes back?” “How seriously should we take this threat?” “What if he shows up with a gun?” These are some of the questions that HR leaders ask the Threat Management pros at SafeHaven Security Group each day. It is the proper answers to these questions that keep everyone safe. But this article isn’t about partnering with HR to prevent violence. This story is about what it’s like to run HR when your company saves lives for a living. Meet Ashley Duncan, HR manager for SafeHaven. Ashley’s experience runs the gamut from Chamber director to festival organizer to the toughest job she’s ever had – recruiting talent, retaining key players, and developing policies for a fastgrowing start-up with a critical mission. Ashley is a dedicated mother of two boys who also happens to be an amazing singer/songwriter. Her style is reminiscent of Lzzy Hale, and she performs regularly with her band. 22
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Doug Elms, Founder, SafeHaven Security Group
When Ashley first moved to NW Arkansas (consistently ranked in the top 10 places to live in the U.S.) she knew she wanted to work for a small company where her diverse talents could make a real difference. She longed to find an organization that did important work in the lives of people. Enter Doug Elms. Doug is a former police officer who worked the mean streets of Little Rock, Arkansas back when it was known as the most dangerous small city in America. Doug served 12 years, ultimately leaving after being wounded in a gunfight with armed robbers. After working closely with the Secret Service when Bill Clinton became President, Doug was recruited to Walmart where he protected multiple CEO’s as well as members of the Walton family. After a successful 24-year career, he felt compelled to start a company that offered organizations across the country the highest level of expertise in recognizing and managing threats of all kinds. SafeHaven Security Group and SafeHaven Threat Management are the result of that compulsion.
