Integrators '20 under 40' 2015—Barbara Holliday

Barbara Holliday, 40

Senior director of dealer support, Monitronics

Dallas

Modernizing recruiting efforts through an online presence is the way to attract young people into the security industry, according to Barbara Holliday of Monitronics.

“Everything that the next generation does—it's online. They look up companies, and everything about a company before they ever apply, [and] they do everything on their smartphone,” Holliday said.

The technological side of the industry will appeal to the younger generation, she said.

“We've got our thumb on technology in this industry. That's who we are; we're a technology industry, which is exciting. We just need to figure out how to wrap a bow around that a little better and market ourselves that way using the tools that people of the next generation use,” she said.

A lack of qualified individuals isn't the problem. “There are people out there � who would love to be recruited to an industry like ours, we've just got to go find them. There are plenty of tools online to go out and actively seek the type of people we need,” Holliday said.

Holliday started in telemarketing and phone sales before becoming office manager in an alarm company. She started with Monitronics in 1998 and currently handles dealer services and acquisitions.

When asked about promising technologies, she pointed toward the IoT. “The smart home integration movement of our business has come on rapidly and I think it has a lot of promise for the future,” she said. She also noted a move toward more industry standards for devices.