Stitch in time

If you’ve recently popped along to Next, Gap, French Connection or (if you like the mix-and-match ethic) your local Marks and Spencer with the purchase of a new business suit in mind, it’s likely you’ve noticed some changes of late. Suits are no longer the predictable affair they used to be. Italian fabrics, high lapels, Lycra waistbands, Teflon coatings and a myriad of colours and cuts are just some of the innovations clothing manufacturers have devised to enthuse the buyer. It’s no longer a case of: “Navy pin stripe with an extra pair of trousers, please”, that’s for sure.

Traditionally, developments at the high street consumer end of the apparel industry take time to feed through into the industrial and commercial worlds. That has certainly been true of the private security sector but, driven by clients’ desire for a more professional image in and around their premises – and an enhanced need for security companies to up the ante when it comes to their own appearance in the wider world – there has been a definite shift towards the corporate look in favour of the traditional peaked cap and epaulettes.

An ‘in-house’ ethos

“We like to give our clients a blank sheet of paper when it comes to the uniforms our officers will wear on site,” comments Martin Edwards, the newly-appointed chief executive of Upminster-based contractor Ultimate Security Services. “None of our uniforms carry Ultimate branding. The ethos is very much ‘in-house’. In other words, we want our officers to feel like they belong to the client, and for the client to feel that our employees are truly a part of their business.” An interesting philosophy.

Edwards’ company currently turns over £11 million, its 400 officers operating across a diverse range of sites including the Barking Power Station in east London (where the client is Thames Power), Visa International and Entertainment (UK) Ltd. “We do try and steer clients towards smart, single-breasted grey suits for our officers,” adds Edwards. “That’s simply because cross-training occurs between sites. In this way, we’re able to move officers from one assignment to another, which would otherwise be tricky at short notice if a wholesale uniform swap were necessary.”

In a similar vein, Perry Simpson – managing director at the Pegasus Security Group – continually provides a quality pool of officers to serve the company’s client base. It’s a philosophy that’s obviously paying dividends. Now provisionally ranked 13th in the Infologue.com contractors’ ‘League Table’, come March this year the company had attained an annual turnover of £32 million and boasts one of the lowest staff turnover rates in the industry. Not bad when you consider there’s 1,600 operatives on the books.

For Simpson, an officer’s uniform is an important part of the overall service delivery. “We’re keen to provide the best quality uniforms for our officers,” he comments. “There are certainly a wide variety of styles open to us these days, many of them exhibiting a much softer nature in comparison with the old military-look tunics. The move towards a more corporate image has been driven equally by ourselves and the client base. There has been a definite meeting of minds here.”

Uniform ‘style trial’

One man who knows just about everything there is to know about uniform trends in the industry is Nick Atkinson, managing director at Prima Corporate Wear. Aside from Pegasus and Ultimate, Prima supplies a host of other major contractors including OCS Security, Securiplan plc, First Security and Wilson James (14 of the Top 25 as defined by Infologue.com, in fact, or 56% of the total market) and is recognised as the foremost provider to the security sector.

“In terms of uniforms, the security industry has been content with a ‘cheap and cheerful’ approach for far too long,” Atkinson tells Security Management Today. “The move towards higher quality clothing is paramount. Better quality garments retain their shape and last far longer than the cheaper alternatives which are little more than a false economy. A uniform that fits well and looks smart can do so much for the morale of an officer, and makes them feel more confident.”

Of late, Atkinson has been working with OCS Security on redesigning the company’s standard officer wear. Teal green shirts have been complemented by a modern tie design and co-ordinated knitwear, ‘soft’ suits and outerwear in an overall look that’s unique to the contractor. One that has only just been rolled out to clients, but is already receiving hugely favourable reviews. “It’s very much an approachable style and image,” adds Atkinson.

Prima has also been working hand-in-glove with First Security, whose sales director David Mundell had called for a subtle rebranding. The stylish new offering to clients consists of a smart suit or blazer alongside various shirt shade options and, importantly, a co-ordinated, tailored range for female officers.

None of our uniforms carry Ultimate branding. The ethos is very much ‘in-house’. In other words, we want our security officers to feel that they belong to the client, and for the client to feel that our employees are truly a part of their business

Martin Edwards, Chief executive, Ultimate Security Services

“We’ve taken that ‘wardrobe collection’ way of thinking on a stage further with Pegasus,” chips in Atkinson, “for whom we’ve designed a waterproof, three-in-one breathable anorak (see images on page 41) complete with detachable fleece. It’s creatively branded and really versatile.”

Meantime, Securiplan plc’s new retail security officer uniform (also designed and supplied by Prima, and complete with smart dark blue shirt and branded tie), has been a great success on the high street (you may have seen some of the company’s officers in Sainsbury’s ‘Local’ stores, for example, or branches of Boots and Homebase). Distinctly different from any other uniform on the ‘circuit’, it makes the officers look really smart and, importantly, ensures that they stand out as authority figures in the retail environment where stock loss remains a significant problem.

“Our new uniforms have been well received by our retail clients, and our officers are proud to wear them,” adds Chris Fieldhouse, the company’s national account director for retail. “The blue colouring is striking but not intimidating, making the officers a noticeable point of contact on the shop floor. Visibility is crucial to officers’ customer care function and security role in deterring potential thieves.”

Securiplan plc’s group managing director, Steve Boyden, states that ‘softer’ styling is definitely working. “We’ve trialled a uniform comprising black polo shirts and trousers with no Securiplan branding at New Look’s flagship store in London’s Oxford Street,” opines Boyden. “It’s all to do with the officers blending in with the client’s business, and being seen to be a part of that business. It works well.”

Cost always comes into play

Additional quality equals additional cost. That’s a fact of life, but it’s one which, for the most part, seems to have bypassed many client organisations in the security sector. More often than not this isn’t the fault of the in-house security manager. Rather, it’s down to procurement departments forcing them to play with a stacked deck at budget time. A deck wherein the price of ‘niceties’ like security is slashed to the bone.

If contractors are screwed down on price at the tender stage then it’s no surprise corners will have to be cut during service delivery. One of the reasons, perhaps, why officers haven’t always been afforded the best of outfits.

“We recognise that the industry is a low margin, highly competitive arena in which cost is a fundamental driver,” states Atkinson. “As uniform suppliers, though, we like to stress the fact that what may seem like an initially high cost for a better quality, longer lasting and better looking set of uniforms can be offset to a great degree by the advantages stemming from a fully-managed service.”

Having visited Prima’s Indescon Court head office in London’s Docklands, the benefits of that fully-managed service become clear. A dedicated stock holding and management regime has been put in place, supported by an online ordering service which each contractor can access as required. There’s a full performance transparency in all of this, too, since Prima can deliver a detailed analysis report on request to show order progress from the moment of receipt.

“Many customers will have a Service Level Agreement (SLA) attached to their contracts whereby we commit to a 24 or 48-hour turnaround, with punitive penalties attached for any non-performance,” claims Atkinson. And, thanks to Prima’s revolutionary online service, any one of a given guarding contractor’s branch offices can now log on and check the progress of their order.

No more peaked caps? No military-style shoulder flashes? Could it be that the new style officers’ uniforms will mirror a wholesale move away from security’s traditional promotional route of ex-Armed Forces and police service entrants to graduates of the business and IT arenas? The writing’s already on the wall.