Welfare state

At the same time, our customers are expecting higher standards of service delivery. Today, most organisations consider their security to be hugely important. And rightly so. The ability to stop and search suspicious individuals both thoroughly and courteously could avert a terrorist incident or prevent a major theft from being committed.

Security officers stand in the front line, carrying a tremendous amount of responsibility on their shoulders for which they're not always adequately rewarded. Not so long ago, for example, a major robbery occurred at one of London's airports. Newspaper investigations into the heist revealed that the security officers on duty were being paid less than the airport café's cleaning staff.

The low pay syndrome
Much has been written in previous editions of Security Management Today about low pay, but I firmly believe that we're slowly beginning to see end users recognise the fact that 'you get what you pay for'. That said, low pay isn't the only concern at the moment. Quite rightly, today's officers also expect to receive sick pay, holiday benefits and pension contributions. If we want to encourage good people to make a career for themselves in the security industry, then these are basic requirements that we simply must be able to satisfy.

Accuracy of pay is another cause for complaint among shift workers, who expect their employers to know the hours that they've worked and pay them accordingly. How many of us would put up with having to argue the contents of our pay packets every month?

Ultimately, security companies who treat their employees with respect and consideration are much more likely to earn their loyalty.

Officer retention rates in many parts of our industry are shamefully low. Some customers find a different person guarding their premises every Monday morning, with officer churn being one of the main causes of client complaint. It's often also the root cause of other performance problems whereupon officers are not staying in their job long enough to properly understand their duties, their colleagues and the needs of the customer. Providing a professional, reliable service clearly depends on our ability to both motivate and retain good quality security officers.

Boredom, it has to be said, is one of the many reasons why security officers leave the industry. Staring at flickering CCTV screens or patrolling empty corridors for hours on end can be mind-numbing experiences.

There are indeed tedious jobs that have to be done, but it should be possible to put some variety into the working day by making sure that every team member receives his or her share of social contact – their share of the smiles and thank you's that can make security such rewarding work.

Training as a stimulus
On-going training is another stimulus for professionalism among officers. The opportunity to acquire new skills and take on different responsibilities is a prime factor in turning a job into a career. Officers should be regularly assessed by their line managers and given the opportunity to discuss their career development as well as air their grievances and make suggestions.

In fact, assessments should be as much about how an individual is enjoying his or her job as it is concerned with how well they're performing in the role in question.

It's clearly in all of our interests to work at raising standards of professionalism among private sector security officers, and to help them progress in their careers. Once the implications of licensing become a reality, it will then be even more important to work at retaining the licensed officers in whom we've invested. It's possible that being 'licensed to guard' anywhere in the industry will offer some officers greater mobility, while the costs and difficulties of recruiting suitable replacements will undoubtedly increase.

As providers of manpower services, we're only really as good as the manpower we deploy. If they're not careful, those companies who've been lax in recognising the importance of keeping their officers happy and well rewarded, stimulated in their work and satisfied with their lot may find those same officers voting with their feet as the balance of supply and demand tips further in favour of the employees.