Is Your Company Culture Attracting The Right Security Officers?

A strong company culture will attract the right type of employees and is a basic requirement for any successful business, given that employees play a critical role in that success. The security industry is no different. As we discussed in our free eBook “Why Do Good Security Officers Quit?”, defining and establishing your company culture plays a big role in paving the way for establishing a team of reliable & dependable security officers.

What Is Company Culture?

Company culture can be hard to define, but at its essence, it’s about establishing and embodying a set of values. A well-defined culture is one that is created, understood, & promoted by your employees, and on a security team that is no different.

Whether you see innovation, customer service, social responsibility, or any other characteristics as the driving values behind your company, it’s important that your employees understand and care about those values as well.

Finding officers who identify with your culture ensures that they will appropriately represent your company in the field. They will be able to better communicate with clients they come in contact with, and they will be more dedicated to the organization, increasing employee and client satisfaction. When culture is weak or an employee doesn’t identify with the values in place, they are much more likely to function for themselves and not the greater good of the company. This can cause performance issues, higher turnover, client dissatisfaction, and supervisor frustration.

Role of Company Culture in Attracting Qualified Employees

The quality of company culture plays a big role in employee satisfaction and retention. For instance, imagine an officer coming in for an interview, and the first person the candidate interacts with is a rude, sloppily dressed receptionist. That first impression sets the tone for what the interviewee is going to expect from the rest of the company. Less than stellar behavior leaves a company at a much higher risk of attracting employees that don’t care about quality service and work ethic. This type of environment is bound to lead to unmotivated, disinterested officers that will be less than mediocre, decreasing the value of the services provided.

A lot of security companies justify not investing in a corporate culture by insisting that the majority of their hired officers leave within 90 days. These types of employers need to understand that the best security officers leave the job because they don’t have a reason to stay with the company. If a business owner is not spending the time and effort to establish values and make officers feel like an important part of the organization, skilled security officers will go find a company that respects and acknowledges their efforts and worth. A time will come when no good or reliable security officers will turn to the company that has failed to establish culture!

"The best approach to attracting top-notch security officers is investing in employees, providing them a chance to grow within and beyond the company."

Tips For Establishing A Quality Culture

One of the greatest things company owners can do to strengthen their corporate culture is by paying attention to smaller details and the overall needs of their employees.

For instance, an important yet sometimes underrated aspect of security companies are the officer uniforms. Not only do these uniforms project a public image, but the officers themselves will be impacted by what they wear. Allowing an officer to arrive at a post with a wrinkled, ugly uniform sends the message that their role isn’t all that important. With so many officers coming from law enforcement or military backgrounds, where uniforms send a strong message, it’s important to pay attention to this detail. Creating a culture with the precedent that officers should be well-kept will not only help the officer feel more important, but others will regard them and your business with more respect.

Aside from appearance, putting the right security management team in place is critical. While the company owner sets the cultural values, the supervisors are an officer's main point of contact. When supervisors embody the company culture, they can actively work to integrate these values into day-to-day operations. It is truly a team effort when establishing and growing company culture.

We can’t overstate how important this is. Over the years, our team has heard horror stories of companies having major problems with supervisors. They communicated poorly with officers, punished those who complained about bad schedules, and created an overall environment of fear. Officers kept quitting and were not performing their best which lead to client complaints. These are the severe impacts a bad supervisor can have on a company.

Implementing and fostering a strong company culture will help any security organization build a team of strong, hard-working, responsible and dedicated individuals. The more members who endorse and buy into the culture, the more integrated it will be in day-to-day operations. With this in place, the company will continue to attract the types of employees they are looking for and maintain a high level of employee satisfaction and retention.

For more information on this topic and other popular posts from the past week, check out more on the Silvertrac Extra!