Hiring private security is a great step to protecting your business, staff, assets, and customers. However, it is not where the work ends. Many people think of security as a third party and technically they are, but that doesn’t mean you need to think of them that way. Instead we’re recommending you consider them part of your team and find ways to integrate them amongst your staff and visa versa. There are many benefits to having your staff cross train with security and having security understand your operation.
The obvious reason to do this is that studies show that teams work better together. Cohesion amongst departments helps companies function more efficiently and with better communication. Both of these are monumental when it comes to ensuring the security of all who rely on your business.
In reality what we are suggesting is no different than what we already say in our own communities when it comes to local police, TSA, or Smokey Bear. “If you see something, say something.” “We’re all in this together.” “Only you can prevent forest fires.” These slogans and platitudes have been used for decades to convey the prevailing concept that we all need to do our part when it comes to safety. Securing your business should be looked at no differently.
This is why we suggest that you allow our security guards to not only protect your staff, but teach them how to be part of the nuances of your operation. Specifically we recommend our executives cross train non-safety in-house staff on how to properly observe and report. This is a fairly simple practice that your employees can learn and deploy to make your security force more effective.
Think of your current contract with your security company. How many security guards do you have on site at any given time? How many employees do you have in the building at that same time? Now add customers.
Very quickly this math adds up to a lopsided ratio of security guards to everyone else. Let’s just ballpark it at 30 to 1. Hiring 29 more security guards would be both unreasonable and most likely unnecessary. However, that doesn’t mean 29 more sets of eyes wouldn’t help. Better yet, you can get those eyes virtually for free. They’re already in your building.
Through the process of allowing AEGIS to cross train your staff in the details of observing and reporting you can effectively expand your security force by allowing threats and risks to be noticed before they reach your security staff. This allows the few security guards you have to basically be everywhere at once. This is essentially “see something, say something,” with the added lesson of how to know when you see something.
We are not exaggerating at all when we say this practice provides only upside to your business. Your employees are safer and they are part of the solution. “Part of” is the key phrase in all of this. No one is suggesting you train your staff to actively investigate and confront potentional threats or risks. No one is saying a well trained staff can replace a security detail. Anyone who is saying those things is misleading you and putting your business in danger.
What we are saying is just because they aren’t going to confront the threat doesn’t mean your staff can’t identify it and alert those who will. What we’re saying is safety is a team effort and when you become part of our team and allow us to be part of yours it benefits everyone. The goal is for everyone to go home safely at the end of each work day. If your employees and our security guards work together towards that common goal then the odds of succeeding skyrocket.
