Last month I interviewed Richard Jenkins, CEO of the National Security Inspectorate (NSI), Una Riley writes. Little did I know I would be catching up with him again so soon …
I was kindly invited to Sodexo Security’s national control room in Manchester to witness the formal presentation of the NSI Gold certificate against the relevant industry standards of BS 7499:2013, BS 7858:2012, BS EN ISO 9001:2008 and NSI code of practice, NSI NCP 107 to Simon Pears, Sodexo Global Security Director by Richard Jenkins, chief of the NSI. It is always a pleasure to attend such an occasion where the expansion and development of security companies is demonstrated. The control room was only opened last year and is based within the buzz of the Salford Quays, now well-known due to its substantial media presence.
The control room monitors 600 employees and also provides support to non-security lone workers, such as maintenance technicians across Sodexo’s 260 security contracts in the UK and Ireland 24 hours a day. Many of the company’s officers provide security for its clients out of hours or in lone worker situations. From the inception of the control room Pears wanted to send out the right message to both internal and external clients. He said: “The NSI Guarding Gold approval provides reassurance to officers on duty they have appropriate backup from their control room any time of day or night should it be required. It is also recognised that NSI Guarding Gold is one of the highest accreditations in the security sector signifying the standards to which we operate and how important people are to our business. Sodexo has been extremely successful in providing clients with the professional security services and is ranked in the top one per cent of security providers for quality delivery in the UK. Achieving this standard serves to consolidate this position and is tremendous recognition for the control room team.”
Pears and Jenkins on the day were both on the same page when it came to the subject of quality and people. Jenkins said: “Sodexo is a shining example of what can be achieved when an organisation puts people at the heart of its business. I am delighted Sodexo sought independent verification of the facilities and procedures of its national control room from NSI. NSI’s Guarding Gold approval demonstrates commitment to employee welfare through the adherence of sector standards, and business excellence, through the sound operation of a quality management system to ISO 9001. Certification is a credit to all involved at Sodexo in the control room operation and the overseeing of their on-site services of security officers.” It was a really enjoyable day with guests and in particular Jenkins receiving a conducted tour of the control room and its features by Andrew Findlay-Stewart, Control Room Supervisor. Although we only met with the team on duty that day we were informed of the professionalism and commitment of the other team members not present by their colleagues. Pears assured all those present that the NSI Gold approval could not have been achieved without the involvement and support of all the people working within the control room delivering the services on behalf of Sodexo.
I spoke to Sohaib Ali and asked him if it was difficult preparing for the NSI inspection and he said: “We just carried out our service routines as usual.” He explained that their systems and procedures have been embedded from the day they opened for business. I asked a couple of the guys if they were proud to have achieved such affirmation of their work. Both Oludare Fadahunse and Leigh Sharples smiled and confirmed that it was what they did on a daily basis … just doing their job. That may be so but it is clear that attitude and ethos has resulted in achieving this prized independent approval and as Pears had mentioned it was very much a shared vision for the control room by everyone involved in the delivery of quality service. At the presentation both Pears and Jenkins reiterated that the achievement was as a result of all concerned. I have been in quite a few control rooms over the years and while some were stunning there were a few that appeared slightly claustrophobic on occasions. Not because of the building requirements and prerequisite standards but just due to the décor and the vibe within the space. Not so at this control room … it is very light and airy with bold graphics and a sense of infused professionalism permeating the environment. I spoke to Mark Death the National Security Manager for Sodexo and he showed me the bulletin board in the hub area of the control room. It is full of information and help for the officers on duty, with pictorial exercise shots of essential movements to help maintain a healthy body. We continued to talk about the control room and in particular the swift approval by the NSI and he said: “A major contributory factor to attaining our goal of NSI accreditation was because we did not have to adjust what we do on a normal day to day basis. We did not have to change our processes or the way we operate to attain approval. We already have strong robust quality systems in place that are internally verified by Stephen Giles who is our Security Support Manager.” Death went on to explain that Stephen Giles is his quality guru as far as the control room is concerned and how valuable he was throughout the inspection process. Meanwhile, Findlay-Stewart the control room supervisor was continuing to explain all things relating to the control procedures to Jenkins, who in turn was asking a lot of questions. As with all such occasions, all good things have to come to an end. The time had passed very quickly and I knew Pears had to fly … literally, as he had a ‘plane to catch. But before he left I wanted to grab a coffee with both he and Jenkins. We repaired to the coffee shop and sat in the corner where I was able to start up conversation by saying to Jenkins that it did not seem that long since we last met. We laughed and immediately started talking about industry matters.
We broached upon the old chestnut of FM companies reversing into the security industry. I reminded them both about when Ray Clarke the then CEO of SITO (the Security Industry Training Organisation) predicted that the FM route was where the security industry should become involved as far as training was concerned to enable the security industry to be ahead of the curve. However, there were those at the time who scoffed and said that they did not want to be associated with ‘toilet cleaners’ and as a consequence we went down another road … it might have been better if we had embraced the concept back then and been more proactive in our approach. We now have security companies offering FM services and global FM companies delivering a security offer. Both Pears and Jenkins talked at length about the security market and how there are opportunities for change and innovation. Pears pointed out his concept, introduction and implementation in some areas that once seemed challenging are now considered mainstream business practice. He praised his team and spoke about the various different platforms and initiatives within the firm such as the Sodexo Women in Security (SWiS) which has achieved its target to represent 18 per cent of the firm’s security workforce in both front line and non-front line security roles by 2015. They have achieved this in many ways one of which has been the up-skilling of women to develop into front-line manned guarding license holders. They have also encouraged SWiS by marketing directly to them via the production of newsletters with profiles of female officers along with holding quarterly forums…they are listening to what SWiS want. Both Jenkins and Pears seemed to be in agreement on the methodology of business as far security is concerned. Pears then gulped down his coffee as it was time for him to take his leave. Although the UK security offer is relatively new Sodexo have operated security in some countries for over 35 years. Before Pears got up to leave I asked him if he had international plans for the control room. He stood up, smiled and said: “We certainly have expansion plans.”
Pictured left to right with the framed certification: Richard Jenkins and Simon Pears.
