John Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Danhouse Security, pictured, writes that just as the role of the security officer has changed over the years, so too have the demands and expectations of potential recruits and those choosing to become a security officer. Closing the gap between what firms need and what employees want will be the solution to attracting new people to a career in security and filling the sector’s 60,000 jobs vacancies.
Security jobs used to be easy to fill. The job was unskilled, minimum wage and there were plenty of ex-military personnel or antipodean temps to take on the stereotypical, domineering security ‘guard’ role patrolling a building or playing night watchman. They didn’t need the front of house people skills needed today. People didn’t tend to stay long in the job, but they were quickly replaced. Then in 2004 everything changed. The Home Office introduced mandatory licensing of all security staff. It spelled the end of cheap labour – and the beginnings of guarding becoming a professional career.
Pay and rations rise
Where security officers had been paid the minimum working wage, suddenly, guards with a security licence were prized like gold dust and financially induced to leave one firm for another. The companies found it was cheaper to pay a signing bonus than for the licensing training. Today, everyone is licensed, the starting salary of a security officer is now more than a junior police officer or nurse with some security personnel in senior managerial positions in London earning between £70,000 and £80,000 a year.
The role of the security officer has also become more skilled. Security used to be about protecting the perimeter, monitoring who goes in and out of the building and looking for vandals, thieves or troublemakers and whilst still important Now, it is more about the customer experience.
In the city’s largest buildings, facilities managers and tenants want dedicated front-of-house staff who can help keep the building secure, but as important, if not more, is their ability to make people feel welcome. Visitors expect the receptionist at the front desk to be polite and helpful and guide them to where they need to be. Companies expect a concierge-style service and will pay a premium for good front-of-house people.
Going soft on security
Security can be taught, but soft skills can’t be taught so easily. So, choosing the right people is essential. Today, personality and how someone fits with the culture and atmosphere of the building are the most important criteria when recruiting staff. Attitude is also important. If someone is spending 12 hours in the building, we want them to be as attentive and as engaging in the last hour as they are in the first. They need to look forward to coming to work, remain alert and when there is an emergency, deal with it, and report it accurately. If security officers have that kind of attitude they will have a sense of purpose and are more likely to stay in the job and build a career.
Recruiting staff with the right skills and aptitude for the job can be difficult. There was a positive shift in sentiment towards the industry and security officers during the pandemic when they were on the front line, protecting quiet office buildings and protecting the workers who, like them, could not work from home. Security staff are now valued as never before. Clients suddenly wanted to pay their team bonuses because they kept working while everyone else was at home, and many paid more attention to what staff were being paid and the holidays and the benefits they receive.
The industry has become more attractive, and many more firms and security clients are willing to pay above London Living Wage.
The right conditions
As prospects and opportunities improve, recruits increasingly view security as a career rather than a temporary role or a stepping stone to a career elsewhere. They are also more demanding about terms and conditions.
Many recruits want a decent work-life balance. The hours in security have always been long, often based on 12-hour shift patterns and a 56 or 60-hour week. Today, because the London living wage has risen considerably above the national minimum wage, many security staff can afford to work less hours. They also only want to commute around 40 to 45 minutes each way which means they are becoming more selective about which part of London they are prepared to work in. Understandably, they want to spend as much time with their friends and families as possible.
But when people come to an interview, the biggest positive change we’ve seen is their interest in training and career prospects. Good candidates want to learn and don’t believe training is simply about getting a security licence anymore. If we look at the European market some of the larger security companies now offer 12-week training courses, and in certain countries, there are degrees in security because the technology for access control and monitoring has become far more complex. The UK market is moving towards this model with the introduction of various apprenticeship levy programmes specifically targeting the security industry.
Security staff share with each other the names of firms which offer training in people management, account management, or business management, and where recruits should go if they want to elevate their careers from the shop floor to leadership levels. They are informed and know what they want, and what they need to get ahead. With the opportunity to train in these transferable skills, staff also know they can progress in the security sector or move into facilities management, hospitality and other sectors, broadening their career options.
With better pay and conditions, training, prospects, and a visible career path, attracting a new generation of security staff should become easier. With such high staff shortages, the industry needs to do everything it can to look after its staff and to attract new candidates.
