According to Security, the turnover rate for the security guard industry is at least 100%, and combating it is always at the forefront of any security firm. Taking a look at how company culture affects your security guards is the first step to reducing the amount of turnover within your team.
- Competitive Wages & Worthwhile Benefits: This will always be at the top of the list, so make sure yours are up-to-par. While it can be difficult to have the lowest rate around and still pay your guards well, make sure their benefits are also applicable to the area in which they are living. Wages and benefits combined can help guards stay with you when times get tough.
- Accountability and Positive Reinforcement: It can be a struggle to keep guards accountable, but implementing positive reinforcement when they’re maintaining good accountability will grow the trust between guards and their supervisors. Make sure accountability is clearly defined in the beginning. Don’t feel the need to hand out a reprimand every time something negative happens, but make it a learning opportunity. Once issues become frequent it should be handled appropriately, but approaching the first negative issue with the right attitude will reduce the likelihood of a guard who thinks their supervisor is out to get them.
- Educational Training: Don’t just throw your guards an educational packet and DVD and ask them to do it in their own time. Invest in them. Set aside mandatory, paid training for all guards to participate in so they can grow professionally in the security industry, as well as continue to build upon leadership and communication skills. While this might require a bit of play with everyone’s work schedule, allowing all guards to participate and feel involved in new educational opportunities will increase their desire to stay and apply what they’ve learned to your business.
- Opportunities for Advancement: Opportunities for advancement will usually depend on current management positions available and the amount of clients requiring work. In security, you can only have so many supervisory positions per site, and when guards earn that position and choose to stay there, it could be a while before the opportunity becomes available for another guard. It could also be beneficial to look within your team to fill office management positions as opposed to looking externally. If there are members of the security team that you think would thrive in the managerial role, allow them the opportunity to show they are up to the task.
Ensuring that your team feels taken care of and secure in their position will help reduce turnover and give greater opportunity to serve more clients with dedicated guards.
What tips do you have for reducing turnover in your business?
By: Sarah Masa-Myers