Aley Moyer

The Californian 2022 Q4 – Connecting Workforce Management in 2023

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Connecting Workforce Management in 2023

Brianne Stephan, Sr. Director of Product, TEAM Software, Network Partner

Optimizing core operational functionalities now can prepare your business for the new year. 

Year-end is a natural opportunity to begin evaluating your current processes to ensure optimization before you launch into next year’s activities. As you evaluate ways to improve processes and gain efficiencies, it’s important to factor workforce management into the equation. 

It’s time for a gap analysis. 

Take a minute. Think about how many software solutions you have running across your business. How are you handling HR and benefits administration, versus time and attendance? How are you proving service delivery to your clients? What areas are still manual, or tackled by pencil and paper? 

Once you conduct this audit, take a hard look at what you’ve got. Then, consider what’s missing. 

It might be a good idea to take an internal tour of your company. Talk to each department, your guards in the field and your stakeholders in the back office. What are the things they’re spending the most time on? Are there roadblocks creating bottlenecks in service delivery?

Once you really grasp an all-encompassing list of wants, needs and already-haves, then you can really start filling the gaps. 

Common gaps.

In our conversations with industry contacts, there are some common gaps that are typically uncovered in this process. 

Time constraints across all departments.

Every part of business operations takes too long. Entire overhead roles are dedicated to manual benefits and time off management. Your managers are chasing down employees for paperwork, scheduling and job assignments. Duplicate data entry and redundant processes are eating into what really matters: your clients and your contracts. 

Lack of visibility into operations and performance.

You’re relying on word of mouth or paper daily activity reports to ensure the work you need done is actually getting done. Your clients are demanding comprehensive reporting before committing to a new contract or added scope of work. You have no data to support proof of quality delivered or to renegotiate contracts when needed.

Field access and employee engagement.

Guards don’t have a way to access their schedules and shift expectations, manage what training they need to stay on top of, or even communicate to managers while out in the field. The tools they have to track their time or review tasks are hard to access or tracked only on paper. And, they send multiple messages to your admin team every time there is a question because they can’t access their own time off balances, insurance or pay stub information. 

Keep these common concerns in mind as you review what’s working, and what isn’t working, for your operations. 

I know what I’m missing. What’s next?  

Of course, we all know having a list of wants and needs doesn’t necessarily mean a point solution is needed for every single person every single time. 

Software is intended to make the work of a business easier. With automation, you can drive efficiency and improve the effectiveness of day-to-day activities – saving time, money and resources along the way. 

Still, piecing software together can often serve the needs of one department, while creating nightmares in another. That’s the problem with siloed data, a hidden challenge many companies in the security industry are dealing with every day. 

Siloed data happens when individual departments or teams use a standalone system to accomplish their work. It can create inconsistencies in reporting, duplicate processes, manual error and incomplete information. On top of that, it increases the amount of support contacts your company has to manage if issues arise, multiple release notes to keep on top of for features and enhancements, and even more billing requirements for your finance team. 

So, the next step in your gap analysis should be to think about what functions make the most sense to come together under a single, integrated software solution. 

Through this approach, you break down those data silos, creating a single source of truth to work through across your departments. 

An all-in-one approach.

We recommend an all-in-one approach to resolve your gap analysis. An integrated workforce management software dives into connecting core areas of your business, from the back office, to operations, to guards in the field. Plus, it reduces cost and risk, improves information accuracy and simplifies processes in the long run. (If you want to go the extra mile, think about integrating your financial and accounting operations, too – an ERP solution can get you there.)

These benefits equate to less time, money and resources spent on manual workforce management, which frees up time to focus on what really matters to your business (like building client relationships).

What Brianne Stephan, Sr. Director of Product, loves most about her role is the collaboration between Users, Business and Technology.  She is passionate about product strategy, design thinking principles and new product development.  Brianne’s focus at WorkWave is on the global product strategy and bringing modern technology and features to the product portfolio.

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2022 Q4 – A New Year for Recruitment: Leveraging Passive Candidates

A New Year for Recruitment: Leveraging Passive Candidates

Jeff Davis,  TEAM Software, CALSAGA Network Partner

It’s not an overstatement to say many service contractors approach hiring with one pillar in their strategy: job boards. Job boards are an effective tool in gaining a lot of visibility for your open positions amongst active job seekers. Where this tactic falls short is in reaching passive candidates. 

Passive job candidates are defined as individuals who aren’t necessarily looking for new employment, but are open if an opportunity becomes available. Studies estimate that 70% of the labor market is passively interested in employment.

As we continue to experience fluctuations and shortages in the labor market, it’s important to effectively reach and appeal to those individuals who are passively open to new opportunities. 

The first step towards this venture is to identify your company’s ideal employee. In hiring, there are typically two clear sets of requirements: criteria required by the company or contract, and criteria required of the candidate themselves. To effectively hire (and retain post-hire) both criteria should be addressed.

Company and contract requirements are straightforward: things like geography, quantity or timeframe. If your company is a multi-state or multi-market company, it’s possible you’ll have job openings similar from state to state. Knowing there’s overlap, you could create a list of requirements that are needed from an open role to fulfill your contractual obligations.

When it comes to candidate requirements, the conditions might take a bit more work to pull together. Does the candidate need specific qualifications? Are there certain required attributes (e.g., an age minimum)? Is there behavioral criteria to consider? Once you know your ideal state (or, ideal candidate) you can budget dollars more appropriately on recruitment distribution strategies.

Next, budget time and resources on digital platform delivery. When looking to hire the right candidates from a passive market, posting on job boards and letting the application sit until filled isn’t the best approach. With digital advertising available on individual apps and platforms, companies of any size now have a multitude of ways to reach their ideal employment audience. Facebook, Google, Tik Tok…each platform has their own advantages in traffic generation for open roles and strengthening your employer brand. If you’re just getting started in recruitment marketing, know there are many platforms where you can build free accounts that help introduce you to paid advertising tactics, keyword trends and analytics. 

While digital advertising is effective and a means to market directly to your ideal candidate, it can be expensive. Traditional marketing efforts should not be overlooked. Print, mass media, and direct mailings have all started to make a comeback as digital prices have increased. For example, creating a direct mail campaign to ex-employees that would be welcome back to your organization.  

Finally, analyze your data. Recruitment marketing needs to be actively managed and flexibly approached. Depending on your analytic platform of choice, you can see how much traffic is coming from each source, what that traffic is doing on your website and if they’re performing the action you want to see (like an application form fill). Digging deeper, you’ll be able to see which efforts are leading to qualified interviews and hires. As you actively manage the effort, you can make adjustments based on this information to keep your recruitment funnel high-performing. 

Learn more about hiring, onboarding and more at teamsoftware.com. 

For the last 20 years, Jeff has focused on technology, working in sales and marketing to executive leadership, with five years specializing in human resources technology. Within his leadership role at WorkWave, which acquired TEAM Software in 2021, Jeff serves as a subject matter expert delivering marketing and service solutions to service contractors worldwide.

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q4 – HIRING INTO 2022: HOW TO GET THE RIGHT OFFICERS IN A TOUGH MARKET

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HIRING INTO 2022: HOW TO GET THE RIGHT OFFICERS IN A TOUGH MARKET

Jeff Davis, TEAM Software, CALSAGA Network Partner

As a security contractor, you’re well aware the current labor market is pretty crazy. You’ve got a lot stacked against you, and you’re not alone. National applicant trends across industries aren’t keeping up with those of hiring. That’s a problem for your hiring efforts. So, how do you attract applicants to your open jobs?  

First things first. 

Promote your jobs. Due to the lack of job seekers, employers have sponsored more job listings on job boards, leading to an all-out bidding war. With placements coming at a premium, companies have had to aggressively increase their job board spending budget to remain visible. Before you start throwing money around, though, consider your options. 

Diversify your applicant search. One source of job postings may garner lots of applicant volume, but with low quality. This means you may end up with candidates in your hiring funnel who have little interest in being there or who aren’t qualified. Or, the opposite may be true. A job board could only generate a sliver of applicant volume, but with applicants who are highly qualified with long-term retention potential at your company. Evaluate what your KPIs are in the hiring process and parcel out your advertising process accordingly. Then make postings on job boards based on those KPI goals. 

Next up, marketing. 

One of the best ways to improve your candidate quality is by improving your job listing. If the listing is unclear, people won’t apply. If it is misrepresentative of work tasks, you could have officers apply, begin work, then decide the job isn’t right for them and turn over quickly. Speak to what’s unique about your company, what might make it a good fit for the right candidates, and why people should be excited to join your team. Highlight benefits, even if you can’t afford to pay rates as high as some of your competitors. Unique benefits could attract candidates who might otherwise skip based on wage criteria alone. Make each listing easy to read and quick to process and use social media to increase job visibility. 

Look beyond the obvious. 

The truth is, COVID-19 has changed the hiring landscape. Even if changes aren’t permanent, it’s possible we could see continued impact on when and how applicants return to the hiring market. Even as applicants do return, there could be a shift in who is coming back to what jobs. As a result, you may need to rethink the type of candidate you’re trying to attract, and how you move them through your hiring process. Make it speedy. Quick apply tools and ATS systems with data capture help gather applicant information, meaning you have a larger pool of candidates to draw from, even if they aren’t able to complete an application in full. Move even quicker by keying in on what really matters to your open jobs and focusing on collecting secondary information, like historical job information past a few years ago. 

Whatever you do, don’t ghost. 

You know how hard it is to source and hire qualified applicants to join your team. It’s a whole other challenge to actually convert a new-hire into a member of your security workforce who stays on past sixty days. It’s not uncommon to hire a new employee, then have that employee “ghost” you, or never show up, before day one. 

Knowing this is a challenge for your security business, it’s imperative that you as the hiring agent also doesn’t ghost your potential employees, either. Don’t leave applicants in the hiring funnel too long. Don’t ignore potential candidates, or waste time holding out on an offer. While you still want to find a candidate who is a good fit, gone are the days that afforded you time to be super selective in your hiring tactics — at least for now. If you don’t move quickly, your competitors will. 

Keep these “get” strategies in mind as you enter into 2022. It’s likely the hiring market will continue to keep us on our toes as current challenges evolve, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared. And, don’t forget to focus on your retention efforts, too. Once you have the right officer on your payroll, you want to do everything you can to keep them. 

Jeff Davis was president of Kwantek, a recruiting and onboarding software provider acquired by TEAM Software, the leading provider of integrated financial, operations and workforce management software for cleaning and security contractors, in 2020. Since joining TEAM, Jeff is the VP of Strategic Growth North America, acting as a subject matter expert and thought leader for TEAM in the security and cleaning industries and assisting with global sales and marketing initiatives. For the last 20 years, Jeff has focused on technology, working in sales and marketing to executive leadership, with four years specializing in human resources technology. He has an MBA focusing on Information Systems from Tennessee Tech and a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Louisville.

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q4 – SOLVING THE PROFITABILITY PROBLEM WITH JOB COSTING

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SOLVING THE PROFITABILITY PROBLEM WITH JOB COSTING

Brandy Tomasek, TEAM Software, Network Partner

There’s no doubt you’ve heard something described as the “meat and potatoes” before. The saying refers to the most basic or fundamental aspects of something. For your security company, the meat and potatoes of your business are your jobs. But keeping your security jobs profitable is a challenge. Especially, when labor and overhead costs are on the rise due to added costs of the pandemic.

The challenge: staying profitable when you’re up against tight margins. 

In an industry where profit margins are already thin, you don’t have a lot of wiggle room to dip into your profits to offset new and increased costs. So, it’s especially important to maintain a clear and accurate picture of your profitability at all times. It’s likely you’re managing your business to some degree with technology. But, have you factored in job costing? If you’re not actively allocating costs down the job level, you’re missing the “meat and potatoes” of your profitability opportunities. 

It should be a given that if a particular revenue or expense exists in accordance with a contract, then it should be included in your job costing. But the real challenge is getting accurate numbers and recording them down to the job level. Typically, costs you should be allocating per job include labor costs, payroll taxes, workers compensation, general liability insurance, umbrella insurance, supplies, materials, fuel, vehicles and more.

The solution: gaining visibility into profits at the job level. 

Job costing strategies aren’t one-size-fits all. To maximize your competitive advantage, security companies should be leveraging job costing opportunities that look at costs in detail at the job level. Oftentimes, it can look like a job is profitable when seen from the 1,000-foot view. But when you dig into some of the expenses coded to overhead jobs, you find some of those larger, true cost overhead expenses are what make up a good chunk of costs at the job level, too. 

For example, worker’s compensation typically isn’t expensed down to the job level because it’s hard to manage. Depending on the specific services you provide, worker’s compensation could be more costly than specific payroll taxes. So, if you aren’t accounting a portion of worker’s compensation expenses as a cost per job, you aren’t getting an accurate picture at what it took from your expense budget to service that contract.

As a security industry leader, it’s important to properly allocate your true job costs. Here are some tips to keep in mind when exploring job costing opportunities: 

  1. Make sure you have a way for every financial transaction processed to include a job number. Including everything from payroll, to accounts receivable, accounts payable and adjusted journal entries — no detail is too small. 
  2. Look for additional features that allow for payroll taxes and miscellaneous insurance costs to be taken down to the job level, based on payroll dollars at that specific job. 
  3. Establish review processes to compare data collected to budgets for an accurate gauge of profitability. 

Once you complete these tasks, you should be holding on to some solid, irrefutable data with insights into your true job costs. And as you evaluate contracts or bid for future work, you can use this as solid testimony backing up any negotiations or changes in SLAs. And, keep in mind job costing is an ongoing process. A job that’s profitable at one time could become unprofitable as SLAs change over time, or supply costs fluctuate. 

So, are you job costing? Are you doing so correctly? Do you analyze the data and put it in action? As a security company, you need to be asking yourself these important meat and potato questions to know whether you have a clear view of your profitability.

 

Brandy Tomasek joined TEAM Software in 2016. She’s a part of the Professional Services team, working as a Sr. Business Consultant. Prior to joining TEAM, Brandy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing, as well as her MBA in Organizational Leadership. Brandy’s professional experience spans a range of disciplines from management and leadership, to training and accounting. In her free time, Brandy enjoys spending time with her family, training their puppy and DIY everything.

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Kate

The Californian 2021 Q3 – IMPROVING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT FOR BETTER BUSINESS STRATEGY

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IMPROVING CONTRACT MANAGEMENT FOR BETTER BUSINESS STRATEGY

Brandy Tomasek, TEAM Software, CALSAGA Network Partner

 

As a leader of a security company, managing your contract updates can become an incredibly daunting task, especially given today’s ever-changing environment. Not only are customers requesting more from your business in terms of the services you provide, but you’re also being required to monitor your service delivery to meet new and specific compliance standards. As contract management becomes more complicated, you’re simultaneously being asked to provide more visibility to your customers through business data and proof of service — a process multiplied by each dispersed job site spelled out in your contract agreements. 

As contract management evolves, one thing is clear. Your business strategy needs to evolve as well, namely in finding a way to leverage your technology so it’s working for you, not against you. Managing a contract across multiple platforms — or worse, through only paper-and-pencil processes — is tricky, messy and ultimately a drain on your resources. Even with regular communication to and from the field, you’re more likely to end up with answers that don’t line up across systems, discrepancies in how information is processed and assigned, and a loss of customer business. It’s important to use technology specifically designed for the needs of the security industry to counteract these dangers and better manage your contracts. 

Trainings, Licensures and Breaks

With your contracts, it’s important to make sure you have officers with the correct qualifications fulfilling the requirements of any given job, and that you’re providing fair and equitable hours whenever possible. Employees need to be onboarded thoroughly and appropriately with ongoing training and licensure requirements accurately tracked, so when a job does require specific certifications, you can fill those service-level agreement needs appropriately. When your officers are on duty, a holistic workforce management solution can monitor time worked against necessary compliance regulations, ensuring you accurately track time, including meal or rest breaks. This is especially important for instances when meal or rest breaks could theoretically be attributed to a different week due to how shift schedules fall, mistakenly resulting in more overtime expenses on your payroll. Without a software solution working to provide accurately, timely data to produce outputs, you’re relying on human subjectivity to manage minute details where error can result in headaches and liabilities for your company to handle down the road.  

Scheduling and Your Bottom Line

As a service contractor, labor costs are one of the biggest expenses narrowing your profit margins. Seemingly harmless scheduling gaffes, like an officer coming in early or staying late, can quickly add up in expenses your company is on the hook for but that you ultimately can’t bill to your customer. By eliminating manual processes from the scheduling equation, you can more accurately manage shift punches and rule out any de minimis time by setting up configurable default time and attendance settings. From a contract standpoint, this helps with cost attribution, while minimizing any back-office reconciliation work before payroll is due. Plus, a tool that monitors open posts, offers positions to employees and schedules based on compliance requirements (guard licensing, driver’s license, weapons permit, CPR training, etc.) ensures you’re still able to identify gaps in coverage, prevent pre-scheduled overtime and receive notifications if an officer doesn’t clock in for a shift. 

Communicating to Field-Based Officers

Manual back-and-forth communications can get the job done, but a software solution that provides communication to and from the field helps provide visibility to your security officers, supervisors and management. System notifications help identify things like gaps in coverage for contracts and better manage compliance requirements via messaging solutions. Plus, the ability to notify employees of open posts via push notification and SMS texting helps shorten the lead time of filling gaps in coverage and ensuring contract management. By tracking all communications within one system, executives have peace of mind — and a paper trail to refer to when reviewing contract fulfillment or queries from customers. 

The possibilities of software built specifically for the needs of the security industry are endless. Take advantage of tools that work for you to help manage your contracts. 

 

Brandy Tomasek joined TEAM Software in 2016. She’s a part of the Professional Services team, working as a Sr. Business Consultant. Prior to joining TEAM, Brandy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing, as well as her MBA in Organizational Leadership. Brandy’s professional experience spans a range of disciplines from management and leadership, to training and accounting. In her free time, Brandy enjoys spending time with her family, training their puppy and DIY everything.

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Kate

The Californian 2021 Q3 – HIRING PROBLEMS & YOUR SOLUTIONS

HIRING PROBLEMS & YOUR SOLUTIONS

Armand Adkins, Guardslink

One of the most recurring problems in the security industry is finding and hiring qualified security officers.  If there was a show of hands, I don’t think many members of CALSAGA would say hiring, when and how they want, is easy.  It just isn’t. Building the team of security officers your company needs will require creativity as well as a rigorous process to search and employ the right people to service your existing clients and move your company forward.

We need to recognize that finding the right candidates is even harder for security companies than in other industries as those we select are expected to protect lives and properties. Qualities such as experience, fitness, and appropriate training are only a few of the things security companies look for from their pool of candidates. While there are endless in-house problems that get in the way of an effective hiring process (administrative time commitment, costs, etc.), the good news is, as hard as these problems might seem, there are practical ways to effectively tackle them.

Shortage of Candidates

Always surprising – even though the physical security industry is a long standing and established sector of our economy, the Service Employees International Union still records an annual turnover rate of 100%-300% for security officers. This means that security officers leave a job within 1 year and sometimes within their first four months in a new company. This makes the market very competitive for companies looking to hire security officers, with the demand typically higher than the available talents.

There have historically been three proven ways to get candidates, and now there’s a fourth new approach.

 

Method One: Get your job openings in front of as many potential candidates as possible to raise the visibility of your hiring needs.

This can take the form of job boards such as Indeed, Ziprecruiter, etc that will post your positions on their websites for a fee since they are able to draw a significant number of job seekers looking for work.  The second, is a job ad in a physical or online circulars.  Examples of these sorts of circulars are Craigslist or PennySaver USA.  With job boards and circulars, you cast the net as wide as possible but you can never be sure of the response rate.

If your company takes the traditional route of job boards / employment ads, do you have a firm sense of the amount of money involved?  Are you factoring the actual costs of posting, boosting, as well as the labor cost of resume reviewing, candidate communications, interviews, negotiation, and sometimes the added need to train, live scan coordinate and apply for a guard card license. All steps involve time, which means money.

 

Method Two:  Those already in your circle of influence.  This method includes adding career / job openings language or a dedicated page on your website for those already familiar with your company and coming to your site.  In addition to just job openings, you may want to consider adding testimonials / testimonial videos from your existing security officers to share their positive views of working for your company. Your sphere of influence also includes asking your existing employees for referrals out of the goodness of their hearts or for an incentive.  This is a solid approach to take with the exception that it limits the reach of your potential pool.

While this technique may seem like a bargain, you will most likely face actual costs in terms of referral bonuses as well as the unseen cost of limiting your reach to find qualified candidates if you are looking to grow your business.

 

Method Three: Traditional recruiters. Going with a standard recruiting firm is definitely an option if your company is in an immediate need for a position to be filled and Method One and Method Two have not panned out.

Using traditional recruiters really should be seen as a last resort as they greatly increase your cost to hire in terms of potentially upfront and certainly hourly rate premiums that you would be contractually obligated for.  However, in a pitch, they exist.

 

New Method Four: There exists a brand new model for flat fee placement providers.  GuardsLink is an example of one such service provider that has recently expanded its offering beyond online training and tracking to include hiring assistance.  Qualified candidates that already have their unarmed or armed guard licenses can be presented to your company for interviews, and if you hire one or more of the candidates, you pay a relatively small flat fee per hire.

There is a cost per hire, but it is simple and transparent – no unknown return for money spent like in Method One, no limitation of your network of people familiar with your employees and company like in Method Two, and no expensive hourly rate premium like with traditional recruiters.  However, your company would need to be willing to try new business providers, and not all companies are open to expanding options from what they already do.

Each of these four methods can find you candidates, it is simply up to you if you choose one or more of the methods to implement in order to improve your odds.

Making the offer

It is one thing to have found the perfect fit for the job, it is a different task to get to a mutually agreeable “yes,” resulting in potential time wasted on negotiations.

To solve this specific hiring problem, the wage range should be included in your Employment Postings. This will streamline the candidate pool applying to fit your budget as those that seek different rates of pay will self-select and not apply.  This is a huge time saving as you and your staff won’t need to spend your time reviewing resumes, contacting to coordinate interviews, interviewing and discussing the position with someone who will not be accepting the job for monetary reasons.

A completely different approach that some employers have been known to use is to let each candidate freely lead the negotiation phase. This will give you an insight into each candidate’s expectations. If there are unrealistic wage expectations for the position, this may serve as a warning flag that despite ultimately accepting the position, this new hire may become part of the turnover statistic and you enter into the employment relationship with eyes open.

Not enough time to make decisions

No good hiring process is done in a rush. Adequate time is needed. To tackle the problem of time, ensure that you have a good work policy that allows your staff to inform you ahead of resignation. This will give those involved in searching for new hires ample time to run the hiring process. In urgent situations, even a short notice or resignation will give you the breathing room to temporarily cover work shifts with your existing employees.

Side note, the company culture that encourages some amount of resignation notice is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you honor resignation periods, employees are more likely to give you sufficient resignation notice.  However, if you accelerate the last day of a security officer who gives advance notice of resignation, you are setting an unspoken company standard and few employees in the future will provide the same resignation notice for fear of impacting their final checks.  As CALSAGA is made up of mainly fellow employers, it is a hard decision whether to honor or not honor the resignation notice period, and no one can tell you the right balance, but you.

 

Also on the subject of time to vet candidates, it may make sense to have a process in place to be continuously searching for new employees, whether through an evergreen job posting, a referral bonus program, or an ongoing relationship with a flat fee placement provider.  If you are regularly searching, the odds are in your company’s favor of finding a qualified security officer sooner rather than later.

 

Making the final decision is hard

For security companies with great visibility, an extensive job posting strategy or a flat fee placement structure with a trusted organization like GuardsLink, the problem might come down to making the final decision to pick the perfect candidate.

Tools may make the difference in viewing candidates as objectively as possible to help make the right choice in a way that can be referred to later (for runner-up candidates if your top pick doesn’t join your team), and provide a process to try to eliminate any unconscious bias or hiring disorganization.

A classic tool that most are familiar with and capable of using are our old friends, Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.  A well thought through spreadsheet, with columns that help sort the pros and cons of each candidate with added notes can give you the one page comparison needed to drill down on a ranking order of  candidates you wish to make an offer to and hire.

In addition to spreadsheets, you can also reach final decisions with the use of paid and free online tools that sort and select candidates. These are easy-to-use soft automation tools that work by helping companies to sort applications according to their preferences and instructions. Most human resource platforms will contain or be able to connect to such tools.

 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, we can all agree that there is no one silver bullet to solve all the problems and costs associated with the hiring process.

The goal of this article is to shake your organization out of its complacency and share the hurdles, as well as opportunities available to your company to try new approaches for finding your next hire.  If there is one or more of the four methods discussed above that your company has not already explored, give them a try – whether it’s employee testimonials on your website, new places to post jobs, or reaching out to a flat fee placement service like GuardsLink. The hiring of security officers is difficult enough without limiting your avenue of potential candidates.  Remember, without a pipeline of employees, you not only risk not being able to service the clients you already have but artificially limit your company’s ability to expand.

Much success, and good hiring!

 

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q3 – HIRING CHALLENGES CONTINUE

HIRING CHALLENGES CONTINUE

Jeff Davis, TEAM Software, CALSAGA Network Partner

Every market seems to be haywire right now. Low interest rates, high building costs and excess disposable income has led to unprecedented demand and price increases in the housing market. The stock market has also been a rocket since hitting lows at the beginning of the pandemic. So, why should we expect anything less from the security labor market?  

Let’s go ahead and address the 800-pound gorilla in the room: security firms are not getting enough applicants. While pundits debate the reasons for the drop in applicants, we can assume the answer is likely due to multiple factors affecting job seekers. Before we look at the possible causes, let’s take a look at recent trends in hiring and applicants. 

Hiring Trends

Hiring has steadily grown week-by-week in 2021, with the most new hires coming in late June. Overall, hiring for April 2021 was up 62% year over year. Demand is strong for contract security services. As the world reopens, it makes sense that demand for security services would increase.  

Applicant Volume

Applicant volume has not followed the same path as hiring. Where hiring has steadily built each week, applicant volume started high, dipped in the spring, and has somewhat leveled off to first quarter (2021) numbers. This presented a very challenging spring when trying to fill security positions, as well as in other industries, as new applicants were hard to find. 

Key Factors

Steady hiring with lower and inconsistent applications makes for a difficult hiring environment. Recruiters are in a fight against the lingering effects of the pandemic, state and local policies, and outside industries to lure employees back. The most discussed (and politically polarizing) factors right now are unemployment benefits and specifically the additional $300 federal benefit. California is allowing the full benefit to be paid through September as reported by Zip Recruiter:  

“The maximum unemployment benefit available to individuals in California is $750 a week, or about $19 per hour, through September 6, 2021. After that, the maximum weekly benefit for individuals is $450 a week, or about $11 per hour.”

Using Indeed’s salary estimator tool, the average hourly base pay for a security guard in California is $15.98. Based on the numbers alone, luring guards on unemployment back in the workforce is difficult. Many states are offering bonuses for returning to work, but to date, California has not joined the trend.

Other factors such as child care and fear of COVID-19 variant strains are also keeping some at home, but the biggest trend may be a shift in the workforce itself. A recent ZipRecruiter survey found 70% of job seekers who last worked in the leisure and hospitality industry say they’re now looking for work in a different industry. This isn’t specific to contract security, but if the hospitality industry is having this type of movement, it’s logical to hypothesize much of the security employee base may be looking to switch industries as well.  

Moving Forward

One side effect to the labor market is classic supply and demand: rising job board advertising costs. Due to the lack of job seekers, employers have sponsored more job listings on job boards, leading to an all-out bidding war. Where organic (free) postings used to get visibility on the first page of a job board, they’re now buried on the third and fourth page behind the high volume of sponsored advertisements.  With placements coming at a premium, companies have had to aggressively increase their job board spending budget simply to remain visible. 

With rising labor costs, increased unbillable overtime and slimmer margins, how do we find employees to fill the demand? While there may not be a magic bullet, there are tactics you can implement.

  • First — build a solid employee referral program and actively promote it. Your best future employees are referred by current employees. 
  • Second — focus on retention of current employees. The cost to acquire and train a new employee is significant and refocusing those funds into retention may be valuable. 
  • Third — look to other industries. When unemployment was high, hiring could be selective and managers could pick and choose to only interview candidates with experience. Now may be the time to explore potential hires with different backgrounds. I hear the workers from the leisure and hospitality industry may be looking for a change.

TEAM Software is dedicated to ensuring our software solutions meet the ever-changing needs of our customers. We’re also continually working to bring you relevant content to help you manage your business better by taking advantage of programs like WOTC. While we’re committed to keeping you informed, it’s important to do your own research, and consult your own legal and tax advisors when necessary, too. For more information on the WOTC tax credit, visit the United States Department of Labor WOTC page.

Jeff Davis was president of Kwantek, a recruiting and onboarding software provider acquired by TEAM Software, the leading provider of integrated financial, operations and workforce management software for cleaning and security contractors, in 2020. Since joining TEAM, Jeff is the VP of Strategic Growth North America, acting as a subject matter expert and thought leader for TEAM in the security and cleaning industries and assisting with global sales and marketing initiatives. For the last 20 years, Jeff has focused on technology, working in sales and marketing to executive leadership, with four years specializing in human resources technology. He has an MBA focusing on Information Systems from Tennessee Tech and a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Louisville.

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q3 – THE STAFFING DROUGHT

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THE STAFFING DROUGHT

Tony Unfried, CSA360

We have a new drought among the security industry… It is a staffing drought. Finding new staff has been harder than ever. According to LinkedIn there are over 53,000 jobs available in the US. For various (some valid) reasons, not many people are eager to return to work. Lowering your turnover and improving retention is more important now than ever. Here is how you can help solve staffing gaps.

Art of Incentives
People are competitive by nature and nothing like a friendly competition to motivate your team. Using the art of incentives can be one of the best kept secret methods to encourage your team. This can be your secret weapon to keep your security team motivated. Perhaps finding a good scheduling software that can track this is a good idea.

Transparency
Having transparency within your staff is easier said than done. From knowing the availability of your staff to how they are performing can be difficult. It is a definite must. While having fun, positive incentives are great. It has been proven that people perform better when they know they are being watched and critiqued based on their work performance. Reward the employees who are always on time by giving them the better shifts or their preferred shift or the best positions. While you can keep track of this with a spreadsheet that can become a bit tedious, it is recommended you read into security software which can automate this process.

HR Software
It is nearly impossible to know everyone on your staff’s schedule. You’re only human after all. One thing recommended to help you be on top of your staff is investing in guard scheduling software. It can allow your employees to input their availability. Scheduling software can offer you valuable insights that will help you keep track of who is on time and who is making all the guard tour checkpoints. This can help increase employee transparency.

Keeping your staff engaged and motivated can be easier said than done but make sure you’re setting clear goals and expectations. Keeping things transparent within your staff. Once goals are met give a reward. This will help keep your security staff motivated and help solve staffing gaps.

Tony Unfried, CEO of CSA360, holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs and Criminal Justice from Indiana University, where he graduated with honors. While enrolled in his master’s program, Tony worked for The TJX Companies, Inc., leading the region in loss prevention and moving the company toward technology use in Security. Tony went on to join the most significant security company in Indiana, managing more than 500 employees and 50 sites, including the Indiana Convention Center, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Seeing a noticeable gap in technology use in the physical security sector, Tony created his first security software application, launched at the Super Bowl in 2012, and recognized twice for Excellence in Mobile Technology by Techpoint. Tony has also spoken on Tech in Physical Security on panels with ASIS and IAVM.

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q2 – WOMEN AND THE SECURITY OFFICER INDUSTRY

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WOMEN AND THE SECURITY OFFICER INDUSTRY

Debbie Howlett, TrackTik, Network Partner

The year was 1945, and equality between men and women was a core tenet in the United Nations Charter. Seventy-five years later, women and girls still live in a world of gender inequality. 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace, and Security, yet the gender gap remains wide. While the past decades have seen some significant progress for women and girls, change has been inconsistent and uneven. “At the current rate of change, the global gender gap will not close for another 100 years. Change is coming at a pace that is too slow for the women and girls whose lives depend on it,” the Secretary-General warned. 

The gender gap, of course, is not unique to the security industry. Even though the calendar may say 2021, there are many professions still unnecessarily gendered in the public’s opinion, with security officer industry being one of them. Today, it is still perceived as man’s work.

In the security officer industry, however, the gender gap is clearly visible. At present in the US, only 25% of security officers are female and the other 75% of security officers are men. The gap is wider in the UK, where the Security Industry Authority (which is the regulator of the UK’s private security industry) recently released data on the demographics which make up their license holders (as of March 2021). According to statistics, only 10.2% of SIA license holders are female and while the remaining 89.2% of license holders are male. 

According to ISTA (the International Security Training Academy), there are several misconceptions about security officers that may be holding women back from pursuing a career in the security industry. Thanks to Hollywood, security officers are often portrayed in one of two ways: They are either gun-toting, macho mustachioed men racing through parking garages in the dead of night, or they are lazy, unskilled mall cops like Paul Blart, Mall Cop. But Hollywood isn’t real life and the reality is that security officers play a key role in protecting people, property, and communities. During the ongoing pandemic, we have all come to rely on security officers to keep us safe, and the sight of a security officer outside a grocery store, a pharmacy, or an office building fills us with a sense of security. 

Dispelling the myths

  • Myth #1: All security officers are men

Simply not true. While at present, men do take up the majority of available roles in the security officer industry, women are slowly starting to step up and take on valuable roles thanks to their covert presence, calm demeanor, and their ability to empathize with the general public, whose nerves are at all-time high right now. 

  • Myth #2: Security officers need to be built like bodybuilders

In some scenarios, size does matter, such as in roles as bouncers outside pubs and bars, or in situations where a security officer is needed to control a sizable crowd. But there are plenty of other opportunities for women in control rooms, corporate security, areas of loss prevention, and more. 

  • Myth #3: Most of the available work is for late nights and weekends

Right now, while many opportunities in the late-night entertainment and overnight travel industries are on hold, there are still many security positions available in retail stores, government agencies, office buildings, schools, banks, and other locations. A lot of this work is also performed during a typical day, though the need for security officers is typically 24/7.

  • Myth #4: Security work is too dangerous for women

This myth is a huge misconception. What makes security work dangerous is improper training or not equipping your officers with the techniques and communication skills to diffuse potentially difficult situations. Security officers are hired to protect properties, public spaces, residential complexes, and educational institutions. Not typically known for being high-risk areas.

How to inspire change in the security officer industry

The topic of Sexism and Security was a recent Thought Leadership Webinar sponsored by the OSPAs, Perpetuity Research, and TECAs. The panel discussion confirmed that research in the security sector shows that women suffer from different forms of sexism in the security officer industry, with behavior, attitudes, and language just a few examples. According to a recent survey, 64% of female officers have experienced bullying, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence while working in a security role. 

But sexism is not just a women’s issue to be solved by women. Although women don’t talk about it, they do experience it every day. And while there are more women in security than ever before, we need to encourage women to pursue careers in the officer industry by including women in leadership roles. But sometimes, encouraging women is not enough. Women are at least as competent as men, if not more. Still, if the industry wants more women to join their ranks, they need to create support structures and tailor security and mentorship programs directly for women and encourage them to pursue leadership roles. 

Anyone who claims that men make better security officers than women completely misunderstands the role of the modern security officer. The industry has evolved beyond physical characteristics like strength and towering height, and qualities such as communication, empathy, and industry knowledge are critical to present-day security sectors and sought after by employers.

There are also many situations where there is a real need for women security officers. Female spaces, for example, require a female security officer as some women may feel uncomfortable with male officers entering areas like washrooms, changing rooms, or performing pat-downs and searches for which women security officers are required. Finally, female security officers are often seen as less intimidating to other women and children.

Change can be challenging, but it’s possible with training, awareness, and conversation. On April 20, 2021, Saudi Arabia stationed female security officers at Mecca’s Grand Mosque for the first time in history. The decision to station the female officers is a part of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud’s ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ strategic framework reform.  According to political analyst Ali Shihabi, A Saudi female security officer in Makkah supervising pilgrims. Amazing change for Saudi society!

Women need to be encouraged to join a security officer industry committed to diversity and inclusion. There are numerous opportunities for women in security, but this needs to be recognized and championed by the leadership at the top. Education is critical and acknowledging the lack of women in the industry is the first step towards a stronger, more diverse security workforce. 

Resources for Women: 

SIA: Women in Security Forum Committee

ASIS: Women in Security Community

Women in Safety Excellence Common Interest Group 

Debbie Howlett
TrackTik

Debbie is an experienced writer with a demonstrated history of working in the security industry. She is based in Montreal, Canada, with TrackTik—a dynamic and cutting-edge tech company that sells cloud-based security workforce management software.

debbie.howlett@tracktik.com
Twitter: @TrackTik 

 

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Aley Moyer

The Californian 2021 Q1 – HOW EVERY SECURITY COMPANY CAN GROW THROUGH ADDING NEW SERVICES

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HOW EVERY SECURITY COMPANY CAN GROW THROUGH ADDING NEW SERVICES

Chris Anderson, Thinkcurity, Silvertrac, CALSAGA Network Partner

No matter what stage a private security company is in, growth is a primary goal. The simple answer to growth is winning more contracts. But that is never as simple as it sounds.

There are a lot of methods to secure more contracts as a security provider and it’s helpful to consider them. But one of the most effective ways is to diversify the security services that you offer.

It’s clear that security services are not one-size-fits all. Potential clients will be looking for services that fit their specific wants and needs. So how do you add services to your operation that will win you more bids so you can grow year after year?

  1. Know what security services are in high demand
  2. Learn how to effectively add services based on your current size

If you read this article and still want more resources, check out the day 2 keynote speech from the Virtual Physical Security Summit. Steve Vitale talks all about how to incorporate new security services into your operation.

Types of Security Services to Add

Knowing what specific services potential clients want will help a lot as you start to consider which services you should add to your operation. For example, 2020 changed the physical security industry dramatically and many security clients want things like remote guarding services or security guards trained in de-escalation tactics.

With that in mind, take a look at these 5 services that show big potential for growth in the industry.

  1. Security Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are a service that every security company should offer no matter what size or stage they are because they affect the rest of your service offerings.

When you do a risk assessment, you will be able to see what specific security needs a current or potential client has and how you can address them with the services you provide. Risk assessments can also tell you what services you might need to add to your business.

An initial assessment and property walk won’t tell you everything you need to know about a new property. Steve Vitale – an expert in this area – recommends doing 30, 60, and 90-day risk assessment check-ins with every new client.

  1. Off-Duty Officers

Off-duty police officers, retired police officers, and veterans are great assets to any physical security company. These are people with tons of experience and training – especially in skills like de-escalation and tactical communication.

Police officers and veterans also allow you to justify higher bill rates (just keep in mind you usually have to pay them more, too). Clients tend to feel better about having experienced, highly trained security officers on the job and are willing to pay for it.

  1. Security Technology

The world runs on information and your clients are no different. Offering security technology as part of your services provides you and your client with more information which means better decision making.

If you don’t have any physical security technologies, guard tour software is a great place to start. It will allow you and your supervisors to see what’s going on in your business and the data it collects will show clients that they are getting what they paid for.

For larger security companies, having a global security operations center (GSOC) will help you collect even more data that will help you use resources efficiently and make better decisions.

  1. Mobile Patrol

Mobile patrols have become more and more popular over the years. They give you an opportunity to win contracts with clients who might not be able to afford a standing guard but still want a small amount of security coverage at their property.

The key to a successful mobile patrol is good private security fleet management. This includes things like managing your mobile patrol costs and knowing what the best vehicles are for private security.

  1. Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring is a security service that is being requested more and more for reasons similar to mobile patrols. It is great for clients because it usually costs less, and it is great for security businesses because they can pay one officer to patrol multiple locations at once.

Plus, implementing remote monitoring systems has gotten much easier over the years as technology has gotten cheaper and things like artificial intelligence have become more readily available.

How to Effectively Add New Security Services

Adding services is one of the best ways to win new contracts from clients who are looking for those services. Not to mention it’s a great way to grow contracts with existing clients. Use these tips to make sure that you know how to add new services to your company in the most effective way – even if you’re small.

  1. Self Evaluation

If you’re just starting out as a security company, you might only offer standing guards. You might even be the one on site!

Before adding your next service, there are a couple of questions you need to ask yourself:

  • What does our company have the resources to offer?
  • What services do our current and prospective clients need?

Without the right resources, you will quickly find yourself in over your head. Don’t forget resources include personnel.

Make sure you aren’t straining your supervisors by giving them too much to manage. And when you add a new service, make sure you have well-trained employees that can implement it.

  1. Affiliate Service Partners

A great solution for small security companies looking to add new services is to partner with other security companies that already offer those services – especially companies that specialize in the specific services you’re looking to add.

The key here is to make sure any security company you do partner with aligns with your culture, values, and standards. Don’t settle for a company just because they offer the services you need.

If you need help finding companies to partner with, check in with your local and regional security associations, chamber of commerce, or even LinkedIn.

  1. Technology

While security technology can be viewed as part of your services, you can also use it to add new services easier.

Using technology in your security business is one of the most efficient ways to manage the entire operation at scale. As you grow, your security technology should do the heavy lifting for you and allow you to oversee every part of the business.

Security technology will also provide you with data you need during the self-evaluation process. Data from your GSOC and summary reports from the field can show you trends that will help you make informed decisions when it is time to change or add the security services you provide.

Closing

If you’re a private security company in growth mode, adding new services is one of the best ways to win new contracts and grow existing ones. When it’s time to add a new service, keep these two tips in mind:

  • Add services that current and potential clients are asking for
  • Be strategic in when and how you add services

If you want more resources, remember to check out this webinar on incorporating new services into your security operation.

Chris is the Founder of Silvertrac Software and has been working in the security industry for more than 25 years. He enjoys working with our clients everyday to help them grow their businesses and really enjoy what they are doing. Chris currently lives and works in Seal Beach, CA.

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