HOW TO ATTRACT YOUR COMPANY’S IDEAL CANDIDATE

Anne Laguzza, The Works Consulting, CALSAGA Network Partner

The job market continues to be in favor of job seekers with many security companies citing frustrations over attracting qualified candidates.

A common problem we hear is that security companies will receive a lot of resumes but few are qualified for the role.

If this is happening to you, it is time to review your hiring process from start to finish and find the gaps in your process:

1. Job Postings

Well-written and well-placed job postings are the key to attracting the right candidates from the start. If you’re receiving lots of resumes but none are qualified for your open position, it’s time to assess. Ensure your job posting is engaging and well-written. Job postings are excellent marketing for your company. To attract top talent, don’t just list off job responsibilities, instead highlight what makes your company different and why people like working there. Applicants are looking for work places that they will enjoy – be sure to include information that will make them want to apply. There are many job posting sites available online, but not all will help you connect with the right candidates. Make sure that you’re utilizing recruiting websites that list similar security jobs in your area. You want to be well-positioned where your future employees are looking for jobs.

2. Interview Process

An interviewing process is like baking. You must follow a specific recipe to ensure repeated results. Decide who should be involved in your interview process and why. What are the questions that will be asked to provide you with the most valuable information? Use behavioral interview questions to understand what the applicant’s past experience is that best relates to your open position. Be consistent. Every time you change the “recipe” you run the risk of uncertainty in the outcome. Hiring is one of the most important things you will do as a leader – treat it with the care and attention it deserves.

3. Selection Process

To ensure you’re hiring your company’s ideal candidate every time, you must have a clear understanding of the type of candidate that would work well within your company’s culture. You might find a candidate likable, but are they a good match for the position? We all have great friends that we wouldn’t recommend for a job (I know I do!). They are very likable socially, but in terms of reliability – not so much.  If you don’t carefully review each candidate’s opportunity areas before hiring to ensure that you have the time and ability to train them, you’ll find yourself recruiting for that same position again very soon. Compare the applicants to a list of qualifications and not to each other to make the best selection for your company.

Through a thorough review of the hiring processes and training to everyone involved in the hiring process, you can attract and hire more qualified candidates. This will keep your clients happy, improve morale and decrease performance issues down the road.

Need help improving your hiring process? Contact The Works Consulting by email solutions@theworksconsulting.com or by phone 562.597.4932.

Anne Laguzza is the CEO of The Works Consulting. As a seasoned business executive with human resources management, leadership development, and performance coaching experience, Anne works with clients from a variety of industries to develop better systems, maximize employee productivity, and enable management to focus on business growth.

Prior to founding The Works Consulting in 2001, Anne served as the Regional Human Resources Director for a Fortune 500 distribution company where she led a merger transition team and was responsible for strategic planning, implementing new policies and procedures, workforce restructuring, compensation structures, and integrating the work cultures for over 600 employees.

In addition, Anne was formerly the Human Resources and Training Director for a start-up entertainment company where she organized and implemented a company-wide change management program that involved new company direction and strategic planning. Prior to her work in the entertainment industry, Anne served as the Regional Training Manager for a nationwide retailer where she developed and launched a multi-state training program for human resources managers as part of a corporate expansion project.

Anne earned her Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management from Antioch University, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside. She is an active member of the Society of Human Resources Management, and is a board member for Harbor Interfaith Services and an advisory board member for Arthritis National Research Foundation. Anne has taught human resources and management courses at Long Beach City College and California State University, Dominguez Hills, and volunteers at non-profit organizations teaching interviewing skills to adults seeking re-entry into the workforce.

Social Media Links:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/annelaguzza/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TheWorksHR/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/annelaguzza/

NAVIGATING THE HARD INSURANCE MARKET: STRATEGIES FOR PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS

Tory Brownyard, Brownyard Group

As insurers look to reduce risk and losses, businesses in areas that are deemed high-risk, such as those in private security, face fewer options and higher rates. Yet while higher premiums are difficult for security firms to navigate, they pale in comparison to the enormous financial and reputational damage inadequate coverage may cause. For private security firms, there is no end in sight as these conditions, which started around 2019 and were accompanied by higher premiums and stricter underwriting, are expected to continue well into 2025.

Fortunately, there are strategies that security firm owners and operators can use to ensure their firm remains appealing for insurance companies by understanding their risk exposures and addressing them.

Why so hard?

Past hard markets have lasted three years on average, making the current hard market unusual. The hard market has persisted for as long as it has for multiple reasons, including two that impact private security firms the most.

First, firms face increasing risks—and premiums—due to the rise of so-called “nuclear verdicts,” court decisions that exceed $10 million in damages for the claimant. In 2023, nuclear verdicts cost the insurance industry a staggering $14.5 billion, and security firms are not immune.

Second, a continued increase in active shooter claims nationwide severely impacts security firms’ risk profiles. From 2019 to 2023, active shooter events increased by 89% over the prior five-year period, according to FBI data. These events bring unique challenges to firms, because if a firm’s officers are within proximity of an active shooter, a lawsuit for failure to provide adequate security will surely follow. Such lawsuits will almost always consume a firm’s total liability policy limits, which is why some insurers may deny coverage to certain firms.

Pitfalls to Steer Clear Of

Given the economic pressures of the hard market, private security firms sometimes look to cut costs by shopping for policies on non-admitted markets. Doing so, however, can create far more problems than it solves.

Non-admitted insurers are not state regulated and do not pay into the state guarantee fund. Sometimes, firms may be forced to work with non-admitted insurers if they cover only high-risk clients, such as bars or fast-food restaurants. However, non-admitted insurers do not offer protection for firms in the event of an insurance bankruptcy, which is a major downside.

Additionally, some non-admitted insurers provide limited coverage, which puts a firm’s professionals at risk and potentially impacts their profitability, too.

Assault and battery liability provides a good example for how non-admitted insurance can impact a firm’s profitability and put professionals at risk. Assault and battery liability protects firms and their employees from claims that may arise regarding the use of physical force. The industry standard is for companies to require their security firms to carry at least $1 million in assault and battery coverage as part of their general liability insurance. If a firm contracts with a non-admitted insurer and carries a sub-limit below $1 million, it will lose existing contracts and struggle to compete for new business from low-risk (and highly desired) clients in the future. Even worse, if a non-admitted insurer eliminates assault and battery coverage altogether, a firm and its employees are unprotected from related lawsuits entirely.

 How to improve your firm’s insurability

While the hard market may be out of any owner or operator’s control, there are ways to enhance your firm’s appeal to insurers—without moving to the non-admitted market with carriers offering inadequate coverage.

Make a strong impression.
When reviewing a business for insurability, many organizations rely heavily on loss experience. A clean loss run spanning at least 4 years years can make a favorable impression. However, repeated claims in specific areas can raise red flags, likely resulting in a declination. For example:

• A loss record showing a history of drowsy driving claims could indicate problems with long work hours or poor training and supervision.
• A firm with multiple reports of fights between security officers and customers could raise concerns about substandard employee screening processes.

Choose your firm’s clients wisely.

A firm with lower-risk clients, such as those that secure Class A or high-end office buildings, technology campuses, estates or government entities, could be more attractive to insurers. Those that cater to higher-risk clients—such as shopping malls, arenas and other special event spaces where large amounts of people gather—will likely be less attractive.

Limit your liability contractually.

Firms that have partnered with an attorney to develop their own contracts with specific language limiting their liability will be more attractive to insurers than firms that accept the terms and conditions spelled out in their clients’ contracts or use generic contract language.

Train and hire responsibly.

The good news for California security firms is that the state already has some of the most stringent requirements in the nation when it comes to security officer screening, training and supervision. Insurers will prioritize partnering with firms that meet those strict standards. Firms that exceed California requirements are likely to make an even better impression on insurers.

Retain your security professionals.

Firms with high turnover rates are a red flag to insurers, as it calls into question the firm’s ability to cultivate a stable workforce. Additionally, insurers will be more likely to cover firms that offer their security professionals average or above-average salaries versus those who pay minimum wage.

Don’t forget about auto.

While much of the advice above is geared toward general liability insurance, commercial auto is another pain point many private security firms share. Insurers will prioritize partnering with firms that follow a few simple best practices and maintain clean loss records. In particular, insurers will look for written driver safety policies, thorough training for new hires, refresher training for existing staff, and the use of on-board telematics, video cameras and other proven fleet management safety technologies.

Keep your firm insured

Do not let the challenges of a hard insurance market keep you from getting the coverage your firm—and its officers—need to stay safe. By maintaining a clean loss record, avoiding the pitfalls of non-admitted insurers and adopting proven third-party risk transfer strategies, firms can take their own steps to protect their businesses to keep their premium increases to a minimum regardless of market conditions.

Tory Brownyard is president of Brownyard Group (www.brownyard.com), a program administrator that pioneered liability insurance for security officer firms more than 70 years ago.

ACTIONABLE OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Jill Davie, TEAM Software by WorkWave, CALSAGA Network Partner

Security contractors continue to face the challenge of a shrinking, very competitive labor force, which can be combated by integrating automation into current processes and focusing on employee retention programs.

TEAM Software data shows that the highest rate of turnover occurs in the first 60 days of employment, but retention efforts shouldn’t end there. Because we know long-term retention can be tied to employee engagement, it’s important to build a culture where managers have regular touchpoints with employees to discuss career development and goals, as well as day-to-day work assignments and questions.

Taking the steps to develop a stable, cohesive workforce is directly linked to retaining skilled and experienced employees. This ensures continuity in operations while creating a positive work environment that supports talent, welcomes innovative ideas and fosters collaboration.

Place value on top talent

The average cost of onboarding a new employee is nearly $4,700, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). However, some employers estimate the total cost of a new hire can be three to four times the salary of the position, due to the time and energy that department leaders and managers must invest into supporting the hiring process.

Retaining skilled and experienced employees contributes to a stable and cohesive workforce, ensuring continuity in operations and fostering a positive work environment. Employee loyalty enhances organizational culture, as committed employees are more likely to invest in their roles, contribute innovative ideas and collaborate effectively with colleagues.

Loyal employees serve as brand ambassadors, promoting a positive employer reputation that attracts top talent and strengthens the company’s competitive edge in the market.

Using incentives and employee benefits

More frequent communication can help teams work more closely together, and it creates an environment that encourages retention. Other successful tactics we’ve seen professionals in the industry experiment with are incentive programs – not just for field-based employees, but also implementing incentive programs to reward managers for retaining employees.

Improving employee retention can have a very positive impact on the bottom line of a company, making these types of incentive programs self-funded. It may also help with manager retention, as great performers are rewarded and share in the success of the business.

Incentive programs that reward workers can support retention, as top performers are acknowledged. Some examples of incentive programs and rewards include monetary bonuses, referral programs, profit-sharing, flexible hours or work arrangements, additional vacation days and travel incentives, professional development stipends and employee training opportunities.

Career development

Because employees invest their time and hard work in making a business successful, they want to feel that same level of investment in return. Put plainly, most employees have ambitions to grow and professionally develop. They want careers and employment that allow them to learn new skills and earn more.

Offering a definitive path to skill and career advancement is crucial in retention. Whether it’s cross-training, job shadowing or a mentorship program – these are all cost-effective ways to advance the skillset of a workforce. Another approach is creating hybrid roles or new positions for employees who excel in particular functions.

Offering employees a clear path for advancement also requires specificity when it comes to setting short and long-term goals. Workers appreciate tangible and attainable milestones backed by incentives. In the end, staying true to promises made once milestones are reached will reinforce a sense of commitment to them while rewarding them for their accomplishments.

Taking the steps to incentivize and reward workers can aid businesses dealing with low employee retention rates. Motivating workers to commit to their professional growth can have a positive impact on employee performance while helping to ensure that a business stands out amongst its competitors as a place where people want to work.

Jill Davie started her career at TEAM Software as a summer marketing intern in 1996. At the time, TEAM was a start-up with 12 employees. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Iowa State University, Jill joined TEAM full time in 1998 as a Sales Associate. Over the next 20 years, she assumed various leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Communications, Customer Success, and Professional Services as the company grew significantly.

 

 

 CUT TURNOVER AND BOOST SAVINGS: HOW SECTION 125 CAN HELP GUARD COMPANIES KEEP STAFF, SAVE ON TAXES AND REDUCE THEIR WORKERS COMP PREMIUMS

Rick Knight, Business Link Solutions, CALSAGA Associate Member

According to many industry publications, the security guard industry faces a very high turnover rate, reportedly as high as 300%. The two main reasons cited are low wages and lack of affordable benefits. This often drives employees to switch jobs, sometimes for as little as a 50 cent per hour increase.

Our specially designed Section 125 plan can help guard companies reduce turnover and save costs leading to increased take-home pay for employees and annual savings on what you pay in FICA payroll taxes and Workers Comp premiums.

In 1978 Congress enacted the Section 125 law that allows American companies the ability to pre-tax employee benefits. This reduces what you pay on your FICA payroll taxes, putting money back in both your company’s and your employees’ pockets.

Additionally, every qualified full-time employee will have access to important benefits designed to help them be healthier and with those benefits being pre-taxed, full-time eligible employees will see a net increase in their take-home pay. On average, guard companies that sign up with this plan save over $500 per year and their employees see an average $80-$100 per month pay increase.

We’ve helped over 10,000 companies save on taxes and retain their staff, including a Santa Ana guard company that save $50,000 in FICA taxes each year and have significant saving on their Workers Comp premiums.

With our specially designed Section 125 plan you can expect to see:

• $80-$100 average monthly pay increase for employees
• Lower workers’ compensation fees due to reduced taxable payroll
• Average $500 per employee in tax savings annually
• Zero-dollar copays on doctor visits, prescriptions, and urgent care
• Complements existing medical plans

Ready to see if our Section 125 can benefit your company?

Call us at 949-519-0022 or email us at rknight@businesslinksolutions.net to

see if you qualify.

Rick Knight

Regional Vice President

Business Link Solutions

Simplifying The Officer Body Camera Experience: Buying Considerations

Jojo Tran, Telepath Corporation, CALSAGA Associate Member

Picture this: a typical uniformed security officer carries radio, remote speaker microphone, baton, pepper spray, handcuffs, gloves, at least one smartphone and a personal device, while wearing ballistic body armor under their uniform. That’s a lot of gear to carry around and be ready to run within an instant.

Now there is a nationwide push to add body-worn cameras (BWCs) to the mix.

As any security agency can attest, however, new technology deployments can have unexpected impacts that negate a solution’s intended value. This is no different for BWCs.

Before purchasing, agencies should recognize how a new piece of technology can impact security officers’ ability to successfully do their job and protect the community.

To get the best results, reduce complexity, and ultimately help security officers better achieve their mission, here are things to consider when evaluating a BWC solution.

BODY-WORN CAMERAS ARE NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL

Security officers are obviously different shapes and sizes. They have to attach or carry various items while on patrol, and are often wearing different types of uniforms that affect the way they wear their gear. These variations can have a direct impact on whether a BWC can be used successfully.

In the same way a good radio speaker microphone (RSM) can adapt to various users, a good BWC should too. Officers should not have to compromise the way they operate, as that immediately minimizes a BWC’s value and detracts from its promise of aiding in evidence capture.

When evaluating BWCs consider wearing options, camera field of view, and camera be positioned or rotated based on how an officer wears it. These factors allow users to wear BWCs comfortably and without restriction.

They also accommodate various wearing positions and officer body types, while still enabling effective evidence capture.

MANUAL PROCESSES KEEP OFFICERS PREOCCUPIED

While in-field tagging can reduce the time officers would spend back in the station, it can potentially reduce alert patrol time and lead to

isn’t standardized or has to be manually added.

Instead, a truly efficient process is one that keeps officers on the field and engaged with the community while minimizing distractions. Tight technology integration that automatically associates metadata and other pertinent information with video can provide the necessary context to a clip while also making it more efficient to find and share that video later. This integration could be a BWC that can automatically associate capture location data and officer ID from an integrated radio, or an incident type and number automatically integrated from a computer-aided dispatch and records management system.

Automated controls over video footage tags and metadata can also ensure standardization for grouping, filtering, and searching for content when it’s needed later.

TECHNOLOGY WILL PROGRESS. WILL YOUR INVESTMENT VALUE?

BWCs are the next step toward more data-driven policing. But technology will

continue to evolve and with it, the tendency for complexity. Thus, devices, networks, and applications capable of working together seamlessly in an ecosystem will become even more important.

When considering a BWC purchase and how it will affect your security agency’s ability to grow, the ecosystem it is a part of is just as important as its wearability, operability, and intelligent management features. From this viewpoint, the BWC transforms from a singularly purposed device into a part of a true policing solution platform. Therefore, it becomes critical to weigh a BWC vendor’s total breadth of expertise delivering larger value to organizations.

KEEP IT SIMPLE FOR THOSE ON THE FRONT LINES

When implemented properly, body-worn cameras have the power to provide greater transparency and accountability. But like any technology, without the proper solution and supporting ecosystem, they can have the opposite effect, adding unneeded complexity and actually hindering security officers’ ability to do their jobs.

By taking into account basic, key considerations such as wearability, operability, management features, and total ecosystem return on investment, you can ensure body-worn cameras deliver their promised value of better transparency and accountability, while not hindering officers in their mission to keep our communities safe.

THE BODY-WORN CAMERA CHECKLIST

Use this checklist to help you evaluate some of the capabilities that can simplify the complexity for your officers and give them the best experience when using body-worn cameras.

FLEXIBLE WEARABILITY:

• Can the body-worn camera be mounted in a variety of different ways for what is most comfortable and appropriate for your security officers?
• Does the body-worn camera articulate and have the field of view to accommodate any of the variety of wearing positions desired?

STREAMLINED OPERABILITY:

• Can a radio emergency or other alert automatically trigger the body-worn camera to start recording?

MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY:

• Can the body-worn camera video be automatically tagged with time, date,

location, and incident information.

• Can the body-worn camera offload video to the management system via Wi-Fi? 

Source:

Motorola Solutions

WHITE PAPER | SIMPLIFYING THE OFFICER BODY CAMERA EXPERIENCE

JoJo Tran is Chief Executive Officer of Telepath Corporation. Tran joined Telepath in 1990 and became CEO in September 2010. Previously, he headed several business units at Telepath, including mission critical infrastructure, customer service, sales and mobile team. Mr. Tran’s vision is to be the industry’s premier sales, service and program management company. Customers and partners will see Telepath as an integral to their success. Telepath will anticipate their needs and deliver on every commitment. People will be proud to work at Telepath. Telepath will create opportunities to achieve the extraordinary and will reward their success.