Unarmed Security Guards Hiring: Avoiding Common Mistakes
The use of unarmed security guards is a valuable tool in the arsenal of businesses, corporations, employees, business owners, and property managers who want to make certain that their premises are safe and secure. Although classified as “unarmed,” these officers bring an additional level of deterrence, response and perspective of general safety to the Academy. However, mistakes at any stage of that process can be costly, bad for business and inefficient. This article addresses the worst hiring mistakes companies make, and what you can do to make sure you don’t make them yourself.
Underestimating the Role of Unarmed Security Guards
Many guards can’t conduct enterprise in case you will ask if the guards are skilled and trained. There is a sense that they are not of much value when they are not armed or merely for observation. In fact, unarmed guards are the initial line of defense in most customer facing businesses, retail locations, and more. By themselves, the guards could help deter crime, control access and handle crowds.
The importance of their work being overlooked can mean too little investment in recruiting, training and compensating them. When hiring is treated as nothing more than a paper routine as opposed to a deliberate act, you end up with guards with minimal or no experience in the security industry. “An unarmed guard who is appropriately trained, compliant or interacting with people, who are awake, fair, can diffuse situations, write a more responsible letter to the police on suspicious activity and has the ability to be a witness” and “help clients get their emergency services.
Not Defining the Job Requirements Clearly
Not Defining Role, Responsibility and Expectation One of the greatest hiring mistakes is failing to define the role, responsibility and expectation of the job. Security needs differ drastically by industry and location. You don’t have the same kind of unarmed guard like a guard job guarding a retail mall who locks a building after a second shift. A recruiter without a proper job description often is too successful – attracting a feedstock of candidates who are lacking in either proper, relevant qualifications or proper “fit”.
All clear about qualifications, daily duties, expertise and relevant experience can help pre-selecting the candidates. And it ensures there is a good fit between what the employer is looking for and the job candidate. These sorts of soft skills including anger management, customer relations and general communication that are listed as part of the job specs can help you find a more all-round staff as it can help guarantee that employees are equipped to handle real life situations in a professional and calm manner.
Overlooking Background Checks and Licensing
Another black mark against many companies is that they do not sufficiently conduct background checks and verify licenses. Unarmed guards are still required to maintain state or country regulatory, company, and site standards. In most areas unarmed guards had to be licensed to work as such, require at least a minimum amount of training, and maintain a strict set of legal requirements, including no prior record. That can leave a company extremely vulnerable when it relies on hiring practices that ignore these factors.
All candidates will be subject to a complete background check, drug test and certifications for the position for which they are being considered. Failing to take these steps may expose workers to unnecessary safety hazards and potential legal consequences in the event of an accident. You can take a shortcut by using established background-check firms or security staffing companies and remain within the bounds of local statutes.
Ignoring Soft Skills and Personality Fit
Rumsey added that failing to do effective background checks and verify licenses is a hiring mistake. Unarmed guards, too, have certain regulatory and company standards they must meet, depending on a state or country. In the majority of the country, unarmed guards are required to be licensed by the state in which they work, complete training hours and possess a clean criminal record. Failing to interview for these conditions may cast tumultuous liability upon your firm.
All applicants should undergo a criminal background check, employment history check, and if there are required certifications, the candidate should be certified. Without doing so, not only can you risk unsafe construction, but liability in the event of an accident. A possible simplification of this matter is the use of experienced background screening services providers or established security staffing agencies, which already handle all the challenges while keeping updated with local laws.
Neglecting Comprehensive Training Programs
The armed guard needs to be tough, pipeish and watchful, however unarmed security guards must exhibit finesse such as good communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills. Recruitment by looks or by the barest of requirements is likely to breed bored, frustrated workers who will struggle to handle confrontation or members of the public. Not all the time, but it just tends to end up that way, especially when we have no people skills!
Personality match matters too, with face-to-face customer service jobs being one great example. A security guard who lacks emotional intelligence cannot handle pressure or make customers or other staff feel disconnected. Behavioral interview questions and situation exercises can help uncover those temperamentally suited to the role and who can flex with skill and care across different circumstances in the hiring process.
Relying Too Heavily on Outsourcing Without Oversight
The hiring journey is not a straight line from hiring through onboarding — one of the most hazardous assumptions businesses can make is that experience from a previous job eliminates the need for training anew. Every map, setting, mechanic is totally different from another. “That training program might save somebody during an active shooting event.” Without a training program that is unique to your organization, new hires may lack the cues they need to respond appropriately in an emergency — or even for everyday day life-safety tasks.
A good program should also cover such mandatory and situational topics as conflict resolution, handling emergencies, dealing with customers, and company procedures. Refreshing training from time to time is also necessary because the people who study them might need to maintain proficiency and keep themselves updated with new rules as regulations might change. Investment in training positively correlates with the level of performance and job satisfaction and retention (level of burnout), leading to a more capable and dependable security team.
Failing to Offer Competitive Pay and Career Growth
Finally, one of the major blunders of agencies is not allowing non-sworn opportunities in pay and advancement. “Security work is hard, and when you have guards who feel like they’re not valued, what’s typical is high turnover, absenteeism and low morale,” he said. Companies that do treat such jobs as dispensable find themselves on a hiring and retaining treadmill that is ultimately costlier.
When fair pay, performance recognition & promotion are given it creates loyalty and quality to the root of security service.OPKH Forex Quotes A fair price for insured and out of population stable too. Consider offering guards bonuses, enhanced training or promotions within the company as incentives to continue the work and to retain the best of the best. A professional security force not only performs better, but also helps shape the organizational safety culture and brand.
Conclusion: Strategic Hiring Means Safer Spaces
When you employ unarmed security guards, it’s not just a vacancy you’re filling, instead it’s a way to invest in the future health and safety of the community. Each failure in the hiring process is a crack in the seams that allows people to raid your security game. From offering vague job descriptions to avoiding background checks or training, these costly mistakes are avoidable with the right thinking and planning.
Enterprises have to learn to be strategic in their hiring around security, and it needs to be an investment and not seen as a necessary evil. With clear standards, a thorough candidate vetting process, a focus on what RPEM calls “soft skills” and the opportunity to grow talent from within, a company can create a security staff that can be far more trusted and successful. In a world where anything could happen, hiring smarter isn’t just about safety, it’s about peace of mind… for your employees, for your customers, the general public and, indeed, the industry.
