Keeping your business, employees and customers safe should be one of the primary concerns of any business owner. Deciding how to secure your business is a choice that can impact your operations, costs, and overall security. If you’re not sure whether to employ a security team of your own or reach out to security companies for some outsourced enforcement, we can help.
Understanding In-house Security Guards
In-house security guards are your employees – people directly employed and managed by your business. As part of your staff, these guards will be integrated into your company’s culture and day-to-day operations. Managing in-house security requires a dedicated team responsible for recruitment, training, scheduling, and overall management of the security personnel. It’s best if they themselves have some experience in this area. Let’s consider the pros of this approach.
Pros of Employing In-house Security Guards
- Enhanced control – One of the significant advantages of in-house security guards is the level of control you have over their operations. You make the rules, set the roles, and give the orders to best meet the specific needs of your business.
- Familiarity – In-house guards typically become familiar with your business premises, employees, and regular visitors. This means that they are well-equipped to identify unusual activities or individuals. This consistency can lead to a more secure environment as the guards develop an intuitive understanding of the workplace dynamics and potential security challenges – something that can really improve the peace of mind of your employees.
- Integration with company culture – Since in-house security guards are your employees, they can be more easily integrated into your company’s culture and values. Corporate security services need to walk the line between being professional and personable so that people feel able to approach them for help.
- Immediate responsiveness – With in-house security, you can expect fast responses to any incidents that occur. The direct line of communication within the organisation ensures that security personnel are promptly informed of any issues as and when they arise.
Cons of In-house Security Guard Systems
- Higher costs – Employing in-house security guards can be costly, meaning it isn’t a sensible choice for everyone. You are responsible for salaries, benefits, training, uniforms, equipment, and other related expenses – all of these things can add up very quickly. As well as this, you have to allocate appropriate resources for recruiting and managing the security team, which can strain your business’s budget, especially for smaller businesses.
- Administrative burden – Managing an in-house security team adds to your administrative workload, which may be a major con for some businesses. From payroll and scheduling to ensuring compliance with regulations and conducting regular performance evaluations, the administrative responsibilities can be time-consuming and complex.
- Limited flexibility – In-house security arrangements might not be flexible enough to scale up or down quickly in response to changing security needs. If your business experiences a sudden increase in security demands, such as during special events or high-risk periods, you may need to bring in outsourced security to bolster your defenses, defeating the point of going in-house in the first place.
- Training and development – Ensuring that your in-house security guards are adequately briefed on the latest security practices requires ongoing investment in training and development programs. This can be both time-consuming and costly, especially if your business is new to having security and therefore lacks the expertise to design and deliver effective training.
Outsourcing Security Guard Services
Many businesses choose to outsource their security guard services. For a wide proportion of businesses, contracting third-party private security companies to provide trained personnel for your business relieves a lot of the workload of going in-house. These companies live and breathe security every day, and tend to be able to offer a range of flexible options – everything from uniformed guards to advanced surveillance systems.
Pros of Outsourced Security Guard Services
- Cost-effective -Outsourcing security services can be more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team. You only pay for the services you need, which doesn’t include paying for salaries, benefits, training, and management. This can be particularly beneficial to any businesses on limited budgets.
- Expertise – Security companies specialise in providing security services, meaning their guards are highly trained and experienced. By outsourcing, you gain access to a pool of security experts with knowledge of the latest security technologies, best practices, and industry standards.
- Scalability – Outsourced security services offer a lot more flexibility to adjust the level of security based on your business needs – which can change quite drastically in a relatively short space of time. Whether you need additional guards for a special event or enhanced security during high-risk periods, security companies can quickly scale their services to meet your requirements, without you having to go through the process of hiring more staff.
- Less admin – Outsourcing shifts the responsibility of recruitment, training, scheduling, and management to the security company. This reduces the administrative burden on your business, reduces the risk of not meeting compliance standards, and allows you to focus on core operations.
- Access to technology – Many security companies invest in advanced security technologies, such as surveillance cameras, access control systems, and alarm systems. By outsourcing, your business can benefit from these technologies without the need for significant capital investment.
Cons and Limitations of Outsourced Security Guard Services
- Less control – When you outsource private security services, you forfeit some of your control over the security personnel and their training. While this can sometimes lead to miscommunications or other issues, usually it means that it’s those with more experience in the industry calling the shots – which is a win for everyone.
- Inconsistency – Outsourced security guards may not have the same level of familiarity with your business premises and regular activities as in-house guards.
- Miscommunication – Maintaining effective communication with outsourced security personnel is essential, and can lead to issues if not kept on top of.
The best house is a safe house
Choosing between in-house and outsourced security guard services depends on your business’s unique needs, budget, and priorities. You need to choose the option that will make your business most secure, and that works best with your day-to-day operations.
Consulting with security experts is a great way to identify the specific security requirements of your business, the costs involved, and the potential benefits and limitations of each option. For many, this advice is simply too good to lose, and leads to the foundations of an outsourced security contract. The goal is to create a secure and safe environment that supports your business’s growth and success, and oftentimes experience in this area trumps everything else.
We’re happy to share what we’ve learned from our collective years of providing corporate security services. Get in touch today to see what our experts can do for you.
