Planning a path of learning

Never has it been more imperative for security professionals to keep pace with developments in the industry. Gone are the days when individuals learned a skill and found a job for life. Moving jobs and switching skills has very much become the norm. In turn, continuing professional development is now a necessity. However, at a time of low unemployment and high degrees of mobility, firms are struggling to retain their best people – particularly at middle management level.

Very few companies really know the true cost of replacing staff. Taking into account the direct recruitment costs, training and development, disruption to clients, not to mention the loss of security industry knowledge, losing our key personnel hits the profit margin. In the more technical and managerial roles the cost can be as high as 1.75 times the basic salary. Even for front line security personnel who are selected and trained to provide a specific customer service, the real cost is nearly 50% of annual pay.

The reasons for staff turnover
So why is it that individuals are leaving our industry, or jumping from one company to another? Is it the job itself? The long hours? Security's image? A lack of motivation? Is it even a problem that's specific to our industry?

Thankfully, the Gallup organisation has conducted some very useful research in this area. In one of its latest reports, the organisation concluded: "Employees leave managers, not companies". Samples from exit interviews carried out over many years have shown this to be true, but employers have not responded. I was recently advised by the Human Resources Director of one leading security company that, during staff appraisals, eight out of ten employees (on average) rated their manager as the most disliked aspect of their job. Many stated that their managers needed training on how to manage effectively, and exhibited insufficient security knowledge.

Another poll conducted by Gallup involving more than 200,000 employees across 12 different industries showed that teams were more productive, committed and profitable when staff rated their managers highly in several key areas. In general, staff who stay:

• have managers who show concern for – and an interest in – their well-being;
  
• are well-advised, and know exactly what is expected of them;
  
• have an identified role that fits their skills;
  
• receive positive feedback and recognition from management for a job well done.

Planning a path of learning
That said, the blame cannot be placed at the door of the individual managers. Many companies in our industry enthusiastically promote their best officers into management positions in order to motivate them. As a result, the excellent security officers of yesterday soon find themselves to be an average or poor manager of today. They'll be 'managing' a site, area or region with a laptop, mobile telephone and company car, but with no formal training or development. Motivation soon turns to demotivation, while enthusiasm quickly turns to huge disappointment.

There are still examples of those who deliver symptomatic training when a manager can't do something, but the security industry is now beginning to address management training far more strategically. Indeed, it is becoming an integral focus of business-related objectives.

Many companies in our industry promote their best officers into management positions in order to motivate them. As a result, the excellent security officers of yesterday soon find themselves to be an average manager of today

Planning a path of learning reinforces employee loyalty, ensuring that a given individual has a sense of their future with the company. Potential employees are now much wiser than they used to be, while it would be true to say that a security company with a reputation for developing its members of staff is viewed as a good company by the end user.

A great deal of progress has been made (and is being made) by SITO in the management education field. Uptake of our supervisory management course has been tremendous, both for the public and in-house versions, and the Advanced Security Officer course is proving immensely popular in the UK and overseas.

We are currently in the process of developing a security management programme in partnership with the Institute of Security Management, and have worked with industry stakeholders in developing a management framework for the industry (the results of which will be presented at our annual National Training Conference in Birmingham on Tuesday 5 November).

In addition, the graduate apprenticeship scheme is now complete, and our foundation degree course partnership with The Scarman Centre at Leicester University has been extremely popular. The work of many other universities should not be forgotten at this stage, and we must mention the dedicated efforts of the International Institute of Security when it comes to management development.

A commitment to education
To quote Molly Meacher – chair of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) – when she spoke at last May's JSIC Annual Security Forum (see 'Council of voices' on pp28-29 of this edition): "Educational expectations in the industry are low". Although I would agree 100% with that statement, I would stress the expectations and add that the availability of high level supervisory and management qualifications in our industry is in fact high. The security sector is full of people who are – and have always been – committed to learning for both their own sake and that of others with whom they work.

At a time when the SIA has been created to assist in the professionalisation of the industry through licensing (which, in turn, will make a career in the industry more attractive), industry stakeholders must ask themselves what they are going to do to help.

Staff retention and development, in particular at management level, are not just today's concerns. Security companies need to find a way to build on their best people. To build on existing strengths, and keep one eye firmly fixed on the high risk areas.