Recruitment: grasping the opportunities

Opportunities are certainly growing for talented individuals seeking to make a career for themselves in the security sector. The pool of in-house security management vacancies advertised or placed in the hands of recruitment consultancies has increased over the past decade, aided by the fact that there has been a definite move away from employers assuming that they simply need to appoint someone with a formal background.

Importantly, there’s now much more emphasis on sourcing very specific skills and capabilities rather than assuming a certain type of background will automatically equip someone for the task at hand.

Meanwhile, today’s crime trends – coupled with businesses’ corporate liability responsibilities and society’s expectations – have meant an increasing reliance on security suppliers, for many of whom business has boomed. This has opened up considerable opportunities for managerial level staff to both enter and progress within the sector as companies grow.

The expansion of security suppliers has also resulted in benefits for those working ‘at the coal face’ (security officers, for example). Opportunities for promotion are now on the increase, particularly for those who take the time to learn additional skills that may not relate strongly to core security officer duties, but which will be invaluable when it comes to assuming a supervisory (or indeed managerial) position.

Recognition as a profession

What specific qualities will enable security personnel to survive and flourish in today’s complex and dynamic business environment?

There are certain threats facing individuals seeking to enter and progress within the security profession, and they need to have the necessary skills to deal with them. One of the major threats to the in-house Security Department is of it being subsumed by other functions. Clear contenders are audit and Health and Safety personnel who are tasked with ensuring that organisations don’t fall foul of the law.

That particular threat arises because security isn’t fully recognised as a profession, and is seen as having a limited value in relation to other elements of the corporate machine.

The lack of value placed by UK businesses on the security function is illustrated by a comparison of salary levels on home shores with those paid in the United States. It’s not untypical to see a chief security officer role in America advertised at $350,000 (£220,000-£250,000). This would be on a par with members of the senior executive in the marketing or finance sectors. In the UK, the corresponding figure would more typically be in the region of £110,000-£150,000, and highly likely to be significantly less than directors of other functions within the organisation.

To change the constrained views of many UK Boards of Directors, we need to banish the perception of security management as being the science of the physical retention of assets and secrets, and replace this with an acceptance of it as a much more holistic role. A role at the heart of which lies a commitment to ensuring that the business is profitable.

Businesses need to recognise the significant role that effective security management can play in helping them to meet commercial objectives. One of the key goals for The Security Institute is to make a major contribution towards this necessary change in attitudes. However, that’s only one side of the equation. Security managers have an important role to play in portraying an essential enabling – rather than a narrow and inhibiting – image.

The in-house security manager must be able to come up with the compelling sound bite (“I can save you £2 million by…”) that really grabs the busy chief executive’s attention

Good interaction and negotiation

It’s not sufficient for managers to be familiar with security practices and procedures. They have to possess a real, ongoing understanding of their businesses’ strategies as they evolve, the responsibilities and challenges of facing up to other departments and what they themselves must do to support these endeavours in a meaningful way. They also need to be able to interact and negotiate effectively with other parts of the organisation as well as external contacts.

Consequently, the effective manager of today must possess good, general managerial skills in addition to specialist knowledge. This is as true for managers working for a security solutions provider as it is for in-house personnel.

Security suppliers are no longer providing a simple off-the-shelf product or service. To be successful in the business world, they must be more business oriented on behalf of their client base. They need to be able to devise appropriate, tailor-made solutions that help clients’ profitability, and communicate them clearly. Staff must be in a position to add real value in this type of environment.

Communication skills are absolutely vital to increasing the influence and impact of security personnel at all stages of their career. Not only must the in-house security manager be able to complete the analysis that shows how a particular course of action will help the organisation meet its business objectives, but they must also be able to come up with the compelling sound bite (“I can save you £2 million by…”) that really grabs the busy chief executive’s attention.

Focus on general skills sets

During the recruitment process, we’re seeing an increasing focus from employers on general management skills. The assessment centres run by my company on behalf of clients look at qualities such as reasoning, problem-solving, team-building skills and an ability to interact with others.

It should be remembered that every role is unique. Ten candidates may have a similar level of experience, but do they possess all of the necessary skills required to do the job? This is most definitely an occasion where we can say that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’.

To reach the top of the tree, security personnel must have a wide range of skills at their disposal. Companies can help by providing appropriate training for staff. The Security Institute can support individuals in developing their knowledge and skills, and help in providing a commercial environment that exhibits a much better understanding of the importance of the security function.

That said, nothing can be achieved without true commitment from the individual to evolve along with the changing requirements of the business environment, make decisions about their career aspirations and invest the necessary time in developing the skills needed to achieve them.