Main Responsibilities Of Security Guards
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It is always surprising how many different answers one will get if one poses a simple question like what are the main responsibilities of security guards to a room full of security professionals. The different answers normally indicate lack of knowledge and lack of training, because some responsibilities that will be stated are simply incorrect and others are unlawful and might create a huge liability for the security company employing the security professional. Many security consultants and supervisors and field supervisors assume that it is common sense to know what to do in certain situations, but from experience I can tell you it is dangerous to rely on the common sense of security guards.
Mainly, because it is only human that dangerous or unfamiliar situations will make one forget common sense. In that case bad decisions will be made with potentially devastating consequences. It is always better to spell out potential risk factors to security guards and the courses of actions they should take. Naturally, one cannot prepare for all potential situations, but general courses of action will apply to almost all situations.
The main responsibility of security guards is to observe and report. Most security professionals have heard that phrase thousands of times in their career and they discount that answer as simple, but it is not. It spells out exactly what a security officer’s job is and which limits it has. In many instances security professionals’ interpretation of the phrase is incorrect. We will dissect it and make it clear, because simply observing and reporting takes a lot of skill and right decision making.
Let us start with the word observe. What does it mean for security officers that have been assigned a set of post orders and for security consultants that have written the post orders? What to observe depends on the client’s expectations. It is the responsibility of a security consultant to ask clients the right questions and to find out what clients expect from their security guards. It is imperative to be as detailed as possible, because only the client knows his property and business and the risk factors he wants to mitigate by hiring a security company. After good detailed questions the client’s expectations have to be communicated in a one or maximum two page post order. The post orders have to be simple to understand, but detailed enough to spell out all necessary courses of action.
Every security guard working at the location should be trained by a supervisor or security consultant. All of the client’s expectations, potential risk factors, contact information, courses of actions in certain situations should be communicated to the security guard. Additionally, there should be ongoing training by supervisors that visit the sites frequently. Many supervisors misunderstand their job as checking up on the guard or making sure the guard is not sleeping. That should be maximum twenty percent of a supervisor’s job. The main job of a supervisor is to provide ongoing training and coaching. That way security guards are better prepared in contingency situations and can make better decisions.
Observation has to be detailed and structured. For example a security guard working at a construction site should know the material stored at the site and the equipment kept there. They should know how the property normally looks and who should have access. Everything out of the ordinary should be reported immediately. Knowing one’s surrounding will help prevent many bad situations. The word “observe” also spells out what not to do. Unless there is imminent danger for a third party the security officer should not put himself in danger. His main responsibility is to alert the authorities if a crime is being committed. Clients should know that security officers will try their best to avert crimes, but also that post orders will clearly state not to put himself in danger unless a third party is in imminent danger. It is not the job of a security officer to fight a criminal, but to prevent the crime from happening by showing presence and to alert authorities if a crime is about to be committed.
Reporting sounds simple enough, but again the proper way of reporting will take a lot of skill, training and preparation. It should be spelled out in the post orders what the client’s expectations are. Many clients want to know who enters their property at what time. They also want to know what was delivered or picked up and by whom. The security officer will need the proper report forms and the proper channels to report certain information to. They will also need to know whom to contact in cases of emergency. The better trained and informed security guards are the better their decision making will be. Ongoing, frequent, professional training will not only enhance the security guard’s job, but it will step by step improve the quality of service to clients. In turn that will result in higher retention of clients and additional business. Overall training and coaching security guards is a profitable endeavor for security companies.
Article Source: sooperarticles.com/careers-articles/career-management-articles/main-responsibilities-security-guards-685110.html
About Author:
Charles Willis has been conducting security consultations for Vigilant Protection Group Security Company for many years. his customers include Fortune 500 companies and government entities. He has been training security guardsand devisingsecurity plans for customers for decades.Author: Charles Willis
