While technology plays an increasingly important role in protecting people and property from crime, security guards are still indispensable assets for many businesses. Security personnel provide a visible deterrent to criminals and can identify emerging threats and act swiftly to counteract them.
Therefore, when you’re hiring security staff, you need confidence that they possess the skills, experience, and personal qualities to discharge their duties adeptly so that, should the worst-case scenario occur, a robust and effective response is enacted.
In this article, we’ll outline the five key qualities to consider when choosing security staff for your business, organisation, or event.
What Are The Qualities Of A Good Security Officer?
Honesty And Integrity
Trustworthiness is one of the most important qualities of an effective security officer. Often, an officer will be required to work in isolation and be responsible for valuable property, so business owners must be confident that their assets are being safeguarded. As security guards may work at night or during weekends when the premises are closed, it is imperative that they are constantly vigilant to the threat of crime and must be trusted to carry out their duties without supervision.
Training
Security personnel must undergo extensive training to attain the knowledge and skills required to perform their work effectively. The best security officers will have been prepared to tackle a variety of situations and challenges and will have a comprehensive toolkit of solutions at their disposal to deal with problems. A Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence will provide you with information about a security guard’s level of training.
Attitude
Security officers may face conflict or aggression in the course of their work, so they must maintain a calm but assertive manner. Conflict resolution and de-escalation skills are essential, as these will help them to prevent minor situations from becoming dangerous. Also, security guards must be respectful to colleagues and members of the public: a security officer may be the first person that a customer meets when they enter your premises and will appreciate a friendly and courteous welcome.
Vigilance
Often, criminal threats emerge rapidly, with little warning, so security officers must be vigilant with exceptional attention to detail so that problems are identified at the earliest opportunity. They must be able to rapidly assess situations and analyse the behaviour of people or vehicles to identify unusual activity. Also, they must be trained to spot suspicious objects, such as unattended luggage or packages.
Physical Fitness
Security officers must be fit enough to spend long periods on their feet and, if required to tackle an offender, it is important that they aren’t easily outrun.
Contact Kingdom Security Today
At Kingdom Security, we provide bespoke security officer services to businesses across the UK. To find out more, please call us today on 0330 022 9422 or send us a message.
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