It’s one thing to recruit staff, and another to retain them. How is a guarding contractor to achieve it, while seeking to grow as a company?
One SIA-approved contractor describes how it has found the Investors in People (IiP) scheme of use.
Briefly, Ilford-based AA Security reports that its desire to expand as a company was being impacted by the industry’s historically high staff turnover rate of 35pc. In 2000 staff turnover stood at 40pc. Lack of continuity was an impediment to client satisfaction and retention, the firm recalls. As a period of legislative change loomed over the security services industry, the company wanted to provide effective security operative training and ensure that the skills generated by this investment were retained and applied to serve existing customers, and broaden the potential client base.
In 2001 the firm began the process of gaining IIP accreditation. Following the standard’s principles, the company set up a training academy to produce internal training instructors. Senior managers were involved in specific parts of the training, demonstrating top-down commitment to employee advancement. They began producing regular newsletters to create a sense of community and shared values. New employees had an induction programme. Small incentives and awards (such as the ‘guard of the month’, and ‘security officer of the year’) were established to celebrate successful workers, and publicised at office events and through the newsletter. A six-monthly appraisal system for all office-based staff, and most security operatives, began generating increased feedback in both directions between staff and senior managers. This also smoothed the path of information flowing from clients. Likewise, staff were given greater opportunities to relay concerns for managers to consider at AGMs via site-based agenda books, and the random selection of operatives to attend quarterly management review meetings.
Wilson Chowdhry, Managing Director, describes the training academy: recruits that many other organisations would consider unemployable, such as the long-term unemployed, disabled, 16 to 21-year-olds and over 50s, have been able to complete training and take on work for the security firm. This qualified the facility for funding support from the JobCentre. The company is going for full PGCE accreditation. The academy generates income of £40,000 a year in its own right by training external security providers, and acts as a marketing tool. Senior management involvement, specifically in training role-plays, has created bonds in the company, and fostered a culture of personal interaction and managerial approachability. Giving staff a say in their job role and learning opportunities has led to requests for sector specific training, and the development of an adaptable generic learning plan for all employees. This has helped the company branch into new market sectors. The business has expanded from being entirely construction industry-oriented five years ago, to serving clients in retail, rail, local authority, and door supervision services in 2006. AA’s turnover of £100,000 in 2000 rose to £1.3m in 2006. While the number of full-time staff employed increased from 32 to 120, staff turnover dropped to 10 per cent from 2002-2006. During the same period there was a 100pc client retention rate, despite numerous legislative changes, and the company achieved gold standard in BenchMarkQ’s customer satisfaction awards, having previously been on their bronze and silver schemes.
Wilson Chowdry says: "Investors in People has enabled me to recognise not just the potential of the company but of each employee. This meant that I had a broader level of consultation from the bottom up, giving me a fresh, localised perspective from which to tackle operational issues."
