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Workplace violence, civil and political unrest, property crimes, and weather-related challenges are all on the plate of guarding companies and their clients, who must respond with the right training, equipment and technology, and hiring and retention initiatives to ensure they keep people and assets safe and secure.

The Archers-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM), which mostly uses GardaWorld Security in North America but a variety of other companies around the world, has experienced an increased need for guards to handle hostile incidents and has deployed greater training in certain hot spots, such as Ukraine and Israel, says Brian Howell, vice president and global head of security.

“We’ve also seen an uptick in the burden that’s put on guards for emergency management—evacuations of sites, that type of thing,” he says. “We’ve slowly aligned and gotten that verbiage into the post orders. They’ve adapted very well.”

Keeping officers safe is top of mind for Eric Golebiewski, vice president of corporate security at Caesars Entertainment, which uses a blend of in-house and third-party vendors. “Our goal is to make sure those employees go home every day uninjured and stay safe while on the job,” he says.

Workplace violence is the main concern for Ken Harr, Assistant Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Tennessee-based Ballad Health, which has 21 hospitals, practices in 298 office buildings, and has 150 armed, in-house officers (with no third-party contracts).

“Patients and visitors sometimes get upset due to wait times or not getting the medication they are wanting,” he says. “It goes along with weapons being brought into the facility, whether it be guns or knives. We have added more officers in the [emergency department], 24/7. We’re purchasing two K9 units for our level one trauma center that hopefully will provide deterrence.”

Allied Universal and its clients continue to see ramifications of property crimes such as smash-and-grab retail attempts, says Rachelle Loyear, Vice President of Integrated Security Solutions, while concerns about potential civil unrest led Allied to publish an election-related security guide. “No matter what happens in the United States in November, some segment is going to be unhappy about it,” she says. “Where are people going to be celebrating? Where are people going to be expressing themselves in a different way?”

Clients of GardaWorld Security have been intensely concerned about election preparedness as well, says Prentice Robertson, President and Chief Operating Officer. “There are lots of concerns about what could happen with either candidate winning,” he says. “There’s obviously concerns about what crime is, in the country. We are seeing more requests for arming of our officers. … We’re seeing an uptick in technological capabilities for weapons detection.”

BEST Crowd Management, a company of GardaWorld specialized in large-scale event security and crowd management, remains vigilant in protecting their clients from terrorist targeting, says Jeff Spoerndle, Chief Operating Officer. “The threats are real and prevalent,” he says.

In addition to civil unrest, ECAMSECURE, a GardaWorld company providing surveillance, monitoring and AI-enabled threat detection, is focused on weather threats, says Jordan Lippel, Vice President, Strategic Sales and Alliances. “Those threats are new to our clients,” he says. “How can you help us protect our assets, when you potentially can’t deploy people there?”

Protos Security, which works through third-party vendors to deliver its services region by region, has seen escalating risks on client properties and greater need to protect officers, says Dan Arnold, Senior Vice President of National Operations. When it comes to shoplifting, for example, “Many retailers still observe and report, and they’re hands-off,” he says. “But there’s an increased presence of law enforcement officers with a uniform and a badge, and the ability to respond to crimes in progress. That’s a big shift we’ve viewed in the market.”

Training updates

Guarding companies and end users have rolled out a variety of different training modules to handle these shifting challenges. To address the more dangerous situations in certain hot spots around the world, ADM has put forth training designed by Howell’s internal team, which sometimes requires translation into local languages and to conform with local laws. “We’ve deployed more hostile incident training. That’s the biggest initiative,” he says.

Caesars Entertainment has been deploying a virtual reality-based training system to closely mimic the types of stressors an officer may encounter, Golebiewski says. “And then, we’re able to review that with the employee to expedite their learning curve,” he says. “Virtual reality-based training is going to help employees focus on de-escalation as well as know when it’s necessary to use force, and what force is reasonable and necessary.”

New hires at Caesars undertake a two- to three-week training with a field officer at the outset, then later another seven-day security academy, which Golebiewski says makes new officers feel more confident in their abilities and connected to the supervisors and managers. “They feel more comfortable on their post reaching out to them when they have a question, rather than taking matters into their own hands and potentially making a bad decision,” he says.

Officers at Ballad Health receive de-escalation, process intervention and trauma-informed-approach training to help combat workplace violence, Harr says. The medical center also has encouraged team members to pursue criminal charges against those who become violent, which officers help with in terms of writing an affidavit of complaint and bringing that to the courthouse, in hopes of obtaining a warrant, he says.

To provide resources to its third-party companies, Protos Security has forged a strategic partnership with a company called Defensify that has offered customized site-level training over the past 18 months. Arnold says this aims to be “entertaining and engaging, to keep [trainees] in the mix.” More generally, he says, “We look at enhancements and figure out the right ways to provide training through our tech platform.”

GardaWorld Security always has paid a lot of attention to preparing uniformed officers for nonviolent crisis intervention, Robertson says. “It’s verbal judo, teaching security officers how best to deescalate when matters seem to be escalating,” he says. “People seem to be angrier, a bit shorter and more aggravated. … We’re continually expanding the procedural training, the customer service training, and the specific component of nonviolent crisis intervention.”

GardaWorld Security works to train its employees to be true security professionals, Robertson adds, because clients “want to do business with a security company whose frontline workers know how to identify risks, not just react in a transactional moment.”

Allied Universal trains all employees on de-escalation techniques, says Brent O’Bryan, Senior Vice President, Global Training & Talent Development. “If employees recognize the need for vigilance and are trained in the skills needed to be vigilant, they will effectively recognize customer needs while also identifying security concerns,” he says. “A natural part of this training must include the development of de-escalation skills to address scenarios across a variety of different locations and vertical markets.”

Equipment and technology

Equipment and technology continue to play a key role in keeping companies’ human and other assets safe. Howell says ADM has been working to homogenize its access controls, cameras and other systems, moving down an escalating list of sites. “It’s very hard to have a global standard,” he says. “Not everything is everywhere.”

If employees recognize the need for vigilance and are trained in the skills needed to be vigilant, they will effectively recognize customer needs while also identifying security concerns,” he says. “A natural part of this training must include the development of de-escalation skills to address scenarios across a variety of different locations and vertical markets.”

Technology integration and wearable technology play key roles, Howell says. For example, in some high-risk footprints in southeast Asia, officers were often targets of bribes — and then threats if those bribes weren’t delivered. Bodycams were deployed, and “they told us, overwhelmingly, it helps,” he says. “Someone approaches them, they see conversations being recorded,” and threats are less likely to come.

ADM also has ramped up the use of AI and drone technology in remote regions, Howell says. “It gives guards not only safer working environments, but you can set up all kinds of data analytics,” he says. “We will lean more into technology,” including the pending creation a new security technology lead position who will be responsible for “aggressive innovation.”

Caesars Entertainment has started to notice the use of body cameras by its third-party providers, Golebiewski says. “They feel that it changes the behavior of the employee, knowing that they’re on camera,” he says. “But it’s also, notifying the individual that you’re having the contact with changes their behavior, as well. … It keeps everybody honest, so to speak.”

Gaming industry security colleagues have told Golebiewski they’ve either deployed or are at least in trial phase for body cameras, and he plans to explore potential uses for an AI software product called Axon Draft 1, which takes audio and video captured by body cameras and drafts a security report. “I personally find this new technology fascinating,” he says.

To increase the safety of team members, Caesars also has implemented a wearable panic alarm product from Titan HST that immediately alerts security dispatchers and has reduced response time to duress situations like medical emergencies, Golebiewski says. In addition, the company has adopted the mass communication platform from Titan HST, which “allows the Caesars Security Intelligence Center to quickly disseminate information about a situation at a resort to key stakeholders.”

Ballad Health has added body cameras for officers to help combat workplace violence and potentially to gather evidence for prosecution, Harr says. “It’s also deterrence sometimes,” he says. “When somebody sees a camera, they quiet down a little bit and don’t cause any more problems. They don’t want to be videotaped being belligerent.” Ballad also has added wearable panic buttons inside some emergency rooms and some doctor’s offices, rather than placing them under a desk that might or might not be reachable in a given situation, he adds.

Allied uses a range of technology from access control, cameras and surveillance, on up to artificial intelligence and data analytics, Loyear says. “Technology isn’t changing as rapidly as much as what people are doing with the data points collected, what they’re able to see with the analytics and understanding traffic patterns,” she says. “If you see a pattern, you can deploy a security officer differently, or maybe you need a gate over here.”

Wearable technology is about more than body cameras, Loyear adds, noting that guards can now carry around a large portion of the security platform remotely, in their pockets. “They’re getting alerts and being dispatched to do something, along with the instructions for how to do it,” she says. “The power of how [people and technology] work together in a mesh is where it comes home.”

Artificial intelligence helps to blend the manned and virtual sides of guarding to offer the most holistic solution, says Robertson of GardaWorld. “From the client’s perspective, it’s a force multiplier, which potentially can lead to cost savings,” she says. “Blending humanity with the best of technology becomes an important driver.”

Clients of BEST Crowd Management are using facial recognition and other screening technology to tighten access, Spoerndle says. “Our staff have to adapt to new processes,” he says. “We focus on that through training and working hand-in-hand with clients.”

ECAMSECURE deploys mobile AI-enabled surveillance units for early detection of people and vehicles in restricted areas, and that AI has gotten faster, cheaper and more pinpoint, Lippel says. ECAMSECURE also uses virtual gate guards for autonomous entry, assuming the gate is electrified, which helps augment security at night and on the weekends, he adds.

Hiring and retention

While the “Great Resignation” has eased somewhat as the pandemic fades into the rearview mirror, guarding companies and end users still face challenges in hiring and retaining personnel.

ADM works with third parties to try to bump up pay depending on how it compares to hourly wages in a given community, Howell says. “I won’t say it’s a lot, but we want to incentivize,” he says. “We’ve also gone to great lengths for my team to work with Garda in getting the right management at the site level.” Those supervisors are incentivized to provide little extras like buying lunch for employees, or designating top performers deserving of a little higher raise than everyone else, to try to ensure they’re retained, Howell adds.

Ballad Health sometimes loses officers to competitor organizations, depending on the location, Harr says. “Law enforcement has taken many of our security officers, after they’ve been here for a year or so, and trained,” he says. “I’m happy for them and wish them the best. … I’ve asked our human resources to look at a market study for pay, to make sure that we are comparable and competitive with anyone else.” He hopes that will lead to initiatives that slow the outflow.

The applicant flow at Allied Universal remains strong, but funneling that down to finding the best candidates will differentiate one organization’s talent from another, O’Bryan says. Allied works with its partners to look for the best fits in terms of skill sets, backgrounds and experiences, using technology to help narrow the funnel and holding monthly classes for hiring managers on how to select the best talent.

To help with retention, Allied starts by “trying to hire personnel who are qualified for the position we’re hiring them for, while also looking for those who may have [an] upward movement or two in them,” he says. “We have C-suite individuals who started in this organization wearing a uniform; one, because of their grit; and two, because of the opportunity this organization provides our employees to develop and grow.”

Allied works to avoid employee burnout by monitoring individuals’ hours and providing team leaders a clear view on who seems to be working more than 40 hours a week on a regular basis, meeting regularly to go over those numbers, O’Bryan says. “We also know that they’re not going to be the most effective employee when they’re working 16 hours a day,” he says. And keeping the funnel filled is key to ensuring that doesn’t happen. “This is why we make sure the funnel is full and that we’re hiring enough qualified individuals so we are not burning out the ones we have.”

Recruiting and retention have always been challenges in the guarding industry, but GardaWorld Security has minimized these challenges by focusing on the entire lifecycle of the employee, starting with the new candidate experience, Robertson says. This starts with a focus on preventing the “regrettable loss” that can occur within the first 90 days of an employee’s hiring, which is greatly reduced by “making sure they have lots of touch points,” he says. “We have an employee experience manager in each branch whose sole job is to have frequent touch points so they can navigate post orders, make sure the uniform fits, and they get the proper equipment and support to be successful.”

Then, GardaWorld Security makes sure to provide rewards and recognition so people feel appreciated, and the company works to develop “the right leaders” so they are seen as bosses that line employees want to stay with, Robertson says. “Employees don’t typically leave companies, they typically leave leaders,” he says.

BEST Crowd Management invests significant time and money in talent acquisition because “if we don’t provide qualified employees who can staff positions and comprehend training, we don’t have an effective solution,” Spoerndle says. The company works to retain employees by walking in their shoes, based on the philosophy that “if we take care of our employees, they’re going to go out and take care of business,” he says. “People look at the event business as a transient space with a lot of seasonal employees. We’re very fortunate that every year, 70%-plus of our employees come back.”

ECAMSECURE is always looking to increase its talent pool on both the business development and operations sides, Lippel says. The company’s U.S. based, UL listed, Five Diamond Certified command center runs 24-7 with three shifts, and “we’re always looking to have a higher retention rate and make careers out of these jobs,” he says. “How do we bring someone in, train them and have them become managers?”

Protos Security focuses on worker dignity, Arnold says, adding that hiring challenges have eased but retention remains a factor. “How do you make the job engaging, stimulating, active and push additional tasks that can provide clients with continued value?” he says. “We work with partners to provide ways to keep their people moving. … We try to highlight individuals on their teams as they do some pretty heroic things in the field, in pretty tough situations. It’s a tough profession, and it’s not always looked at as an important or high-value role.”

State of the security market

How has the market for security companies fared in 2024, and how will it continue into next year? Keith Oringer, principal at security industry brokerage, advisory and consulting firm Security ProAdvisors, feels very bullish about the state of play at the moment, with inflation down, interest rates ½-point lower and probably more cuts to come from the Federal Reserve, private equity money pouring into the business, and company valuations increasing and staying strong.

“Private equity money and new investments are coming in, including foreign investments,” he says. “They like four things: the cash flow, the fragmentation of the market, the recurring revenue, and the resiliency,” meaning that it’s recession-resistant. “Also, police are so stretched thin that end users are increasingly relying on private security.”

Oringer sees private equity money in particular flowing to the fire and life safety space, evidenced notably by the multiple acquisitions made by Pye Barker over the past year, along with a focus on major electronic acquisitions, security integration, and remote video monitoring. “Guarding companies are branching out toward that as another service,” he says of the latter. “They’re adopting this technology to supplement their core offerings. It’s a cost savings, sometimes, to their clients, if they want to go that route.”

Companies are facing a challenging insurance environment and experiencing higher general liability and worker’s compensation costs based on both individual unfavorable loss records that are often due to exposure to unfavorable verticals, as well as rising litigation and settlement costs to insurers, Oringer says. 

The most significant deals over the past year, he believes, have been:

• The ICTS Europe acquisition of First Coast Security, establishing FCS as the North American corporate security business unit of the billion-dollar French company;
• The Titan Security Group-Marksman Security Corporation merger that created a boutique national company, backed by private equity;
• Sunstates Security’s partnership with private equity group Trilantic North America to expand its financial wherewithal;
• The pending buyout of former GardaWorld majority equity partner BC Partners by CEO Stephan Crétier and select members of the company’s management, who will own 70% of the company while BC keeps a minority stake;
• GardaWorld’s acquisitions of both North American commercial mobile and fixed video monitoring provider Stealth Monitoring, and event management services, travel risk and mass communications provider OnSolve; and,
• Continued select acquisitions by other global companies like Allied Universal, Prosegur and Securitas, the latter mostly in technology.

Regional and smaller companies continue to succeed because of the personal touch they provide, Oringer says. “There are global contracts, but other contracts where a large company might use two or three vendors to cover the whole country, vs. putting all their eggs in one basket,” he says.