As a security consultant in the Los Angeles and Dallas Fort Worth area for years I have encountered many small and large corporate clients that were looking for a new security company. More than ninety percent of the clients will state accountability issues as the main reason why they are switching security companies. The reasons that managers give me range from incomplete reports, sleeping or unreliable guards that are constantly late or abandon their post, security guards not following instructions and supervisors not being responsive. In general a security company with few exceptions will want to provide good service to continue providing service the client and to gain future business. The main issue is that many security companies do not have a practical concept of holding security officers, field supervisors and themselves accountable to provide excellent service.

A concept to hold security guards accountable will start with proper training and proper instructions. It is not enough to give verbal instructions the security officers the first day and then assume that they will provide good service. The security guards should be provided detailed written post orders after they have been properly trained by a field officer. The field officer should be frequently and randomly visit the site to ensure that post orders are followed and to provide continued training and positive reinforcement. Electronic equipment should be employed to ensure that security officers are frequently patrolling and being vigilant.

Field supervisors should be held accountable to conduct a certain number of field visits by providing a field visit report and a report on the quality of service and the behavior of security officers. These reports should be frequently checked by management and training and positive reinforcement should be provided to the field supervisors. Management must hold itself accountable to supervise field supervisors and security consultants and to frequently checking with the client to ensure that they are happy with the service and to institute changes if they are not. In many cases management will not know that the client is unhappy with the service until they receive a cancellation notice. In many cases it is too late at that time to save the business.

It is relatively easy to open a security company in California and it is relatively easy to obtain business from clients that require security. For a security company to be successful they have to be able to rate in their clients. In order to retain clients a working system of checks and balances of holding all employees and management of the security company accountable. Accountability and responsiveness will assure that clients are happy with the service or that changes are made on a timely basis when they are not. A good security company will have a nonnegotiable security concept that is practicable and efficient.