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The country’s brightest female students are rejecting careers in the City as they see the Square Mile seen as unethical and rife with discrimination, a survey has shown.

Source: Recruitment and talent management: News from People Management 22 March 2010

Security Guards – How Security Guards Can Improve Your Business

 

Security is a crucial aspect of any business, and having your business sufficiently protected will provide many benefits. Conversely, an insufficiently protected business can suffer from a number of problems, from vandalism to full scale break ins. Security guards provide a cost-effective way to protect your business, and here we’ll go over a few of the advantages of having a security guard protect your business.

 

Business security serves several different purposes: firstly, it protects your business from a number of adverse effects, and secondly, it can help bring in more business. Security guards are one of a number of different aspects of security, and are one of the most important. Other security measures, such as automated alarm systems, gates, and fences, are much easier to bypass than an actual human being. Having a person on the premises to protect your business can prevent vandalism, keep anyone from trespassing, stop malicious intrusions such as burglaries, and report suspicious activities to the police.

 

Security guards can provide you with an increase to the number of customers you get. This works because when customers see security guards, they have an increased sense of safety. It also gives the impression that your business is more professional, able to protect its assets, and invested in keeping the business safe from negative influences. By providing your business with security, you will see not only a reduction in the number of potential incidents, as well as an increase to the number of customers that are willing to trust you with their patronage.

 

Business security is especially important in several types of businesses, such as those that sell jewelry, electronic equipment, or other small and expensive items. Having a security guard or even multiple security guards in the building during and outside after will help prevent shoplifting and burglaries, and in the event something is stolen you will be much more likely to recover the item. While most security guards are only authorized to perform a citizen’s arrest upon a suspect performing a crime (and even then the crime usually has to be a felony), their very presence will help deter crimes from taking place to begin with. They are also able to function as arms of law enforcement by contacting officers and filling reports. Having a security guard on your premises can even lower your insurance rates, due to the decreased risk of losses due to fire and crime.

 

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          Managers are those groups of employees who are at the first level of line management.   As the rank and file employees answer directly to them, the managers have the greatest influence on how the employees behave and how positive their attitudes are toward the company they are working for.    The employees’ perception of the company and how important they perceive their own roles in the company are vital to the success of the business.

          This is the exact reason why managers should have the right “ people skills ” to be able to effectively motivate the staff and deal with difficult problems.    The managers must serve as the guide of the staff  so every employee would have a someone to look up to and turn to  for coaching and support and for questions that they might have for their career development and work efficiency.    Thus, a manager must be a good leader and also a follower of company rules to serve as a model for his subordinates.

          The culture in the business and good staff management  are powerful forces that affect staff retention.    It is to be remembered that employees who feel good about themselves and are satisfied of their roles  and their contribution to the business are going to reflect this in the way they help push the company forward.    In much the same way that improper people management  can also force the workers to resign.    Thus, it is of utmost importance that managers have the knowledge on how to motivate, guide and oversee his staff.

          Since managers are in the frontlines dealing directly with the staff and faced with various issues,  for example, poor work ethics, various customer complaints, bad performance, low work productivity, etc., they must know exactly how to handle these problems, take appropriate action, and cope with stress at the end of the day.

          Statistics show that almost two out of three employees who do not show up for work is not physically ill.   Unscheduled absences are one of the major causes of low productivity.   This is most often due to lack of firm staff policies and want of  good staff discipline.  

          For most companies,  dealing with staff absenteeism is upon the frontline managers.   This is because it is the immediate supervisors or frontline managers who are most aware of the circumstances surrounding the absence of their subordinates.    Also, the managers are in the best position to be aware of the problem as soon as it starts and also in the position to very well identify its causes.   Therefore, their active involvement in the company’s absence policy and disciplinary procedures  is vital to the effectiveness and success of these policies.

           It is, however, unfortunate that most managers are not very well trained in managing absenteeism in the workplace.   They have been left on their own and without any means to carry out the often unpopular task of identifying, confronting and resolving frequent absence abuse.

          To ensure that supervisors and frontline managers are comfortable and competent in their role of managing absenteeism, they need to have the full support of senior management.    Everybody must be aware of the different objectives of the absence policy.    If there are misunderstandings between departments, the policy is bound to lose its effectiveness.

          To provide more consistency, supervisors should be trained in their responsibilities about managing absenteeism, advised how to conduct effective return-to-work interviews,  and educated in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions if the need arises.

          Managing absenteeism requires a firm company policy.    But, above everything else, it must have a “Plan B” is ever the problem persists.   It must ensure that the work is appropriately covered during the term of the employee’s absence.    A reliever should be assigned in order to cover the work so as not to hinder productivity.

          Importantly, critical actions must be taken to instill to the employees that absence abuse will not be tolerated and there are appropriate sanctions for these unjustified absences.  Some of the usual policies and absenteeism deterrents can be:

  •  Having an absence policy in written form which provisions are made known to all the employees;
  •  Confirming from the employee’s household when  the employee phones in sick for the day.  This will require a visit to the employee’s domicile.
  •  Having a detailed record of absences which specifies the cause of the absence, medical record form the physician, days of absence, date of return and the like;
  •  Identifying the diverse patterns of absences and the possible causes of these;
  •  Conducting a thorough interview when the employee gets back; and
  •  Imposing disciplinary sanctions if there is a need to do so.