The need for security continues to grow across the country as businesses and security companies everywhere look to constantly improve their operations and provide high-quality security services for themselves and their clients. The very best security companies are accomplishing this goal by building reliable security teams that are well-trained and well-equipped to meet the challenges of today's security landscape.
If you are a company seeking security services, one of the very first questions you will need to answer is whether you plan to contract security services or bring security operations in-house.
In this particular post, we will explore what it takes for a company or security firm to build a high-quality security team. We will also explore how training plays a critical role in this process and what types of training are available to help you meet their security training needs.
How to Build Your Security Team
There are many considerations to think about when building a security team, but a few of them rise to the top as the most important. These are:
1. Hiring the right people
People make the place, and this holds true in security contexts as well. Hiring high-quality, professional, and reliable talent is the foundation of any great security team. Without the right people on your team, you will struggle to meet the demands of your security operation. As you consider whom to hire, it's important to look for people who have strong moral qualities (such as integrity and honesty) and positive character traits, such as a willingness to learn, attention to detail, and reliability. For example, veterans and former police officers can make great security guards.
2. Developing robust policies and procedures
The next step in building a professional security team is to create robust policies and procedures that address the most common scenarios that your team will face. Every security team should have a vision statement and guiding principles, but it's important to also be clear across your organization about what specific policies and procedures are valuable to your company. These policies will set the ground rules for your team's enforcement procedures and will ensure that your security team is accomplishing its goals and mission.
3. Creating comprehensive security training programs
One of the most obvious requirements for creating professional security teams is to provide ongoing quality training for security officers. You may have some training requirements for certification and licensing in your local area, but it's always important to go beyond the bare minimum. Security threats are always evolving, and your team must evolve too if you hope to stay protected and ahead of these challenges. All new hires and long-time veterans alike should receive access to the very best training and should be encouraged to take ongoing courses in order to stay up-to-date.
What types of training should be included in every security officer training program?
At NITA, we offer a wide range of online security officer training courses to help security teams mature in their profession and be ready for any type of security challenges that they may face. In this section, we will look at three common areas that will help guide you in building your security training program and look at some specific courses that we recommend for your security team.
1. Training to meet all local requirements
Understanding your local requirements and laws related to security personnel is the first step in any training program. This essential training is often required for certification or licensing in many areas, but even if it is not, it’s always important to make sure that you understand your particular area’s requirements and laws and ensure that your team does as well.
2. Training on the basics of being a security guard
Every security guard and officer should have a common foundation in the core concepts of security. Some of these basic courses would include the following:
- Security Operations: Keys and Locks
- Crowd Control Training Course
- Handwriting Analysis Introduction 101
- Physical Security Operations: Physical Hardware for Security Professionals
- Security Operations: Perimeter Security
- Security Operations: Introduction to Security
- Security Operations: Security Lights
- Effective Communication Course for Security
- Field Notes and Report Writing Course
- Security Operations: Intrusion Detection
3. Training in more specialized security topics
When it comes to creating a training plan for security guards, it's also important to train broadly across a wide variety of threats and topics. This is important to ensure your security team is equipped for all types of threats and security situations.
For example, bomb threat awareness training may seem to be outside of your immediate area of concern for your company, but neglecting this type training would be shortsighted and pose potential security gaps for your team. In the event that there ever was a bomb threat, your team may not be adequately prepared to address it. That's why it's so important to train broadly and always provide ongoing access to a variety of training resources for your employees.
Here are some more specialized courses that we would recommend for your security team:
- Bomb Threat Awareness Training Course
- Explosive Device Awareness Training Course
- Crime Scene Reconstruction – An Introduction
- Different Types of Death Investigations
- Surveillance and Fraud for Investigators Course
What are your next steps?
As you look to create your security team and security training program, it's important to be aware of the latest information in the security industry and what training is available to help you meet these security challenges. At NITA, we offer a wide variety of online security training courses for security professionals and can help you create a customized learning plan, and we can help you understand the emerging security threats today and provide comprehensive training to equip your teams to be the best that they can be.
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