Finding and hiring the best security contractor is an important decision. Often guards are the first people tenants or customers might interact with when entering a location. They are also the first line of defense and there to act quickly in any emergency situation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven security personnel to be even more vital than ever. In a recent poll, 73% of businesses reported increased spending in 2020 on security services.

We’ve compiled some of the best ways to evaluate if a security company is the right fit for you.

Person searching online

Security Guard Screening and Evaluation

First off, you will need to investigate how that company screens and evaluates the potential officers for your site. Depending on your state, background and criminal checks may vary so you want to ensure the security vendor is doing a very thorough check, whether mandated or not.

Another great sign of a security provider is that they pay for the background checks and licensing. It’s one of the most important steps in hiring quality security guards, and the company should be committed to thoroughly screening all applicants and not putting that cost against the applicants.  It’s a surefire way to identify if quality is important to them.

When it comes to hiring standards, find out the types of experience and length of service required. If the answers are vague or generic, they may be hiring underqualified people who won’t understand how to protect your business specifically.

Attracting Quality Guards

The next item to review is the company’s benefits offering. The best security companies care about attracting and retaining the best guards. Companies that provide a benefits package will elevate the type of officer they attract.

Sadly, it’s common for security companies not to offer benefits, fair wages, or paid vacation so they can lower their costs.  Parrish wholeheartedly disagrees with this philosophy. We have an industry-leading benefits package and extremely competitive wages—not to mention it includes options for medical, dental, vision and 401K.

Our team is built of loyal, long-term employees which hugely reduces turnover. That in turn benefits our clients so their security staff isn’t a revolving door of new people.

Security Management Team

In any business, it’s the people who make the difference between an OK company and a great one. Should trouble arise or you just have a simple question, you need to know that you’ll be able to reach a real live human who knows you and your business.

A nameless, faceless corporate vendor will see you as the same thing. Just another number or an invoice due. At Parrish, we make sure dedicated account managers, and others on the team are available to you 24-7. In fact, we’ve love for you to Meet the PSG Management Team!

We make a point to get to know you, understand your security needs, and personalize our service as much as possible.

Security Guard Training

Lastly, the best companies will put as much emphasis on training as possible. Some companies only emphasize the initial training or on the job training. We have decades of experience in the security industry and make it a priority to train our guards—including one-on-one training with a manager, e-learning, and monthly continuous training sessions.

Don’t be satisfied with a security company that’s just meeting the minimum training requirements of the state where they operate. Look for the company that is strong in all areas of how they handle the ongoing training and development of the officers.

In the security guard business the line “you get what you pay for” really does ring true so take the time to review each company thoroughly before you select one. We’d be happy to answer any of your questions.

Cities we frequently work in:

Cities we frequently work in:

Dallas

Fort Worth

Houston

Oklahoma City

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