Secrets California Security Guard Companies Don’t Want You To Know
THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS: Most of the time, security fees are determined by the hour. Large cities generally cost more for the service. Security guards in Los Angeles, for example, are more expensive than in Fresno. If you try to hire your own officers (“interns” as it’s commonly called), it’s a special license. It is easier, and usually more cost-effective, to use security companies for security personnel.
Currently, most California security companies charge, on average, $14.00 an hour for an unarmed officer. (note: keep in mind that this $14.00 fee is what a security company will charge, not what the officer actually earns). Over $15.00 per hour should be considered quite high for a security guard rate, especially in this economy, unless there is unusual training and/or skills required for the job. Few security guard companies will offer $13.00 per hour for their unarmed guards.
Less than $12.00 per hour is very rare and is cause for suspicion as operating expenses are almost always too high to allow for such a low margin. Unarmed security guards for less than $13.00 an hour should make you ask the guard company how they can operate with such a low rate. What about the guards themselves? Well, unarmed security guards average only about $9.50 an hour for most California cities.
For armed security officers, security companies will charge, on average, $15.50 per hour. More than $17.00 per hour is expensive, and less than $14.00 per hour is suspiciously low. The average armed security officer earns (himself) $12.00 per hour.
Use the pricing information above to negotiate better deals on your security guard vendor contracts. Also consider:
TRAINING: The California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) oversees all training standards for California security guards. They detail specific standards, which can be found on their website.
Officer training needs to be ongoing, but many security guard companies do not meet training requirements as it is time consuming and expensive. On-site training is perhaps most important as every account has unique security needs. Make sure your security guard company shows you documentation of the guards’ ongoing training.
Written tests taken by security guards must be completed. The test questions must pertain to both your specific account and the general rules and regulations, mandated by BSIS. Keep in mind that the more trained security guards are, the better prepared they will be to protect your business.
THE SECURITY GUARD SITUATION: Because many security officers are low-income and have limited education, unethical security guard companies can take advantage of them. The most common pay issues include reducing officers’ hours and not paying overtime, which is required by the Labor Board.
Additional mistreatment by security personnel includes harassment and security violations. To minimize abuse by security guards, consider having an open door policy where officers can speak freely to you about their concerns.
POOR RECRUITMENT: Because security is expensive and time consuming to hire, many security companies do not take the necessary steps to properly recruit and interview. The customer invariably pays the price. Ask your security company to include in your contract how they do drug screening and background checks, and ask where and how they recruit.
POOR SUPERVISION: It is also expensive to hire good supervisors and sometimes shortcuts are taken. Security personnel must be supervised. Without supervision, security personnel are more likely to make mistakes. Policies and procedures need to be reviewed. Get to know your supervisors. If you are not part of the daily on-call team, find out how often the supervisors visit you. Request supervision reports. When errors occur, find out what corrective actions supervisors took. The more involved you are, the safer you and your workplace will be.
NO GUARD CARDS: Security officers must have current BSIS guard cards when on duty. There are no exceptions. Any security personnel working without a valid guard card exposes the business to a costly fine. It is easy to check online to check the security card status. Just google it and it will show up. It is perfectly appropriate for you to check your security officer’s guard cards. Because counterfeiting of guard cards does occur, ask your security guards for a second ID so you can cross-reference it.
NO INSURANCE: California armed security personnel are required by BSIS to carry a $500,000 general liability insurance policy. In addition, the worker’s compensation policy must be in effect for both armed and unarmed officers. Ask your security provider to provide copies of your workers’ compensation and general liability insurance. To save money, some security companies underinsure or insure and then quickly cancel their policies after signing a new contract. You can protect yourself and your business by requesting copies of the insurance certification from time to time, without prior notice. Also, make sure your on-call contract has an indemnity clause.
LICENSE: All California security guard companies are also required to be licensed. You can check the license status by visiting the BSIS website.
DOCUMENTATION: All security related issues should be documented. Reports are sometimes used in court and must be well written, complete, and legible. Confirm you have incident reports, know where they are kept, ask to read them. If you work with a security company, it is your responsibility to ensure that all security guards write a competent report, but remember that the more involved you are, the safer you will be.
THERE ARE MANY CHOICES: There are over a thousand California security companies. The fierce competition to win your business leaves you with many options, so take your time and choose wisely.