Good security guards are the most valuable internal asset that a security guard company can have. After all, it’s them who drive the company to fulfill its ultimate goals of delivering the highest quality security guard services to its clients. Hence, it is in the best interest of the security guard company to retain their good security guards and recognize the signs and causes of a guard that is poised to depart.
The reasons why good security guards may leave a security guard company include:
Extremely Poor Management
Often it is not the money that causes good security guards to leave a security guard company as widely assumed, but poor management. It is then that highly skilled security guards start looking elsewhere for work, where their skills and time are valued, and they feel respected.
So take the time to train your security managers to deal with the technical aspects of their position and how to encourage and motivate different types of guards with different personality traits, conflict management, stress management, and so on.
Lack Of Work-Life Balance
Do you expect your top-performing security guards to be available around the clock? If yes, then please remember, a healthy work-life balance is essential to job satisfaction. Your security managers need to understand that security guards have lives outside of work too, and that can be equally challenging.
To ensure that, encourage the guards to set boundaries. Further, work towards offering extra benefits such as flexible schedules, online time-off requests, the ability to swap shifts, and so much more using a reliable guard tour system to help guards maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Lack Of Respect And Recognition
When the hard work of good security guards goes without acknowledgment or reward, they can become disillusioned and demoralized. It kills the enthusiasm of those talented and high-performing security guards when they get little or no recognition for their success. Thus, making them look for a new job elsewhere. And why should they not?
So managers should make it a priority to not only appreciate security guards but also show outward respect for them on a regular basis. It will help create a strong and enduring workplace culture with positive experiences that security guards won’t forget.
Uncompetitive Pay And Benefits
Keeping your good security guards happy, fulfilled, productive, and engaged for the future is worth the effort, but these things only go far without competitive pay and benefits. Especially with the uncertainty that exists in the world and workplace due to COVID-19 and its economic outcomes, everyone is looking for security and reliable compensation.
So, to keep your good security guards from leaving, consider offering raises, bonuses, and compensation benefits to them to appreciate the work they do, and to show you and your security guard company care.
Lack Of Growth Opportunities
Believe it or not, lack of growth opportunities is one of the most commonly cited reasons that good security guards begin to look for new jobs. Making sure you give them a career with a trajectory for success internally is among the best ways to improve your security guard turnover rate and retention.
Do that by providing them opportunities to undertake additional training and skill development, engage with new people, and help them accept new expanding responsibilities.
Low Job Satisfaction
Another primary reason that good security guards of a security guard company leave their jobs to look for other opportunities is when their job isn’t enjoyable anymore, they feel unfulfilled and not useful, and appreciated in their current work situation.
To retain your best workers, be purposeful when it comes to designing their roles and assigning daily activities using a guard tour system. Discuss their concerns and ideas. Make sure they have enough work, it’s challenging and engaging, as well as they have the support and tools they need to fulfill their responsibilities.
Poor Communication
A good security guard who decides to leave the company is also the result of poor communication. For a business to thrive, ethical and positive communication principles must be utilized to mitigate arguments and to solve problems, share critical data, and keep confusion away from the inner workings of the company.
Guardso guard tour system and its various features play a vital role in ensuring everyone is on the same page, resulting in consistent success. Since poor communication comes in many forms and results in several issues, it is crucial to pay attention to it closely.
Toxic Work Culture
Workplace culture is something that often develops naturally over time rather than being explicitly defined and enforced from the top down. But that doesn’t mean you and your security guard company can’t guide it along the way for your security guards and managers.
If you are going to neglect to imbue your security guard company with values that inspire motivation, trust, and collaboration, you’re unlikely to be able to retain good security guards who embody these traits.
They Are Not Being Challenged
Top performers quickly become disengaged when they aren’t challenged at work. They are the ones who thrive on working towards goals and being pushed outside of their comfort zones. Giving them nothing but tasks that are easy to accomplish, and they will quickly get bored.
Set goals for them to achieve, and they will work hard to meet them. In addition to that, create a stimulating work environment for them, and your top-performing security guards will thrive.
They Are Being Overworked
When you have high-performing security guards, it’s easy to fall into the pattern of giving them extra work by over-scheduling them. Well, to avoid it at all costs, you’ll have to find the balance between extra work and being overworked.
There’s a huge difference between giving good security guards more work because they are the best person to handle it and continuously piling on extra tasks. There is nothing more frustrating for top performers than consistently being given extra work because their colleagues weren’t able to complete it.
The Bottom Line:
While there are several reasons why good security guards of a reliable security guard company might quit, rewarding good work with appropriate pay, benefits, and recognition helps foster an environment that lets them know they are valued.
Lastly, incorporating robust retention strategies can help reduce guard turnover and help you hold onto good security guards. In many cases, it is simply a case of making small changes to ensure your guards feel valued and respected. So when are you getting started?
