Insider tips all companies should know before outsourcing their security...

What comes to mind when you think of security?

The guards you see manning the door of your Friday night local? The hotel quarantine security guards that made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic? The guards stationed at the gates of your mining operation? Shopping centre? How about the airport?

We’ve all encountered security across a multitude of industries – some great experiences, and perhaps some that haven’t been so positive.

Who can remember the controversy surrounding hotel quarantine guards not following rules, resulting in public health breaches and COVID subsequently spreading into the community?

Or the skills gap and shortage leading to under skilled, untrained guards arriving for their shift.

And more recently, a security breach at Melbourne airport where an individual entered a terminal without a security screening.

We, us, Goldfields Security Services, are proud to be a company committed to quality, and a holistic approach to security, specialising in security services to the local Kalgoorlie and greater Goldfields region.

If it’s your first time engaging a security company or you’re looking at changing over to a new contractor, we understand it may feel overwhelming not knowing where to start, what industry rates are, and, of course, the relevant protocols and training you should be checking a security company provides their staff before bringing them on.

In this article, we share our insights into WA security services and the importance of doing your due diligence before enlisting a provider.

Put simply - in many scenarios ‘you get what you pay for’.

The hourly rate discussion

First up, let’s talk through hourly rates for security officers in WA. Most WA security companies will charge out their guards at an hourly rate and present this figure in your proposal.

To give you some background, each year, the Fair Work Ombudsmen updates their pay guide for the Security Services Award, and these are all available for anyone to view online.

All companies are required to follow this, and will then add the required agency mark-up, which accounts for all the education and training provided to staff, admin, processes, licenses, taxes, insurances, profit etc.

The rates security guards are charged out at by companies typically vary from $45 to $70+.

At Goldfields Security Services we sit at the top end of the scale because we invest a lot of time and resources into our staff to deliver a high-quality security service to our clients.

A big part of this is delivering the proper training to ensure staff are equipped to handle all situations that could potentially arise on site.

Because every site is different – there are different risks, security plans and assets to protect, which is why all guards should have the correct training and qualifications for the unique job before they even set foot on site.

If an hourly rate is on the lower end of the scale, this company may have less resources and time to train staff, they might be subbing out work which can become a grey area, and they may also struggle to attract the correct talent for task.

Training staff is essential

Before sending any staff out to a job, we invest heavily into training, which we run on a regular on-going basis so our clients can feel at ease knowing they have experienced security professionals at their operation that are job ready and across the latest standards.

We also put together a checklist for each site of what our guards needs to be competent in to ensure we are sending out personnel that have the skills required for your specific operation.

The training we provide face-to-face and online includes and is not limited to:

• Security inductions ( General)

• Site-base policies and procedures competency tailored to a client's site

• First aid training

• Mental health first aid ( We put our team through a course to ensure they have the skills and awareness)

• De-escalation and restraints - educating our staff on correct protocols and legislation for mine sites

• Plus much more

How can we offer training in-house? Our senior executive team have a Cert 4 in Training and Assessment and put together work-based learning plans that will be tailored to the job guards will be mobilised to.

An important thing to note, happy staff that feel valued in their place of work with an employer that invests in upskilling them, also results in better staff retention (which means less turnover and the same contractors working at your operation), so your people, assets, and equipment are ultimately in the best of hands.

Let’s talk licences

Another avenue to explore is whether a security company and/or their staff are operating under the correct licencing. There are a number of security licences including:

Agent licenses: ( What a business structure holds)

• Security Agent license

• Crowd Control Agent license

• Inquiry Agent license

Non-Agent license: (what an individual employee needs to obtain to perform specific tasks)

• Security officer license

• Security Bodyguard license

• Crowd Controller license

• Security Consultant license

• Security Installer license

• Investigator license

The full description into each licence and what it covers can be found on the WA Police website.

To put this into context, just because a company, trust or sole trader may have an Agent license for Crowd control doesn't mean an employee can work in this field- they too have to obtain the correct license for the task.

Holders of Agent license are not allowed to perform the duties of the non-agent license types. They're allowed to advertise the services of non-agent type licenses and employ those license holders.

At Goldfields Security we hold the following Licenses:

• Security Agent license

• Crowd Control Agent license

We encourage all hiring managers responsible for outsourcing security to do your homework.

Ask yourself: does this company have correct policies in place? Are they licenced for the tasks required? Do the staff they’re sending out to the job have the correct licences? Does the company have the correct insurances? Is there an auditing process? What training is provided to their staff and is it ongoing?

Do you have some questions about our Kalgoorlie security company services, licencing, and/or training?

At Goldfields Security Services, we take pride in educating the industry on correct protocols for security and we’re always up for a chat.

If you have some questions or are interested in outsourcing your WA security services, we’d love to hear from you. Give our team a call today on 0404 449 326 or email us at Info@goldfieldssecurityservices.com.au