As we progress through the first quarter of the 21st century and soon into 2025, frontline protection services remain anything but a stagnant business. With fluctuating markets, client(s) demands, and developing risks, private security teams are tasked with sharpening their acumen in disciplines that reach far beyond access control. This is not a cookie-cutter business. The diversity of clientele and constantly evolving threats make each assignment, (temporary or permanent), unique.
When private security became a norm in the form of night watchmen, almost 100 years ago, diversity in duty and occupation was largely unheard of and shifts, although important, were mundane. Now, private security, specifically frontline security teams, are tasked with a plethora of duties to fit clientele and organizational needs; however, the four skills that remain the most important in contemporary frontline protection are security, safety, customer service, and technology.
Security
The concept of keeping someone or something secure in its totality is an objective but not definitive. Meaning that no matter how difficult you harden a target such as the principal on an executive protection detail, a Class A corporate asset, or brand reputation, nothing is 100% free from risk.
Contract security providers are in the business first and foremost to provide the service of security through trained personnel. 30-40 years ago, many organizations used to retain proprietary security officers; however, this was deemed not financially pragmatic and contracting/sub-contracting private security officers became more common. Depending on the specifications of the client(s), frontline security officers’ primary objectives albeit having evolved, are access control and ensuring that unauthorized individuals do not penetrate from non-sterile into sterile areas.
Safety
Safety and security have been one and the same for the last few decades; however, they did not really come to light until the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this is not limited to just airborne illness prevention. Many locations are susceptible to safety hazards that may cause injury and liability to clients, their visitors, and the public.
Frontline security officers are often posted in areas where safety hazards are the most prevalent such as lobbies, loading docks, parking decks, construction areas, etc., and offer the most beneficial aid when it comes to safety hazard awareness and mitigation. Proactivity is imperative. There is a shared responsibility that exists. Clients and organizations depend on frontline security officers not only as guardians of access control but also to observe and report security and safety-related hazards.
Customer Service
Security, much as its law enforcement counterpart, began and in part remains as a quasi-military organization. The latter; however, is not something that is often expressed in requests for proposals (RFPs), with potential or renewing client(s) as frontline security has evolved to include a concierge service.
There is a change of mindset that must take place for those who have worked in the public sector and have now transitioned to the private sector. For example, this might be a secondary career for a law enforcement officer, which in a prior career, he/she/they were able to take away someone’s freedom via an arrest and/or had to display a tougher demeanor, but in the contract security realm, specifically in a corporate setting, there is a welcoming expectation for clients.
As stated earlier, contracting/subcontracting personnel is often seen as a financially feasible alternative to retaining internal personnel, which in this case would be a concierge/reception.
Security officers in lobbies, loading docks, parking garages/lots, and other points of access are not tasked with concierge/reception duties while concurrently ensuring proper access control. This adds another important skill set that must be maintained in the security officer’s repertoire because he/she/they act as an ambassador (i.e. – face) of the organization/tenant/client, which a guest/the public, visits or perceives.
For example, if the guest of a tenant housed within a Class A office space has a first impression, whether it be great, good, bad, or horrible, with the first person they see in the building, which would be the security/concierge officer, the visitor often does not judge the contracting service provider, (unless a visible patch displaying the name of the security company is present), but will judge the overall experience of the building. As the adage goes, you can only make a first impression once.
Technology
The fourth pillar of frontline protection is a force multiplier that adds to the efficiency, eco-friendly, and effectiveness of security officers as they carry out their duties. Paper incident reports logbooks, and training forms continue to become a thing of the past with new and emerging technology.
Not only are contract security services updating their patrol technology and incident report documentation platforms but also client(s) are modernizing their access control and physical security equipment in a way that they become an artificial arm for frontline security to use to ensure a pleasant, and yet concurrently secure the environment for those they are contracted to protect.
This often, however, sets its own challenges for some of the frontline workforce as some are not as versed in contemporary technology and might have a timid approach. At this juncture, it is paramount that frontline security supervision and management act as coaches, trainers, and conduits for the technology. Remaining on hand to assist a timid officer and patiently explaining and guiding towards successfully understanding security goes a long way.
Many of the above skills are not difficult to acquire. Interestingly, many frontline security teams, regardless of their rung on the career ladder, already have them in their psychological arsenal and are ready to apply.
The trick is for security and organizational leadership to cultivate and inspire these attributes. Sadly, some frontline security officers are not entering into the industry with the highest image of pride thanks to unjust portrayals from Hollywood or stigmatized labels such as, “mall cop,” or, “rent-a-cop.”
However, the best way to break a stigma is to prove it false. Each of the pillars of frontline protection provides a more wholesome benefit not only for the protection of the asset(s) from the frontline but also exhibited personally within the security professional.