While you are probably used to seeing them in financial and government facilities, security guards can protect many different types of companies. After all, there are many businesses that need to address issues such as employee safety, data protection, and asset security. Security officers are typically well trained and prepared for all the tasks their specific role entails.
In the event of a crime, the company’s security guards are the first to respond because they know how to handle a dangerous situation. Small and big businesses alike can take advantage of hiring security guards to protect their property, workforce, and valuables.
Here we look at some common types of companies that can benefit from hiring security guards.
Financial Institutions
Not surprisingly, companies providing financial services are the industry that requires the highest level of protection. Not only do they need security to protect the money and valuables – but also to deter, detain, and even combat thieves looking to obtain these items with violence and often using a firearm.
Security guards are the first line of defense against robberies and other crimes in financial institutions. As a result, security officers working in this sector across North America can carry firearms.
Security guards in banks and other financial institutions also handle security systems, and surveillance, and provide clients and staff with a sense of security, allowing them to conduct their business in safe conditions. They may also have the duty to direct clients to the appropriate sections or departments.
Retail Companies
Shoplifting and other forms of theft cause tremendous damage to both large shopping malls and small retail stores. Companies conducting wholesale business are also vulnerable to similar losses. Fortunately, these losses can be reduced by posting security officers at the entrances. In most cases, this is enough to deter shoplifters.
If not, trained security guards can detain anyone who exhibits suspicious behavior, either in person or as observed through the company’s surveillance system. In most retail stores, security guard duty entails monitoring the security system and using it to investigate incidents.
Some business owners prefer the security guards to wear street clothes because this helps them blend in and go unnoticed by shoplifters.
Medical Facilities
Hospitals, pharmacies, small infirmaries, and other medical facilities also require security guards to help ensure the safety of the patients, visitors, and working personnel. They can also prevent thefts of drugs, prescription pads, and other valuable equipment.
The officers are usually positioned at the entrance of the facility to monitor people entering and leaving and observe potentially suspicious behavior. Security guards working in medical facilities must be equipped to handle difficult circumstances while being rational and sympathetic, regardless of how emotional a situation may become.
Museums and Galleries
Museums and art galleries also have many valuable items that certainly need safeguarding. The primary role of security officers in these institutions is to prevent objects of art from being damaged or stolen. They can enforce rules for visitors about touching items, ensuring they remain in good condition.
Educational Institutions
Schools and other educational facilities must provide a safe environment for the students, parents, visitors, teachers, and other personnel. While the threat for smaller children typically comes from outside, for older students, school violence stemming from their own community also represents a problem.
Well-trained security officers will help address both of these issues and ease the minds of anxious parents, students, and teachers. This will also create a more productive learning environment from which the entire community will benefit – socially and economically.
Hospitality Industry
One of the key duties of the hospitality industry is to assure their guests’ safety and protect their valuables. They also must pay attention to keeping their own workers safe.
Trained security guards can limit access at entrances and exits to prevent the loss of personal possessions and the endangerment of the safety of guests and staff members. Security officers working in hotels typically also respond to calls for help and complaints about unruly behavior.
Constructions Sites
Construction sites typically handle many valuable assets, from construction material to equipment and transportation. All these are designed to be used within set budgets and time frames, and their damage or loss can mean a serious setback for the company.
When it comes to situations like vandalism, trespassing, thefts, tampering, and crime, construction sites are also one of the most vulnerable places you can encounter.
Besides financial losses and derailing a project, these acts can lead to unsafe working conditions, worker injuries, and even death.
Hiring security guards can help prevent this and ensure project completion within the expected time and budget limits. Their role is to restrict access to material, site, and the workers themselves, protecting them and all the assets they are working with.
Manufacturing Plants
Manufacturing companies can just as easily become targets of vandalism, theft, tampering, fire, and violent crimes as retail stores. Security guards trained in handling these incidents can help prevent these events or, at least, minimize their effects, giving the workers and the business owners peace of mind.
This way, everyone can focus on their task, and the morale and the productivity of the company can be maintained at optimal levels.
Security guards in manufacturing plants typically help direct traffic for workers and visitors, in vehicles and on foot. They can also prevent the entry of unauthorized personnel by clearing and logging visitors and vehicles entering and exiting the premises.
Trained security guards will also collaborate with first-responders and other local emergency teams formed by employees in evacuation in case of explosions, fires, accidents, and other emergencies.
Final Thoughts
Every company should take various measures to protect its assets, including people and valuables, and hiring security guards is one of the first measures. It’s one of the most effective ways to enhance security, especially for businesses that fall into the above categories. By enlisting the help of a reliable security company, you can do all this.
They will help you determine the duties of guards you need to employ and provide armed or unarmed services, depending on which category your business belongs to and your area of residence. In Canada, for example, only security officers guarding money and valuable items can carry a gun. Whereas in the US, all security officers can carry firearms.
