Choosing the right contractor for your security needs should be a serious decision with all the due diligence you would put into any other business investment. That’s true whether you’re hiring that contractor to protect you on behalf of your business or as a purely personal measure. For many who need that kind of protection, there is little distinction because the security concerns at work follow you home or while traveling.
Before you hire private security, it’s important to understand what makes them effective and how to weigh those factors that contribute to their effectiveness. It will help you choose the right contractor for the situation whether you need a team or a single personal security specialist.
Make sure you’re using properly trained and licensed security professionals. Focus on finding a best fit instead of being stuck on whether the professional is really, well, professional. Use these three handy tips to eliminate the obvious bad fits and under-qualified operators. Then focus on interviewing the right candidates so you’re choosing from the best of the best.
Understand How Optics Work
Private security is not about what you do when someone acts aggressively. It’s about what you do to prevent that aggressive behavior from beginning. That prevention starts well before an incident. If it’s handled expertly, it can defuse the factors that lead to an incident before they happen. Optics are a big part of that. When you’re looking to pick a security guard, especially an executive protection professional who will accompany you when you are working, you need to choose someone whose presence communicates their awareness of the space and control over it.
Many people think this means picking a physically intimidating and aggressive guard, and that tactic can work. It’s not the only way to go, though, or even the most effective. Private security that communicates a sense of overwhelming present-mindedness is often more intimidating than sheer physical size. That means an alert, calm, and physically responsive security guard can sometimes communicate a bigger threat than a wall of muscle with a concealed carry permit.
Of course, if you find someone huge, fast, calm, present, and looks threatening even when they’re happy? That’s going to look like someone who isn’t worth trying. That’s the importance of optics, and it helps dissuade people from acting as they work themselves up psychologically. A heavy looking guard isn’t the only way to manipulate optics effectively, though.
Expert contractors will use their personal appearance to communicate visually. However, they also use their equipment, trajectory through spaces, and positioning relative to yourself. That helps create fewer paths for a potential attacker, as well as fewer sight lines for a distance attack. This control over your exposure also communicates difficulty to a potential attacker, lowering the chance of an attack.
Check Out the Contractor’s Resume Thoroughly
You can’t always amass the expertise you need to assess someone’s work just by putting them through their paces. However, you can rely on the judgment of the people who have that expertise. That’s what it means to check for training, certification, and education. As you look into different potential security companies you need to know what the guards are trained in and who passed them as experts in the use of those devices, arms, and martial techniques.
On top of training in physical security, it helps if you can rely on a fully trained professional mind. It’s a good idea to hire people with licensed security specialist or private investigator businesses to run your strategy. Don’t just look at the number of certifications and awards, either. Check out the institutions granting them, as well as what they require to pass. That will tell you a lot about what a contractor can do when you’re seeking a security guard for hire.
Never Underestimate Psychological Compatibility
Your security contractor needs to have the best possible credentials and a good understanding of the ways their behavior and personal presentation communicate to observers, as well as the impact that has on their effectiveness. We listed those first because they are essential, but so is psychological and communication compatibility.
What does that mean? Personality fit. If you are a person who needs to be told what to do so you can follow through, that’s going to work with one kind of approach to personal security. If you’re a very spontaneous and independent person who can’t be corralled into a set plan, that’s going to require an entirely different mindset and approach to your safety. Understanding the philosophical orientation and professional personality of each candidate is often the defining factor in the effectiveness of your choice of private security for hire. Make sure you find someone you feel good about working with.
Hire a Security Company
These tips on hiring a private security guard should help you pick out the perfect person for the job. You need to screen these people carefully so that you know they are able to do their work well. If you are still searching for the perfect fit, contact Beau Dietl & Associates today.
