ONE very basic necessity of a security officer… Especially one that is unarmed and will have interaction with the public IS PEOPLE SKILLS!!  Actually, even before that, an applicant who is seeking a job as a security officer absolutely REQUIRES some sort of personality!  I recently had a conflict de-escalation training workshop with the contracted security officers for a large corporation, and my training cadre and I were totally dumbfounded at some of the caliber of personnel that this security firm assigned to this global corporation.

There may be people who apply for security jobs just to get a job, others may actually have an interest in doing security as a career and these entry level jobs are a starting point for them.  They all need to get training in how to deal with situations and incidences involving people.  From first aid to dealing with loud, rude, obnoxious people.

At one recent training workshop there was a young man who was attentive during the lecture presentation, but when it came to the scenarios… Oh lawd have mercy… It became glaringly obvious that this poor lamb had no idea what he was doing, what to do, what to say, and where to turn.  He seemed very soft spoken and just stood there and was easily overwhelmed by my role players.

Folks, if you have a security business with a juicy contract with a large business or corporation, especially a GLOBAL corporation, will you take a moment to very seriously consider who you are sending, to not only represent you and your business, but to do SECURITY at the client’s location??!!

The biggest reason I started my business was to help train people with no background, training or experience in dealing with loud, rude, obnoxious people and to develop skills and confidence to deal with a stressful situation with a person.  As I spoke with the younger members of the security officers it was confirmed to me that people get hired to do security, maybe are taught basic first aid, and then pretty much thrown out to the wolves.  Fortunately the corporation they were sent to recognized they desperately needed more training in regards to dealing with people and situations with people and that was why I was brought in.  I have noticed that many people get into the security business thinking that it will not be more than checking for locked doors and making sure all the lights are turned off at night, but what about the domestic situation that flares up in the lunch room or in the parking lot?  What about the the delivery person or truck driver becoming enraged that something like the paperwork is not ready?  What about the homeless trespasser who angrily refuses to leave the property?  The answer can not always be saying “I’ll call the cops” !!  ONE very basic necessity of a security officer… people skills…

People who apply to be security guards and officers NEED to have a certain amount of self confidence in the first place. From there training and experience will tweak and develop how they do their jobs.  And basic people skills are absolutely a MUST if the security guard is going to have contact with people!  People skills such as basic communication skills, being able to approach people and start talking and asking questions, be assertive is necessary… People skills such as being able to be empathetic, have some basic conflict de-escalation skills, such as not becoming loud and rude in response to someone who is loud and rude!  People skills like being patient and a certain amount of tolerance are very important when dealing with someone who may be angry, or confused and lost, or confused and asking for instructions on how to do something or go somewhere.

I teach 3 basic concepts – Body language, Tone of voice, and active listening, being engaged with the person you are dealing with.  A person who wants to do security needs to be aware of their own body language and how they may inadvertently escalate a situation, needs to be aware of their tone of voice and what they say and how they say it, and needs to be aware of how critical it is to be actively listening, be engaged in the moment.  And I emphasize those basics with dynamic scenarios.

Contact me for Conflict De-escalation Training! 

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