Business security guards are the cornerstone of securing any business premises. This is why they are regarded as saviors because their presence makes people around feel safe and secure. As well as the business they are assigned to protect.

But when they fail to carry out these assignments and protect the people and property they are assigned to protect, then it gives room for threats to take effect.

Therefore, in this post, we will be discussing about the 7 unprofessional security practices of a security guard that enables them to fail in carrying out their assigned jobs and the corrective actions to take.

7 Unprofessional Security Practices of a Security Guard

The occurrence of threats, risk and danger takes place due to the presence of security loopholes. Some of these security loopholes are as a result of unprofessional security practices by security guards.

Below are 7 unprofessional security practices:

• Not Available or Visible

The first unprofessional security practice of a security guard is not being visible or available on duty. A guard who is not visible or available on his duty post will not be able to deter criminals. And once most burglars and other criminals discover such a security loophole, they will not think twice before the act.

• Not Vigilant

A security guard is meant to be vigilant. So not being vigilant is another unprofessional security practice of a security guard. Once a guard fails to be vigilant, he will not be able to sense any danger lurking around. He will not be able to detect strange sounds, such as when someone is secretly trying to open a door. Or be able to sense it when someone is cleverly trying to divert his attention off his duty.

• Not Responding Quickly and Correctly During Emergencies

A security guard must know how best to respond to various dangerous situations. But not being able to respond quickly and correctly during emergencies is another unprofessional security practice. This will enable the guard not to act fast and control the situation during emergencies.

• Not Observing and Reporting

A security guard who relaxes and fails to observe during and keep observing after a dangerous situation has been successfully averted is an unprofessional security practice. So also is failing to report incident to his supervisor, the police or the appropriate authorities (such as the fire services in the case of a fire outbreak). This tends to prevent corrective measures to be taken to avert a future recurrence.

• Not Checking for Anomalies

Sometimes, a security guard is required check for anomalies such as ensuring certain rules and policies as laid down by his employer are adhered to.  But when your security guard fails to check and ensure that all the rules are obeyed. For example, not searching visitors and ensuring that employees shows their ID cards before being granted entry into the work premises can enable criminals to use these anomalies to act.

• Not Offering Warning Signs

A security guard is responsible for giving security tips and precautions to his employers. But when he fails to practice this professional security measure, you as a business owner will not be able to prevent security threatening situations.

• Not Adhering to Internal Company Policies

No two companies are the same in culture and operations. To express their individuality, companies articulate certain organizational dos and don’ts that guide their operations and internalize their culture. All these make up the organization’s company policies and some of them pertain to security and safety measures. So not adhering to these internal company policies as a security guard is unprofessional.

What’s the Remedy? Take Corrective Actions Now!

It’s not sufficient to be aware of these 7 unprofessional security practices by your security guard; you need to take corrective actions as a business owner, management executive or security consultant.

Below are two key corrective actions to take:

• Fire and Hire a Professional Security Guard

Firing your security guard once you discover these unprofessional practices is one of the key corrective actions to take (and a difficult one too). Most times these (unprofessional security) practices by your guards are as a result of negligence on the job.

But firing without hiring a professional security guard would be a wrong business security measures. Therefore, hire a professional security guard (from a reputable security agency) once you get the unprofessional security guard fired.

• Empower Your Guards with Best Security Practices

At times it will not be too necessary to fire an unprofessional security guard. Instead of letting the guard go, another key corrective action to take is to get him/her trained with the latest security best practices. You’ve got to get your guards trained by a private professional security firm.

Conclusion

Having a security guard with the above 7 unprofessional security practices can enable security loopholes in your business. And once there is a security loophole; risk, threat and danger is inevitable.

This is why it is very important that you take corrective actions by both firing and hiring a professional security guard or get them trained with the best security practices.

With the above 7 unprofessional security practices discovered, what are you doing about it?

Are you taking the necessary corrective actions?

We can help out with this, and the best place to begin is with a thorough security risk assessment of your business. It’s free, click here to book a session with us today!