Security Management Strategies for Increasing Security Employee Retention

Design Effective Job Characteristic Model

Skill Variety

Task Identity and Task Significance

Autonomy and Feedback

Meeting Expectations

Market Competitive Package

Strategies for Increasing Security Employee Retention

Security employees constitute the most important component of organizational workforce. It is because; they ensure the core survival of organization and its assets. However, the ironic fact is the security employees are considered blue collar workers and their compensation packages are low (Hodson & Sullivan, 2008). On the other hand, their job routine is tough requiring both physical and mental attention for its effective performance.

The job of security employees is risky and the level of risk varies depending on the organization they are working for. There are many high risk jobs like security of sensitive areas, highly commercial zones and residence of very important people. As these places are prone to security threats, the risk is directly transferred to the life and security of security persons working there.

Keeping in view the criticality of job, the security persons tend to switch jobs to low risk areas. It is also possible, that they prefer changing the field altogether and become part of less risky work environment. In is interesting to mention that security personnel are not only security guards. Special agencies which are involved in issuing security passes and conducting background investigations are also included in security personnel. Their job description is totally different from the field workers but the purpose is same. They all ensure that the object is protected from all possible hazards and threats. In other words, there is a complete chain of security personnel; everyone performs his task to achieve the goal of security provision.

The turnover rate of employees at different level of chains varies. Individuals working in offices and issuing security passes are less prone to security risk than the employees who act as security guards. The reasons for leaving job for all of them may be different. However, security persons are need of all organizations and their retention is highly crucial for them.

The paper casts light upon the retention strategies than can be effective in retaining the security employees. The strategy is designed to address the cause of leaving job. For every possible, the respective solution is presented. Hence, the paper addresses the causes of leaving and effective retaining strategy side by side.

Discussed below are the most effective strategies to retain security employees.

Design Effective Job Characteristic Model

A common notion in business practices and literature is that employees quit jobs if they are not happy with their pay packages, job growth opportunities, attitude of management and availability of better job opportunity. There are many points which the management can take up to retain the employees. There are certain points which are beyond the control of management, but in such case, the management should convince the leaving out that many factors are not in control of the other organization as well, which is going to be joined by the leaving employee.

Described below are the few elements that play important role in attracting people to stay at their jobs and these elements fall in the controllable domain of management. The most important one of them is to design effective job characteristic model (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007).

Skill Variety

An important reason for leaving job is the monotony people have in their jobs. In the context of security personnel, the monotony increases even more. They have to do nothing but stay vigilant at their place. They have no work to engage their five senses there. This is the reason, their jobs appear too boring to them and they tend to feel that this is not the job of their preference. There are certain security personnel, who have been trained on alarms systems, have communication power with dogs and can use arms as well. However, the chance to use these skills is rare. Most of the times, they stay free, forcing their mind to stay at the same place, trying to assess any possible danger in the surrounding.

Organizations should work on the plans that retain employees' interest in their jobs. One of the techniques is to add variety of skills in the job specification of security personnel. This recommendation is particularly valid in the case of security agencies who supply their security personnel to various organizations. It happens that there are agencies which specialize in hiring and training of security personnel. The security personnel...

Many organizations contact the agencies to provide them with required number of security personnel. Since there are many organizations and the nature and level or risk is different in every organization, it is quite possible that the required skills are also different. Rotating the security employees to various locations and training them as per the requirement may lead the employees to stay in the same field and continue their service in the same agency.
Task Identity and Task Significance

It is broad daylight that every employee contributes in the development of organization. Manpower rationalization is an important practice in this modern era of 21st century when organizations are facing serious challenges posed by severe economic conditions and cut throat market competition (Mital, 2007). In order to stay profitable in the industry, every organization is in the quest of cost reduction initiatives. Manpower rationalization is one of the techniques used by the organizations to control their cost expenditures (Bragg, 2010). Consequently, organizations hire the individuals which can perform the defined functions of organization to the optimum level. Organizations discourage the increased number of people for a specific job.

Having established the fact that every organization hires only required employees, it is important to mention that many organizations do not pay any heed to pass on this information to the employees that they are required. Many employees feel that they are just like any individual and their presence does not add value to the organization. In other words, people think that their absence will not harm organizational interest. People fail to identify the worth of their job and cannot recognize any identifiable function in their job role that can motivate them. Serving in the back end for long, people lose interest in a job and tend to switch it to the option where there can be any recognition to their presence and contribution.

In the perspective of security employees, it is interesting to mention that their presence may not be felt at any place but their absence is the first thing to be noticed. Subconsciously, people except security persons to be present everywhere, in the market, at banks, airports, hospital, and commercial plazas etc. The absence of security guard is considered a risk and high level of carelessness on part of the management of that very area.

In order to retain security employees, it is important that they are realized about the important of their job and its effects on others people. It is true that unfavorable attacks may kill the security persons to achieve their targets, yet it is also true that their presence may act as a barrier for them. The invaders may need to plan a sound method for probing into the vicinity for unlawful purposes.

In the connection of job significance of security personnel, it is important to mention that security personnel are well aware of importance of their job. However, the attitude other people have with them, discourages them to a great extent. As already mentioned, they are blue collar workers, and people tend to look down upon them, they feel de-motivated and tend to switch the field.

If the same concept is applied on Maslow's hierarchy of need, it is noted that self-esteem is an important need of human beings (Koontz and Weihrich, 2006). The blue collar workers may also have self-esteem need in contradiction to the typical hierarchical model. The concept of self-respect is present in every setting (McKean, 2003) and people to sacrifice many things to save their honor and prestige.

It is, therefore, recommended that organizations take serious initiatives to broaden the perspective of people towards the security personnel. If people have certain degree of regard for security personnel, they are bound to perform better. The major evidence is armed forces. Soldiers enjoy high value in the eyes of entire nation. Everywhere they go, they enjoy high respect. This is the reason; they forget everything for the sake of their country and love to join the armed forces. They find charm in the uniform; people are impressed with their personality and love to copy their styles. It is very rare that any soldier wants to switch job. It is most common that every other child wants to become a soldier.

It implies that certain degree of regard for other types of security personnel can also exalt them and motivate them to stay at their jobs.

Autonomy and Feedback

In the job characteristic model, the two other components are autonomy and feedback. Autonomy refers to the control at one's job and feedback refers to the response others give about…