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Nothing undermines the confidence of a client in their security contract more than repeated staff shortages on site. This wasn't part of the security company's sales pitch, and will therefore come as an extreme disappointment when it happens. The client will almost certainly have asked the question about trained reserves at the tender presentation stage, and would have been given every assurance that this wouldn't present a problem. Indeed, so important a factor is this in any contract that it could swing the decision in favour of the most persuasive voice.

Not surprisingly, reality is very different. The contract manned guarding industry is seriously under-recruited. For reasons which we've so often expressed – the outdated terms and conditions of employment in the industry – very few people will be leaving school with the aim of becoming a security officer. In fact, if you were to analyse the individuals who typically join the manned services sector they would broadly fall into four categories.

First, there's the students. They're either at college and want to earn some extra money during their vacation to pay for next term's 'socials', or they're post-graduate men and women waiting for the right vacancy to come along in their chosen profession.

Then you have the ex-Servicemen and women. Those that have left the forces prematurely, realised that they're not qualified for any other type of work and subsequently joined the industry in the belief that life would be much better than it was in the services. On top of that, there's those individuals who are looking to build another career after retiring or being made redundant from a previous life. And what about individuals who've just drifted from job to job without ever settling?

Last – but by no means least – there's the huge and significant 'army' of overseas visitors seeking short-term employment to help pay for the cost of their travel around the globe.

Looking at the industry today, I sometimes wonder whether there are any young South Africans actually left in South Africa, since so many of them appear to have obtained employment in the manned guarding division of the security industry.

Pinpointing intrinsic instabilities
An immediate assessment of the four groups outlined is their intrinsic instability. No one group is necessarily going to hang around for long (particularly not if they have to work long hours for little pay in far away places). The obvious end product will be huge staff turnover and, as contractors struggle to meet existing contractual agreements, the reserve bench will have long since become absorbed into standard daily scheduling.

In truth, the client remains the key to the contractor providing a consistent service. If, as a client, you pay a low wage rate for a given area or neglect to offer 'hidden benefits' (such as subsidised meals, or membership of the company social club) then there will be frequent staff turnover and regular shortages of manpower.

If that happens, then the client will have deserved everything that's coming to them. It is an utterly false economy to try to buy security on the cheap in this day and age.

Conversely, if as a client you agree to a premium wage rate and include some standard benefits in the hourly charge-out rate – such as a pension contribution and National Vocational Qualification training – then you have a right to expect a good service.

Question is, will you receive one?

Suffice to say that, provided the security company is well-organised, and distributes contracts to each of the respective customer services managers on a regular basis, then the contractor should be perfectly capable of providing a good service.

We have always recommended that if you go out to tender, you should obtain independent evidence that the tendering companies have a proven track record of success in your local area (particularly under the same wage rates and guidance of the same customer services manager).

It's all-too-easy to be blinded by a string of impressive references from major contracts at the other end of the country, but it's far more valuable to the end user to obtain local commendations. An example is perhaps the best way to illustrate the point.

Take Reading in Berkshire. A known 'blackspot' for recruiting contract security staff. As an end user, you want to know what rate you have to pay to secure the guarding service. An independent survey can tell you that information, and how successful or otherwise the various contractors employed have actually been in operating at those rates.

Such information can save you considerable money and heartache, and ensure that you make the right choice at the tender stage.

Embracing Working Time legislation
As a client, you'll probably have gathered the fact that, until the industry wholeheartedly embraces the Working Time Directive and its cost implications, you are likely to suffer staff shortages from time to time. Are there any other ways of preventing this, though?

When I was directly involved in the industry many years ago the use of sub-contract labour was severely frowned upon – and probably with good reason. The belief that contract security companies barely knew their own people, let alone those belonging to a 'subbie', was quite enough to send clients running for cover. Over the course of time, opinion on this matter seems to have mellowed somewhat.

Contractors must accept that new recruits are not known to them. Within a week they'll have undergone a basic induction course as well as the five-year pre-employment telephone screening process, and will have been placed on an assignment. Provided that the sub-contractor can provide written proof that any individual supplied to the contract has successfully undergone an identical process, I don't see any increased risk to the client.

My recommendation to clients is to insist that contractors – at the tendering stage – name the sub-contractors which they may be compelled to use during the course of the contract, and that these companies are independently assessed. Please don't imagine that the problem will go away or doesn't exist. If you do you'll get a nasty shock – and so will your insurers.

As a client, you have to accept the fact that staff shortages on site are going to occur from time to time. There are ways of minimising the problem, though, and hopefully some of the points made here will be of assistance.

The best solution of all is quality management employed by the security company. Management who genuinely look after their staff will benefit in two ways… Existing staff will not want to leave, and the turnover will slow down dramatically. In itself, this represents a significant cost saving. In addition, word will soon spread that Company X has a very good record in managing its staff, and officers employed in the industry will inevitably gravitate towards it.

With staff shortages reduced, contracts are then retained. Further business by way of referrals will almost certainly be forthcoming.

Quite simply, beware of staff shortages. If uncontrolled, they can have a devastating effect on security companies and clients.

The Watchdog has moved to new premises. End users can now contact Terry and the team at: Chiltlee Manor, Haslemere Road, Liphook, Hampshire GU30 7AZ (telephone: 01428 725616, fax: 01428 725617)