How can physical security organisations attract and retain top talent?

Staff shortages are an increasing problem for corporate security teams. The skills needed for these roles evolve as teams take on broader responsibilities beyond traditional security. At the same time, the risk landscape constantly shifts due to factors like geopolitics, technological advancements, economic volatility, environmental challenges, and social unrest. When it comes to hiring new people, corporate security teams should update their job descriptions to focus on soft skills, like business acumen, and effective communication, along with traditional security experience. Recruiters should also search for candidates with diverse career backgrounds. Diversity in experience, background, skills, and thought, along with inclusiveness, is key to building strong teams. Inclusive and diverse teams excel in critical thinking and problem-solving. To retain top talent, corporate security teams must offer clear pathways for growth and development. Tying an employee's impact to company objectives can also motivate employees and highlight how their actions are contributing to the company’s bottom line. Building an effective corporate security team comes down to its people, and attracting and retaining top talent is key.

Attracting and retaining top talent requires a multi-faceted strategy. There is not one single thing an organisation can or should rely on. Establishing your organisation as a destination employer through promoting the employee value proposition you offer is an important first step. While competitive compensation is important, we are increasingly seeing top talent place higher value on purpose-driven work, and the chance to make a meaningful contribution to outcomes that positively impact others. For that reason, it is vitally important to articulate a clear mission, vision, and values that are woven into the fabric of the organisation and serve as the foundation to cultivate the culture that attracts great people. The key to retaining talent is providing ongoing opportunities to grow and develop. It’s important to enable career pathways in all directions, with a focus on broadening skills and experiences through experiential learning to provide a positive employee experience.

Attracting and retaining top talent is an issue affecting all domains. While monetary incentive can be effective in attracting talent, it does not differentiate your company in any way and therefore may not be helpful for long-term retention. Studies show that job satisfaction and a healthy work culture are critical for job retention. One way to achieve that is to have a clear mission statement and to align hiring practices to ensure that talented individuals are sought that care about this mission and that their roles are designed to clearly contribute to that mission.

In an industry where threats are constantly evolving, it's crucial that physical security organisations recognise employees as their greatest asset. To attract and retain top talent, organisations must create a culture that leverages the diversity of team members through investments in personal and professional development opportunities. This means supporting employee growth through leadership development, upskilling, and reverse mentorship programs, where pioneers take a bottom-up approach to learn from junior-level colleagues. It is important to foster a culture where employees feel safe to engage in honest conversations about current events and their impact on the workplace, supported by resources like Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and bold pioneers who can safely facilitate courageous conversations and lead with vulnerability. Through these initiatives, employees will feel more valued and, as a result, are more likely to stay with the company long-term as they continue to engage with these programs.