A local London council recently agreed to pay its security staff the London living wage. The move by Haringey Council means that all security staff who are guarding council buildings will be paid at least £8.55 an hour.
But is this enough to retain staff who provide a vital frontline service? Security is an important industry and it is crucial to have good pay schemes in place in order to attract the best staff. Security should not be viewed as a stopover but a long term career. As an industry we need to offer incentives that make security a sought after career.
We have long been advocating for pensions for security guards, and taken measures to help our staff, which are seen as noteworthy in the security industry. The retention of staff can be directly attributed to the training, motivation and treatment we offer employees. Some members of staff have been with the organisation since 1995.
Firstly, we pay employees rates as per the London living wage. But we go further than many other organisations. The reason for staff remaining with the company is Magenta’s staff additional incentive schemes. Customers are issued with service certificates and gift vouchers, which they can award to Magenta employees who have been outstanding. And we also give awards, gift vouchers and certificates of merit to long term and outstanding employees. Magenta has also agreed staff discounts with a variety of suppliers.
And our promise to train all staff has been commended throughout the industry. The training offered is based on an individual’s requirements so they receive specialist training relevant to their job. All members of staff are able to study for NVQ Level 2/3 and they are sent on additional training courses depending on our clients requirements. The training requires staff to study on the job, so they acquire practical skills and can draw on Magenta’s resources and expertise.
Not only does our commitment to providing staff with benefits give our staff confidence and maintain a happy working environment, but greater staff satisfaction leads to lower staff turnover. On average, the security industry has a 30% employee turnover. Magenta has had a turnover of just 11.2% – a figure well below the national average.
Our employees are our assets and we do as much as we can to improve their wellbeing, listening and responding whenever possible to their needs.
Call 0800 772 3786 now and start your career with us.
