From speaking to my colleagues, clients and fellow security companies over the past few weeks, one thing is clear: Brexit is a complete nightmare.
The government’s fumbling of the UK’s exit from the European Union is sending shockwaves throughout business, and is being felt in two key areas in the security industry.
The first and most damaging issue that affects both security companies and their customers is the loss of staff across security guards, control rooms and admin. This is already in progress and will continue to be damaging regardless of how Brexit pans out.
Uncertainty over their status in the UK and a general feeling of not being welcome has resulted in many European employees returning to their home countries or finding employment elsewhere in the EU.
This is especially apparent amongst Eastern European staff, as their counties of origin, particularly Poland, have experienced strong economic growth which makes returning more viable, especially now that the pound has weakened so drastically.
Being back home, with local carrier opportunities and less expenses is a more attractive prospect than staying in the UK for many Eastern European people in the security industry.
Security companies are having to plan for this reduction of staff and reallocate their resources to ensure that their customers receive an uninterrupted service.
However, there is no quick way to resolve a staffing crisis in the security industry. Between the training and licensing, it takes 12-14 weeks for a new hire to become a security guard.
Should there be a mass exodus post-Brexit, it will take a few months or more for the industry to get back on its feet. We can expect that the South will be more hard hit than the North, where there are less European staff.
The security industry is going to have to re-examine where we recruit from and how we retain staff now that the UK is a less enticing location for European workers.
Next is the uncertainty around whether or not there will be a Brexit deal, which is causing companies who might otherwise invest in security holding on to their funds so that they have the capital to stay afloat in a worst-case scenario.
This includes companies which need to be making contingency plans for their security in the event of a no-deal Brexit, such as logistics companies and ports, who will find themselves overwhelmed should there be even a slight change in our trading procedure with the continent.
Uncertainty has bled into the banks as well, who are tightening up their lending criteria, which is making it more difficult for companies to fund contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit.
At Magenta Security, we are confident that we are strong enough to weather whatever storm results from Brexit.
For the past six months, we’ve been setting up a robust Brexit contingency plan to prepare our company and our services for the worst case scenario. Funds have been set aside should we need additional resources to guarantee our customers uninterrupted protection.
This has included adjusting our recruitment process to ensure that we remain well staffed and our commitment to providing our security guards with careers, not just jobs, has kept our retention rate high despite the uncertainty.
We won’t be caught out, no matter what happens.
It is now more vital than ever that you put your security in safe hands. We still don’t know what’s going to happen on October 31st, but you’ll still be able to trust Magenta Security to keep you safe.
Abbey Petkar
