FIRST Security named Outstanding Contract Security Company (Guarding) for 2022

In the inaugural running of the New Zealand Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), FIRST Security took home the award for Outstanding Contract Security Company. What is the research behind outstanding security performance?

At a gala dinner at the Aotea Centre last Friday, CEO Tim Covic accepted the Outstanding Contract Security Company (Guarding) award at the OSPAs on behalf of FIRST Security.

The OSPAs organisers noted that FIRST Security “is a values-driven organisation which has striven to exhibit the highest levels of leadership in the safety, security and care of employees and the communities they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Of particular mention was FIRST’s role as the national provider to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) of security guarding to Aotearoa’s 32 Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) facilities.

The first OSPAs awards were held in Norway in 2015, with New Zealand the 16th?country to become part of the OSPAs programme.

The OSPAs recognise and reward companies, people and innovation across the security sector. The awards are designed to be both independent and inclusive, with stringent ethics and judging processes, and criteria based on extensive research on key factors that contribute to and characterise outstanding performance.

This research is based on the UK 2014 report?Aspiring to Excellence: The Case of Security Suppliers and Corporate Security?by Professor Martin Gill and Amy Randall.

Informing the research was a worldwide e-survey of the security sector conducted in order to understand how both security suppliers and clients perceive excellence on a range of key criteria. Interviews were also conducted with 24 representatives from the security sector to provide more qualitative insights.

One of the key research questions posed by the research is “What are the most important characteristics of an excellent security supplier?”

In answer to this question, the researchers identified four key characteristics of excellence considered the most important: the focus on customers, leadership, people and process.

“Most importantly, suppliers need to focus on their clients’ needs, both understanding them and meeting them; that is unequivocal,” stated the report authors. “Indeed, the way it structures its relationship with the client needs to be built on this fundamental principle and reflected in setting objectives that are closely aligned with the client.”

“The next and close second most important approach for suppliers who seek to provide an excellent service will be to focus on the quality of their staff, especially those on the front line,” continued the report. “There will be little substitute for having highly motivated and trained staff, taking pride in their work.”

“And while on the subject of staff, high skills levels in all levels of management are very important, although those close to the front line are viewed as generally more important; effective senior and visionary leadership has its place but not at the expense of good skills sets further down the hierarchy.”

The report pointed out that some aspects of what constitutes excellence will vary with the type of supplier, the type of client, and the needs of the contract.

“While it will most often be beneficial to be good at partnership working, many other skill sets are dependent, such as being good at using technologies and having metrics in place to measure performance.”

Importantly, the report noted that excellence is only temporary, and that security providers need to continually adapt to changing environments. “To be excellent a business needs not only to meet current criteria, but also to meet excellence criteria over time,” stated the report authors.

FIRST Security is proud to have been recognised with the inaugural NZ OSPA for Outstanding Contract Security Company (Guarding), and we are committed to continue focusing in new and innovative ways on meeting our clients’ needs, and on nurturing and developing our outstanding security officers to continue to raise the excellence bar.

For more information about how we can meet your security needs,?contact us.