Most of this work is a contract changing hands.
Very few security contracts are new posts. Almost all of them are someone deciding their current provider is not working - and then worrying that switching will be worse than staying. This page is about that worry, and what actually decides it.
Four things, and none of them is the uniform.
Every question in blue below is one you should put to us and to everyone else you are considering. If a provider cannot answer them in a first conversation, that is information.
The incumbent officers
The single biggest factor in whether a transition is felt by your tenants or staff. Officers who already know the building are an asset, and a provider who plans to replace all of them on day one is choosing a harder transition than the job requires. We assess the existing team against our screening and licensing standard and tell you who we would keep.
Ask any provider: how many of our current officers do you expect to retain, and what would disqualify one?
The phase-in
Overlap between the outgoing provider and us. Too short and posts get covered by people who have never seen the site; too long and you are paying twice. The right length depends on post count, hours, armed posts, licensing in that jurisdiction and how many officers transfer.
Ask any provider: what phase-in are you proposing, and what happens to it if fewer officers transfer than you assumed?
The post orders
The document that tells an officer what to do at your site, at 3am, when something is happening. Inherited sets are frequently out of date - occasionally they describe a building that has since been renovated. We would rather rewrite them during mobilization than find the gap during an incident.
Ask any provider: will you adopt our existing post orders or rewrite them, and who signs off on the final set?
Reporting and escalation
Who you call, what you receive, and how often. This is where the difference between a national and a regional provider is felt most sharply - not in the officer at the post, but in who answers when you need a decision rather than a ticket number.
Ask any provider: name the person who will supervise this site, and tell me how often they will physically be here.
Quote you a phase-in before we have seen the site.
It is the easiest promise in this industry to make and one of the harder ones to keep. A phase-in schedule depends on the post count, the hours, whether any posts are armed, what licensing each officer needs in your jurisdiction, and how many of the incumbent officers actually transfer - and nobody knows the last one until they have met them.
Any provider can tell you thirty days on a first call. We would rather walk the site, talk to the people currently working it, and then give you a schedule you can hold us to.
The same applies to officer retention. We will not promise you a percentage before we have assessed the team.
Before you call.
- Who runs your account. Every office has a named manager and a direct local number, given to you at handover, not a national queue.
- Where we are licensed. Florida and Texas numbers are published in full; the rest are provided in writing before any bid.
- Our federal record. UEI, CAGE, NAICS codes and past performance are on one page, published so you can verify them without asking us.
- How officers are trained. In house, under a licensed Florida Security Officer School.
- Insurance. A certificate naming your entity as additional insured is issued as part of contracting, and a sample is available during evaluation.
Sometimes the answer is to stay.
If your current provider is underperforming for a reason you can fix - a post order that was never updated, a supervisor who was reassigned, an escalation path nobody documented - changing companies will not fix it, and you will spend a transition finding that out.
Tell us what is going wrong before you tell us you want a proposal. If we think the problem is fixable where you are, we will say so. We would rather not win a contract that comes back to us in six months as the same complaint with our name on it.
Questions buyers ask us.
What actually changes on day one?
Less than most people expect, if it is done properly. The uniform, the supervisor, the reporting and the accountability change. The people standing at your posts frequently do not - in contract security the officers often stay and the employer changes. What you should be watching on day one is whether the officers know their post orders, and whether someone from our management is on site rather than on email.
Do the officers currently on our site lose their jobs?
Not automatically, and usually that is the wrong outcome for everyone. Officers who know your building, your tenants and your routines are worth keeping, provided they meet our screening and licensing standard. We assess the incumbent team as part of mobilization and tell you plainly who we would retain, who we would not, and why. If we would not keep someone you rely on, you will hear the reason before you sign, not after.
How long does a phase-in take?
We will not give you a number before we have seen the site, and you should be wary of any provider who does. What drives it is concrete: how many posts, how many hours, whether any posts are armed, what licensing each officer needs in that jurisdiction, how many incumbent officers transfer, and how much of the post-order set has to be rewritten rather than adopted. Give us the site and we will give you a schedule you can hold us to.
Who writes the post orders?
We do, with you. Most post-order sets we inherit are out of date, and some describe a building that has since been renovated. We would rather rewrite them at mobilization than discover the gap during an incident. You approve the final set, and it is a document you own rather than one we keep.
What happens if something goes wrong in the first week?
You call the manager whose name is on your account - not a national dispatch queue. Every one of our offices has a named manager and a direct local number, and you are given both when the account opens. Escalation past that reaches our leadership team, and the company is small enough that this is a short path.
What should we be asking you that we have not?
Three things. Ask who specifically will supervise the site and how often they will physically be there. Ask what happens when an officer calls out at 3am and who is responsible for filling that post. And ask us for a certificate of insurance naming your entity as additional insured, plus the license numbers for your state, before you sign anything - all of ours are published.
Thinking about changing providers?
Start with what is going wrong. The proposal can come after.