Training Program

[Sam Lincoln 12]

Hello,

I hope that I put this in the correct forum. I have been trying to establish a training program for my department where I work (Larger Outlet Center) We are in house security officers. I have been trying to set up a training program for my officers for some time now. All that is required in our in house FTO process and state mandated class. Every time I try to pitch something to the bosses they shoot me down and tell me that training other than the state mandated requirement is not in the budget. I personally have shelled out a lot of money for training for certifications and advanced medical training. However I am the only one who has taken that step. I am trying to look out different avenues of training for my officers. I know that they wont want to spend a lot of money on it as they have bills to pay and mouths to feed as well. Are there any low cost training options that are available? I believe very strongly in the purpose of training and the need for it. Just wanted to throw this out here to see what you guys think. I always want to make my officers better and to preform our duties better. Thanks for you help guys!

Chuck R.

[ScottFree]

Chuck,
Examine what it is you want to train on. I say have your training improve what your officers do. I design all my own site specific training, and it comes with powerpoints, hands on, and usually simple testing to see if you retained the information.

I can tell you from pretty thoroughly searching out there, that training programs that arent tailored to your site and what you do are going to be pretty much generic, and usually give you stuff that your officers should know, or that you as a leader cover because you want your people to excel.

Improving yourself as a leader, in my opinion, is the best way to improve those that you lead. I see many fine examples of leadership on this board, and i would bet they have better quality officers because they exhibit quality service, which in turn allows them to demand it themselves.

When you hold someone to a high standard, you wont settle for mediocrity.

[SecTrainer]

Before you do anything, Chuck, I suggest you take this question to your bosses: "If I created the training materials myself, and designed them in such a way that the training would not interrupt operations or require overtime, would you be willing to get behind the idea and encourage the officers to participate? That's all I'd ask you to do."

If the answer when the cost would be next to nothing is still "no", you might be dealing with another problem (i.e., they might be afraid better-trained officers will ask for more money, will leave, will become dissatisfied in their duties, etc.).

However, if the answer is "yes", shoot me a PM and I'll explain how you can train people on a zero-dollar budget and in a way that isn't intrusive or disruptive.

[SecTrainer]

Before you do anything, Chuck, I suggest you take this question to your bosses: "If I created the training materials myself, and designed them in such a way that the training would not interrupt operations or require overtime, would you be willing to get behind the idea and encourage the officers to participate? That's all I'd ask you to do."

If the answer when the cost would be next to nothing is still "no", you might be dealing with another problem (i.e., they might be afraid better-trained officers will ask for more money, will leave, will become dissatisfied in their duties, etc.). Unfortunately, I can't help you if that's the case.

However, if the answer is "Sure, we'd go for that!", shoot me a PM and I'll explain how you can train people on a zero-dollar budget and in a way that isn't intrusive or disruptive in the workplace.

[Sgt.Campbell]

I don't like assuming anything, but hopefully your Center's parent company doesn't rhyme with "Kelsey" and/or "hymen" (sorry about the rather crude reference, the only rhyme I could come up with). I, too, have had issues with training and implementation of new procedures at an outlet center. The problems I usually ran into were the lack of experience on the Security Lead Officer's part, and the unwillingness of the Operations and General Managers to commit to better trained officers (or to listen in general).

In a nod to SecTrainer, the budgetary issue is usually moot, since an operation of your sort can split training into multiple parts and can be done during the first hour of the oncoming shift (I have to assume that you do not have a graveyard shift, and that if you do, it is contracted out to some cut-rate company). You could have the lead officer or "officer in charge" of the second shift lead the training for the swing crew. This would help bypass the overtime BS that your Operations Manager would feed you. To reduce the possibility of time lost on patrol, you could also separate the crew to have someone patrolling at all times to maximize your visibility. The training would take longer, but everyone would be on the same page within two weeks, depending on the size of your crew.

If you're trying to implement first aid/CPR/AED training, best to go through your local Red Cross or Heartline service -- though, if you do work for a company rhyming with "Kelsey" and/or "hymen," this training is already mandated and paid for by the company.

If you want more LP training and patrol techniques, this could easily be accomplished using the method of split training above.

Try to focus your training on skills that will be most useful to your center, but remember that the prime mandate in mall security is to observe and report. The secondary is to be visible. The tertiary is to get involved, and is usually restricted by most companies for liability reasons. For these reasons, I would suggest curricula based on the following:

*Patrol Techniques (both vehicle and foot)
*Report Writing
*Loss Prevention (e.g. methods of concealment, identifying suspicious behaviors, etc.)
*Customer Service (BIGGIE -- your officers need to understand its importance)
*CCTV Patrol Techniques (only if you currently/plan to use CCTV systems)
*Nonviolent Crisis Prevention and Intervention (offered also through a national program; check out the Crisis Prevention Institute (http://www.crisisprevention.com)).

[SecTrainer]

For these reasons, I would suggest curricula based on the following:

*Patrol Techniques (both vehicle and foot)
*Report Writing
*Loss Prevention (e.g. methods of concealment, identifying suspicious behaviors, etc.)
*Customer Service (BIGGIE -- your officers need to understand its importance)
*CCTV Patrol Techniques (only if you currently/plan to use CCTV systems)
*Nonviolent Crisis Prevention and Intervention (offered also through a national program; check out the Crisis Prevention Institute (http://www.crisisprevention.com)).

Excellent list, to which (for retail security) I would add a module on Organized Retail Crime.

The emphasis on customer service cannot be stressed enough, and I've found that it really helps to present customer service to security officers in the context of security - i.e., that in the process of continually interacting with customers you have the opportunity to observe things, to learn things, to hear things that you would otherwise miss, while at the same time making security a link in the operation's "value chain".