Comment: how to securely outsource security

Ensuring the safety of guests, staff, hotel assets and the immediate environment is of paramount importance to any hotel operator; however properties are also expected to maximise profit without compromising on service quality.

With rates under constant pressure from competitors, many hotels look at outsourcing part of their security — particularly back-of-house operations — mainly to reduce unnecessary costs and to increase their bottom line.

Hospitality is a labour-intensive industry and payroll is the largest cost centre. Being cost-efficient with manpower is therefore of the utmost importance. Negotiating a contracted price for outsourced security for example, allows hotels to manage costs more effectively.

It offers flexibility during low-demand periods as well as high-demand periods, especially if the hotel is expecting a large gathering (a conference, concert, banquet), where experienced manpower can be brought in at short notice.

It can also bring additional savings in terms of supplying or maintaining security equipment that might be needed, training or reviews and of course there are no visas to arrange, no accommodation required, no flights home, no holiday pay or hiring costs and no legacy expenses such as gratuity, making the hotel more competitive within its market.

Hiring security specialists can raise the quality of the operation and in many cases bring new concepts and more efficient working practices. It also leaves hotel management to focus on guest-facing roles and enhancing the guest experience.

This all sounds very straightforward, but as with any outsourcing, it is important that the hotel chooses the right company. All too often, hotels simply issue a tender and offer the contract to the company that offers the lowest price.

With any procurement process, hotels should ask themselves ‘what type of company do I want to deal with?’ and it should be based on value-for-money. This means quality and price, not price alone.

It is also imperative that hotels treat outsourcing companies as partners, not merely suppliers.

Of course, it is vitally important that the security company has all of the proper licensing requirements as well as the necessary liability insurance. The company's staff will also need to be incorporated into the hotel’s health and safety regulations, trained in fire drill/evacuation planning, escalation, and it should be fully aware of the hotel’s crisis management system.

Security personnel fit into this category because during an emergency they can direct staff and, if appropriate, guests, to secure the immediate environment. Outsourced security teams also have close relationships with the local authorities, ensuring a rapid response 24 hours a day in the event that an issue arises.

Security officers in Dubai are licensed under DPS (Dubai Police Department of Protective Services), a specialist service, which takes considerable operational time and capital investment to set up.

Outsourcing is not the overarching answer to every hotel’s security issues; often the brand guidelines will only allow their own security staff to interface with guests, which is perfectly understandable.

Outsourcing is certainly not a one-size-fits-all solution either. Many hotel operators are concerned that they may lose control once a part of their operation is outsourced, but working together with the security team, the hotel itself can monitor and manage the operation.

Another concern voiced by hotel management is that the regular security personnel supplied can change and they then need to be trained, wasting valuable time and effort.

This can be addressed by drawing up service level agreements with the outsourcing company to determine scope and responsibilities. Indeed it can also be used to create and agree key performance indicators to ensure complete transparency.

Outsourcing security is often a fine balancing act between the costs of security and maintaining a hotel’s health, safety and security standards, its corporate social responsibility and the all-important guest experience.

Successfully outsourcing a hotel’s security requirements boils down to choosing the right partner, identifying which aspects of security will benefit most from outsourcing, putting the necessary procedures in place, and working together to enhance the entire operation.

About the Author:
Markus Oberlin is the CEO of Dubai-based Farnek, a total facilities management company.

For more information, visit www.farnek.com.