Qualities to look for in a residential security guard

A home is much more than a building; it’s your safe place and your peace of mind. The outside world is full of threats, but you deserve to feel nothing but completely safe at home. Electronic gates and other physical security measures are important, but they only provide protection to a certain extent. In an ever-changing world, more and more communities are becoming aware of the necessity of more active and adaptable security measures. That’s why security guard patrol experts highly advise hiring a residential security guard. Every community is unique, and every residential area presents its own specific circumstances. Security officers understand that and tailor their strategy to every community’s specific needs.

What is residential protection?

If you are the owner or a manager of a residential community, ensuring the security of your residents can, at times, be highly stressful. Burglaries, vandalism, trespassing, and other crimes cost immense amounts of money and put residents in extreme danger. It is your duty to take all the necessary measures to prevent that, so hiring security guard companies is your best solution. Whether it comes to gated community security,

HOAs (Homeowners Associations), or apartment complexes, you are entrusting your safety into the hands of professionals by outsourcing security guard services. Residential security is a dynamic matter. It requires constant reevaluation of potential threats and specific strategies relevant to each community. That’s why having professional security officers to provide residential security services in your community is vital. They are always alert and closely monitor the situation at all times, ready to adequately respond to any threat. Their very presence is often enough to deter most intruders, as having them around sends a clear message that you put residential security as a high priority. Also, security officers present friendly faces and figures of authority to your residents, giving them a feeling of safety and peace of mind. In cases when a higher level of security is needed, you should consider hiring armed security guards.

Qualities your residential security guard should have

So what should you be looking for when you decide to hire security guards? Finding good personnel is crucial, especially when it comes to such a responsible job. You are entrusting them with the safety of your community, so make sure that you hire security officers with the qualities required.

Communication skills

Intimacy sets residential security guards apart from any other security officer. Their clients aren’t customers at a shopping mall or visitors to a concert, but people enjoying everyday life at home. So instead of being cold and quiet, they should be able to communicate with the residents, listen to their needs and concerns and build a relationship of trust. In addition, they should be able to clearly communicate with any stranger approaching.

Body Language

Aside from verbal communication, non-verbal communication is just as important. Our body stance sends a message; a security officer should understand and utilize that. They should be able to deter any potential intruder with his presence alone. In the opposite scenario, seeing an overly lax security officer would make the intruder completely ignore them. However, they shouldn’t appear too hostile either, as that could intimidate even the residents themselves.

Physical fitness

Providing residential security services can sometimes be quite physically demanding. A security officer is required to patrol the community all the time, which in the case of an apartment complex, would mean going up and down the stairs countless times. If they are not physically fit, they might not be able to perform their duty adequately. In addition to that, in case a situation with an intruder escalates, a residential security guard must be able to react quickly and decisively.

Observation and attention to detail

The key to providing residential security services is to prevent crime at the very first moment. Therefore, residential security guards must possess excellent observation skills and attention to detail in order to spot any suspicious behavior. Whether it is that they are trying to infiltrate themselves amongst the residents in order to commit a crime or that they are just scouting for potential targets, thieves rely on low profile and secrecy. So, while residents may not see anything unusual, the security officer must be able to notice the minor signs and identify them.

Excellent memory

It is not just about observing but also about memorizing. Residential security guards have to memorize many things – residents’ faces, names, even routines, and specific needs and concerns. On the other hand, they also have to memorize suspicious faces. If they show up again, that may be a reason for the alert.

Ability to multitask

Being a security officer means making an endless list of tasks simultaneously: talking to residents, greeting visitors, keeping an eye out for suspicious occurrences, de-escalating potential conflicts, and so on. That’s why they must be able to multitask with ease. If they can’t do so, they’ll have frequent oversights, which might lead to severe risks.

Honesty and personal integrity

Last but not least, all of the above is meaningless if a security officer is not honest and doesn’t hold on to personal integrity. If they are expected to provide safety for residents, they must not be the ones to threaten them in the first place. Entrusting a dishonest person to provide residential security services is even worse than having no security at all, as you are giving them a shortcut to the residents and their properties.

Final thoughts

Being in charge of security in a residential community is a huge responsibility, so outsourcing security guard services and hiring security guard companies to do the job is the best option. However, you should make sure to hire a security officer that boasts certain qualities needed for the job. If you entrust an unfitting person with residents’ safety, you might cause much more harm than good. Therefore, a residential security guard should be a physically and mentally fit professional with good verbal and nonverbal communication skills. They must have an eye for detail as well as a good memory, but also be able to multitask without too much effort so that they don’t miss anything suspicious. And above everything else, they must be honest and a person of integrity.

Keeping your residents and their properties safe requires nothing less than the utmost professionality. In addition to that, if you are concerned about how to secure your home while on holiday, with the right security officer around, you can enjoy your well-deserved vacation with peace of mind.