Security Officer: What is the cost of hiring?

Why recruit a security officer

Security officers assign tasks to your security guards, assessing the security of locations, setting up stations and planning security targets. They therefore have much more responsibility than security guards for the overall functioning of your security service, and so need more expertise in risk management and anti-terrorism than your security guards. They will also need to be generally more experienced in the area of security.

Qualities of a great security officer:

• helping you to analyse potential risks and set targets to manage them
• being able to train up and work alongside a team of security professionals
• using their expertise to revise and improve your current security operations.

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance security officer

Whether you should hire a security guard on a freelance or permanent basis will depend on how much security work you need coordinating over a long-term period. You might recruit a security officer for an event or festival on a contract basis. This is because it would be more cost effective to recruit a security officer to organise security plans for a set number of days or months. However, if you need a security officer to manage a permanent security team for a large building such as a shop, gallery or university, then employing one on a permanent contract will help you to manage your security plans on a year-by-year basis. They will also be able to train new staff, helping you to improve and build your security team. 

What are the different types of security officer?

Which security officer is right for your team will depend on the level of expertise you need, or whether you are looking to take on new apprentices. It will also depend on the kind of building or location that you require a security officer for. You might also wish to find a security officer who specialises in administration and management of particular kinds of location such as government buildings or retail. A night security officer might be more appropriate if you need someone to cover night shifts.

• Retail security officer: organises patrols of retail premises and deals with customer security concerns.
• Mobile security officer: conducts spot checks, organising the guarding of entrance/exit points and patrols of premises.
• Night security officer: monitors and organises the patrol of premises during night shifts.
• Government security officer: monitors CCTV, organises patrol of government premises and organises the searching of visitors upon their entering of government premises.
• Security officer apprentice: gains on-the-job security experience from an experienced security team.

Where to find a security officer

To find the right security officer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Through a security recruitment agency: this type of specialist agency can help you headhunt the right security officer for your business.
• Via the SIA’s register of approved security companies: Find approved security officers local to your business by searching the SIA register.
• Advertising in your local jobcentre: attract local security officer candidates to your business by creating a short job description for your local jobcentre’s display or window.
• Networking with local security companies: meet local security companies in person via jobs fairs or industry conventions.

Post your job online: Try posting your job for a security officer on Indeed to find and attract quality security officer candidates.

Skills to look for in a great security officer

A great candidate for a security officer’s role will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• ability to follow step-by-step and/or complex instructions
• physical fitness and ability to be on their feet for long periods
• prerequisite security training
• surveillance knowledge
• great team leadership

Writing a security officer job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified security officer candidates. A security officer job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your job description for a security officer, consider including some or all of the following keywords to strengthen the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms resulting in clicks on jobs for security officers, according to Indeed data:

• security officer
• security
• security guard
• SIA
• door supervisor
• SIA security officer
• night security
• corporate security officer.

Interviewing security officer candidates

Strong candidates for security officer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• using teamwork to solve difficult problems
• dealing with the potential of being assaulted
• de-escalation tactics and conflict resolution techniques
• previous security work history
• strength and overall fitness levels.

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of security officer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).