Buyers of security services should not wait till compulsory licensing kicks-in next year to practice best sourcing. At a seminar organised by the Union of Security Employees (USE) and Certis CISCO Security today, USE urged buyers of security services to ensure the security agencies they engage embrace the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and provide reliable, quality services, and to do so immediately. USE especially called on the public sector, being major buyers of security services, to take the lead and focus on outcome-based sourcing to improve their operations and reduce reliance on manpower. About 200 participants attended the session, graced by NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing, at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre,
Better security outcomes, better pay for security officers
Earlier at the event, Certis CISCO shared how it has applied its Business Process Re-engineering and Operations (BPRO) framework and M3 (Man-Machine-Method) operating philosophy to its security services for Far East Organisation (FEO), increasing productivity and efficiency and lowering headcount without compromising the level of security. Leveraging on Certis CISCO’s 24/7 Integrated Operations Centre, the Integrated Security Management System, deployed across 13 shopping malls has saved FEO about 15 to 30 per cent in manpower headcount.
In May 2015, ahead of compulsory licensing, Certis CISCO conducted a wage review exercise for all their security officers and increased their basic salary at the entry level by about 24 per cent. Additionally, security officers deployed to FEO malls receive a site incentive if they meet the key performance indicators set by FEO. They will also receive incentives for receiving compliments or awards from FEO or members of public.
Mr Steve Tan, Executive Secretary of USE, said, “We are very pleased to see real examples of how best sourcing practices, underlined by the PWM for the security industry, has resulted in positive, tangible outcomes for security agencies, buyers and very importantly, our security officers. Indeed, more can be done even before compulsory licensing kicks-in, and we hope to see more service buyers and security agencies working together to come up with sustainable solutions for their businesses, with the welfare of their security officers in mind. We strongly feel that the public sector, being major procurers of security services, should take the lead and set the standards for the industry to follow.”
He added, “This is a clear example of how a good partnership, together with investment in technology, will help to better manage total cost. In contrast, high reliance on manpower will lead to higher total cost over the long term.”
6Mr Paul Chong, President and CEO of Certis CISCO, said, "Certis CISCO takes a holistic approach towards security solutioning. Having heavily invested in technology over the years, we have the capability and experience in combining the best fit technology and systems, to further engage our customers in business process re-engineering enabling them to meet security objectives without over-reliance on manpower. Through BPRO partnering, we promote the establishment of a partnering relationship between Certis CISCO and our customers for constructive feedback and solutions. Hopefully, more service users will opt for best sourcing which will lead to outcome-based standards of service. With higher efficiency in daily operations, the security industry will be better poised for PWM and enable security officers to gain better employment conditions, better pay and better opportunities to upgrade themselves.”
SkillsFuture for the Security Industry
The Security Tripartite Cluster (STC) is continually assessing and reviewing the PWM for the security industry to ensure its relevance to the industry. The STC will push to make working conditions better, and look at more career options in line with SkillsFuture, to improve productivity and address manpower challenges in sector.
With the five-level PWM already in place, the STC is looking at how best to address the industry’s manpower demands, including possibilities to further redesign security jobs with the focus on equipment, security software and technologies.
The STC is also exploring the implementation of a specialised ‘events track’, where additional ad-hoc security officers can be trained to meet the surge in manpower demand during major events. Focus is also being put on making the security industry a viable career option for more Professionals, Managers and Executives by, for example, introducing tracks which focus on security systems, whether software or hardware. To add on to the tight manpower pool, it is also possible to look at drawing more temporary security officers to help during major events like the recently held SEA (South East Asian) Games.
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