The future for security guard firms lies in adopting online training solutions like Defencify, which offer unparalleled efficiency, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.
Many private security guard firms are founded and managed by people with years of experience in the security industry, law enforcement, or military service. While they may know the ins and outs of security guarding, hiring and scheduling officers, securing sites and protecting people, detecting suspicious activity, and the nuts and bolts of running a business, most didn't realize they also signed up to run a training school.
Are You Running a Security Guard Firm or Training Academy?
Most states require security guards to be licensed. Getting licensed means training. That training must meet state-specific requirements as to length (minimum number of hours of instruction), topics (proper use of force, de-escalation procedures, guard rights, and responsibilities, etc.), and testing (passing grade %) for the candidate to be certified and earn a "Guard Card."
This puts the burden of buying or creating courses on the security guard firm, which then must submit the proposed training materials to the proper authorities for approval (usually the Department of Public Safety or a similar government licensing agency). This must be done in every state where the firm does business so that upon graduation, students will receive a training Certificate of Completion to submit with their license application.
Doing all this in-house might be manageable if the security guard firm has just a few employees who only need to get licensed once for life, stay with the same firm for years, and if training/compliance standards never change.
Unfortunately, that's not reality. High industry turnover rates force firms to constantly hold new hire training classes to keep staffing at or near optimal levels. That means scheduling in-person classes (and waiting until they fill), reserving rooms, providing classroom materials, plus an instructor.
That can get expensive and painfully repetitive. Security guards usually must renew their licenses every one or two years. If laws have changed since their license was last issued, the training has to reflect those updates. Further, the firm must maintain a permanent record of all officer training histories and certificates in the event of a compliance audit or security-related event.
Finally, live in-person training on a fixed schedule over multiple days is inconvenient and often a deterrent to many prospects, stressing the hiring process. And it's not just frontline security officer training and recertification; managers need to attend training on workplace discrimination and harassment and their legal options surrounding those policies.
Recognizing that conducting continuous in-house new hire training and recertification is not their strength (and expensive), security guard firms are looking for alternatives. Many have found remote online training to be a great option.
Perform a Google search for "online security guard training," and you'll find many choices, from off-the-shelf single courses to full-blown learning management systems (LMS). Whichever one you choose, make sure the licensing authorities approve the content in your state, or the course will not count towards the state's mandatory training requirement.
Defencify: Your Best Online Training Option
Defencify is a premier self-paced training platform designed specifically for private unarmed security guard firms. Defencify serves many of the most prominent names in the industry yet is versatile and user-friendly enough to allow even the smallest firms and start-ups to realize the benefits of online training. Here's why Defencify is the best:
- Accessible Convenient. Defencify courses are 100% online, allowing students to access them anywhere, anytime, using any device. Remove the limitations of in-person training, eliminate travel and scheduling conflicts, and reach a wider pool of candidates. Hire today, start today. No waiting for classes to fill up to begin training.
- Compliance Certification.Defencify courses are built by our team of professional instructional designers who are well-versed in adult learning theory and the security industry. They work with state licensing authorities to ensure all courses meet or exceed state-specific requirements and are guaranteed to yield a Certificate of Completion, erasing compliance concerns. Defencify naturally keeps courses current.
- Engaging Interactive. Defencify courses are designed with games, quizzes, exercises, and role-play scenarios to keep students engaged and increase retention. Learners cannot simply launch a module and walk away; interactive responses are required to progress through the training. Defencify boasts a 92% successful course completion rate!
- Efficient Organized. The Defencify platform streamlines administrative processes, scheduling tasks, and provides robust reporting capabilities to ensure guards stay current in their certifications. Defencify not only auto-generates state-compliant training certificates of completion, but also stores them indefinitely in the cloud for easy recall, saving time for managers when they must present proof of compliance training.
- Scalable Consistent. Every student gets an identical learning experience without instructor bias. Train individuals or large teams without compromising quality.
- Private Self-paced. Defencify courses can be taken in the comfort of a student's private environment. Learners progress at their own pace without fear of embarrassment. Play and replay modules as often as necessary to ensure comprehension, and take quizzes as often as needed to attain a passing grade.
- Affordable Cost Effective. Defencify courses start for as little as $49 per course, with bulk seat licensing options that further reduce costs. Moreover, remote self-paced security guard training from Defencify eliminates the costs of developing original courseware and the associated expenses of updates, instructors, room rentals, and equipment to deliver it in-house.
Don't Reinvent the Wheel, Reinvent your Business
Why do all the work of developing an original state-approved curriculum and in-person delivery when the Defencify platform has already done it for you? Defencify unarmed security officer training is guaranteed to produce Guard Cards – and store all certificates in the cloud – so you can focus on running your business, not a training academy.
We're so confident that Defencify can help streamline your security officer training processes that we're offering a free trial of the Defencify platform. Click here to get access to four free Defencify courses at no obligation.
