Managing or leading a large company is no easy task but not an impossible one. Managing a security company is about having your staff help other staff when it comes to securing their business activities and interests. It is very much about coordination when it comes to having your personnel in the right place at the right time. We are not alone in this task as a CEO because there are examples of others that we can follow to know if we are doing things right. For example, highly rated CEO’s such as Robin St Martin of Iron Horse Security provide real examples for us to aspire to when carrying out our role as CEO.
So, we shall consider just how we can become that successful CEO of a security company, such as the one in Canada that Robin St Martin oversees so well.
Visiting Staff at Lower Levels
As a CEO, you will need to know how to handle staff from different sections of the company, from sales to marketing to finance. Although, this will not normally include the lower levels of the company. Sadly, many CEOs will never get to see much of what they are coordinating. At the board level, each section will have its representative who is acting for all those below them. They are fighting the corner of all the staff they manage below them, so to speak. This means that you will only know what you are told, although figures will, to some extent, speak for themselves. This thought brings to mind a television programme entitled Undercover Boss, where a CEO would go undercover and become a worker at a lower level to see just what is happening with the business. This, in many cases, could explain better what might be causing a fall in profits than excuses made at the board level. So, the advice here is to visit parts of the business at ground level to see what is happening. For a more accurate reflection, you can consider an unannounced visit.
Teamwork
A CEO will generally get involved with large contracts. In these incidences, it is important to know what everyone is going to say beforehand, so that everyone is on the same page. Contradictions between those that know the operations inside out and those that do not can be bad for business. It is teamwork that any company doing business will want to see as this is indicative of the kind of teamwork that can be expected at lower levels. Security firms, for instance, will have teams of security officers working together to protect everyone at an event. When protecting a workplace, they will need to have coordination between different areas of a large building. The information gained by those entering a workplace will be invaluable for those further down the footpath or up the lift, for example. Security work is all about passing on the relevant information just as leadership is. So, consider teamwork to be important in your role as CEO.
Allocate Budget to Finding Out Your Competition and Working Out Your USP
As with any business, everyone should be aware of who their competitors are. It is those organisations that are going to take away business from your company that will affect profitability. For this reason, it is worth spending time, which involves staff costs, finding out who the competitors are, where they operate from, and who they have contracts with. If they operate locally to where you operate, then they are an immediate threat to business. If they are dealing with the kinds of contracts that you specialize in, then that is a worry, too. There is such a thing as a crowded marketplace. That being said, the next thing to do is to make your business in some way different from the others. To look for a unique selling point. Then, through leadership, inform all areas of your business just what your USP is. You will need a consistent marketing campaign to get that point across. This is reflective of how to manage a security company or any other business. The coordination that is part of your business should include coordinating your company message to all levels of your company.
To conclude, to manage a security company effectively you need to know how to manage staff at the board level and be prepared to dig deeper, to be prepared to work as a team to secure larger contracts, and to work on what makes your company different from all the other security companies.