Ten questions to ask before you hire security
The questions that separate a serious security provider from a risky one, and what a good answer sounds like.
Most people hire security once or twice in their life, so they do not know what to ask. These ten questions take one phone call. The answers, and how easily they come, tell you most of what you need to know.
About the provider
- Can I see your operating license and the work license of the guard you will send? A good answer is a document, not a reassurance. See how to check a security license.
- Do you carry liability insurance, and what does it cover? Ask what happens if something is damaged or someone is hurt while the guard is on duty, and ask to see the policy rather than hear about it.
- Have you done this kind of job before? Guarding a construction site at night, working the door at an event and accompanying a person are different trades. Ask for an example close to yours.
About the people
- Who exactly will come, and will it be the same person each time? You are trusting an individual with your property or your safety. Ask for the name in advance.
- Are the guards your own employees or subcontracted? Neither answer is wrong, but you should know who is responsible for the person standing at your door.
- What happens if the guard is ill or does not show up? A good provider has a replacement and a phone number that is answered at night.
About the work
- What will the guard do, and what will they not do? Patrol rounds, checking visitors, locking up, calling the police, writing a report. Agree the tasks in writing, including what the guard is not allowed to do.
- How will I know what happened during the shift? Ask whether you get a written report, and how quickly you are told about an incident.
About the money
- What is included in the price? Hours, nights, weekends and holidays, travel, equipment, a minimum number of hours. Ask for the total for your actual dates, in writing, with VAT shown.
- Will there be a written contract and an invoice? A contract names both parties, the dates, the tasks and how either side can end it. If the answer is "we do not usually do paperwork", you have your answer.
How to compare the answers
Ask the same ten questions to at least three providers. The cheapest offer is often the one that answered fewest of them. On Security Solved you can describe the job once and let several professionals answer, then put these questions to the ones you like.
Security Solved does not check the answers for you. It does not verify licenses, identities or backgrounds; it only makes the introduction.