In-house vs outsourced security services

A key element of crime prevention for businesses is having a good security option to prevent, or reduce, the possibility of damage to equipment or the premises and loss of assets. However, a debate all have to consider is whether to employ their own in-house security or to hire outsourced services. There are many good commercial security companies out there like Oakwood Security which offers Staffordshire event security for your business or organisation near Staffordshire.

Pros of in-house security

• More consistent – by opting for in-house security, you get consistent employees that are familiar with the company as well as its other employees and visitors, which may not always be the case with outsourcing.

Cons of in-house security

• Legal liability – Wages, taxes and fringe benefits have been rising along with the risk of liability. Some areas of risk you have to take into account are workers compensation, discrimination, and sexual harassment as lawsuits are expense. This is why many businesses choose to go with outsourced security options to protect themselves.
• Cost – as having in-house security means you are solely responsible for their maintenance and wages, it is important to make sure the company is able to properly accommodate for this expenditure. If not it will greatly impact on the standard of security and the happiness of employees.

Pros of outsourced security

• Convenience and time efficiency – An advantage that outsourcing has over in-house is the convenience it provides, saving you time as the outsourced security service has already done the job of finding security workers and have a stock of equipment ready to use and know how. 
• Cost Savings – due to security companies having multiple clients at once it means that they also have multiple forms of income. So they can lower the expense for their clients in comparison to how much it would cost for an in-house security system.
• Higher guarantee of quality service and workers – as it is their job and business, outsourced security options are more likely to hold greater knowledge around the skills and training needed for their security employees, the best equipment available and how to operate.
• Flexibility and Scalability – as your business grows it is likely to need the security element of it to grow too. Having an outsourced company means this process should happen more smoothly and with less hassle.

Cons of outsourced security

• Variety of quality – as with in-house security, there still comes a probability of the outsourced security service not having consistent levels of quality.
• Less control – with outsourcing, you put most of the control of the running of security in the hands of the company you hire. This could mean that you do not have as much control around the variety of equipment accessible to use, over the choice of security employees or how the day-to-day activities of the security operate. Although rising competition between security companies has meant that there is more that companies are willing to offer to attract and keep clients. 

Conclusion

Overall, there is no universal right answer to this debate. In the end, it comes down to what suits your business. If you put more value on having control over the security workers and equipment, as well as having the needed the time and can factor in the cost of it, an in-house security service is probably your best option. However, if this is not the case, instead you need a more time and cost convenient option, with the possibility of less control, then outsourced security is likely the best fit for your business.