EMPLOYEE PROCESS CENTRE

The success of a security company lies largely in its human capital; the guard force.

The majority of security companies within South Africa draw guards from the same labour pool. This is resultant of contracts being lost and guards being released from employment. Unfortunately, there is no one data base that can be accessed that will provide an accurate work history within South Africa. Often, guards will not or cannot provide references; therefore to employ a guard and not to put him or her through a stringent vetting process is flirting with danger. Critical to our success is the quality of the guard we deploy. It is to this end that Exigent Security Group created its own internal ‘Employee Processing Centre’. The centre is situated at our head office in Sandton and is managed by our Recruitment and Training Manager. Prior to recruitment, candidates undergo a rigorous vetting process thus ensuring that they meet with our stringent requirements.

Pre employment Screening - Phase 1 – Verification of information

Candidates must produce certain information if they are to be considered for employment.

Information required:

  • Valid membership certificate issued by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (P.S.I.R.A)
  • Valid South African Identity Document
  • Valid Driver License
  • If not South African; A valid Work Permit
  • Resume with work history and references

The Training and Recruitment Officer then contacts all the relevant bodies such as P.S.I.R.A and Department of Home Affairs to validate the information that has been provided. The SAPS are also contacted to verify that the candidate does not have a criminal record and is currently not under investigation.

Questions asked are:

  • Does he or she possess a criminal record
  • Is the Identification Document valid
  • If not South African, Is the work permit and or Permanent residence valid
  • Has the recruit been dismissed by a previous employer
  • Is the employee being sought by creditors for outstanding debt? This can lead to collusion with thieves and result in a guard assisting to steal what he or she is employed to protect

Pre employment Screening - Phase 2 – Pre employment exam

If the candidate successfully passes phase 1, they are then placed in a class room situation where they are asked to complete a questionnaire and a test. The purpose behind this is to ascertain:

  • Proficiency in reading and writing
  • Numeric skills of addition and subtraction
  • Analytical ability
  • Problem solving

Following on from the test the guard is then interviewed on a one on one basis to determine oral skills. Exigent Security Group protection officers interact with the general public on a daily basis therefore it is critical that they communicate effectively.

Pre employment Screening - Phase 3 – Logistics

During this phase the employee’s physical measurements are taken. This is required so that we can correctly uniform the individual. We also measure the height and weight of the individual which is then entered into our data base. Should we receive a request for large guards, the information is at hand and can be easily extracted.

Employee Process Centre Data Base – Phase 4 - Database allocation

A Recruitment file is then opened per successful candidate and all details are entered into our recruitment data base. The data base divides and categorizes the candidates into different grading according to their abilities. When we require a protection officer for a Five Star Hotel or a receptionist for a commercial property; we enter the requirement into the data base which then lists all suitable candidates available.

Employment – Phase 5 - Employment offer

When a position becomes available, we source suitable candidates from our data base who are then contacted and requested to come to our head office. They are then subjected to further testing and training which consists of:

  • Integrity testing: The test is conducted by a professional polygraph company and is used to determine the employee’s general honesty.
  • They are given a refresher training course relevant to their grade in our registered, accredited Training Academy. They write a test at the end of the refresher course and are expected to achieve a minimum pass rate of 75%.
  • They are trained in our ‘Code of conduct’ which lays out the behaviour expected of an employee of Exigent Security Group
  • They are given copies and full explanations of our Disciplinary Code and Grievance procedures.
  • Specific training is provided re the specific task requirement of the site that they are to be deployed at.
  • Practical Role plays are conducted where applicable, to ensure that staff search procedures are correctly conducted.
  • Those that pass this last phase, are then issued with contracts and employed.