guardsmark
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Achievements
Guardsmark believes that reliable and effective security begins with a set of common standards and ethical practices. The company has become one of the most recognized names in private security, with 18,000 employees in 150 offices, serving clients in more than 400 cities throughout North America. Its reputation for sustained excellence stems from the company’s ability to provide professional, well-trained security officers who abide by strict ethical guidelines and perform a wide range of services. Strong client relationships, some of which have lasted for decades, have turned Guardsmark into a half-billion-dollar company, with consistent double-digit annual revenue increases that are driven wholly by organic growth, not acquisitions or mergers.
Guardsmark sustains one of the lowest incident levels of any security organization, including the police and the FBI, by bringing a seriousness of purpose to management’s approach to security. The company’s rigorous selection and screening process, including extensive background checks and ongoing drug testing, isn’t simply the toughest in private security; the employment standards of Guardsmark exceed many police and government organizations. Only one in 50 candidates is chosen, and Guardsmark has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the industry — less than 25 percent of estimated industry averages. Security officers at Guardsmark develop careers at the firm, not transitional jobs.
A renewed focus on corporate ethics has prompted positive changes within the business community — embodied by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was enacted to improve corporate governance and accountability. This trend has the support of Guardsmark, which has demonstrated a dedication to ethics since its founding and has maintained a formal ethics code for more than 25 years. The company’s detailed Code of Ethics helps to ensure that team members adhere to principled business conduct and an unparalleled commitment to offering the best security, regardless of profit motivation. That’s why Guardsmark withdrew from airport security in 1988, believing that the airlines were not committed to supporting airline security. As a result of this dedication to ethics, Guardsmark received the American Business Ethics Award and the 2002 Corporate Citizenship Award from the Committee for Economic Development. The Guardsmark ethics program has also been featured in several books, including Ethics Matters and Eighty Exemplary Ethics Statements.
Guardsmark is the only security services firm to receive ISO 9001: 2000 registration at one of its U.S. headquarters and at branch offices representing every region of the company. This mark of quality assurance recognizes select firms that adhere to a top-quality control system with a detailed and effective workflow. In his bestseller Liberation Management, management expert Tom Peters praised Guardsmark as the “Tiffany’s of the security business,” and in his recent book Re-imagine! Peters cited Guardsmark as an exemplary professional service firm. The New York Times editorially praised Guardsmark in 1982, and Time magazine described Guardsmark in 1992 as “the best national firm in the business.” |
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