Annual Report 2008 - Securitas

20 Presentation of our business
Security Services North America
Securitas Annual Report 2008
The Largest Footprint
in North America
Organization
Security Services North America provides specialized
guarding services in the USA, Canada and Mexico
and consists of 17 business units: one organization
for national and global accounts, 10 geographical
regions and three specialty customer segments
(Automotive, Government Services and Energy)
in the USA, plus Canada, Mexico and Pinkerton
Consulting & Investigations (C&I). In total, there
are 97 geographical areas, over 600 branch offices
and more than 100,000 employees.
Strategy and objectives
The overall, long­term financial objective for Security
Services North America is to grow in line with the
market for private security while improving yearon­year
profitability. To develop the business further,
Securitas is committed to continuing working with
each client to develop the optimal security solution.
Analyzing their security needs and understanding
what the client is really looking for will give us the
necessary foundation to build our so-called service
wheel, a tool that helps us focus on our people,
procedures, tools, training and feedback. This work
for each individual client is the base of our strategy.
We will strive to maintain our strong leadership,
raise industry standards, increase the level of specialization,
introduce value-added services and
solutions, and continue to maintain a high client
retention rate.
Market and competition
The U.S. market for contracted or outsourced security
has been relatively stable over the past three years
and currently stands at 55 percent. In Canada and
Mexico, most of the market is outsourced – almost
80 percent in Canada and nearly 90 percent in
Mexico. The Securitas market share remains stable
at 18 percent in the USA and 12 percent in Canada.
The main competitors in the USA are Allied Barton
and G4S through Wackenhut Corp. In the U.S.
security market, there are seven major players that
have a combined market share of 56 percent. The
rest of the U.S. security market is very fragmented.
In Canada, the market is more consolidated with
the top four companies holding 70 percent of the
market. The Mexican security market is very fragmented.
Service offering and customers
In North America, Securitas has the largest footprint.
Through our organization, we have the ability
to provide a wide range of services, from more
standardized guarding to highly specialized services.
The service offering ranges from security consulting,
mobile patrols, specialized guarding, receptionist
services, console operations, alarm response and
event security to complete security solutions. The
customer base represents many industries and
sectors, including banking and finance, manufacturing,
education, high-tech, health care, residential
areas, utilities, entertainment and retail. In addition,
the National Accounts team has a high level of specialization
in such customer segments as high-tech,
telecom and banking.
Securitas’ wholly owned subsidiary Pinkerton
Consulting & Investigations provides security consulting
and such investigative services as fraud
investigations, due diligence, computer forensics,
and intellectual property and brand protection services.
It operates from 32 branch offices throughout
the world, serving customers in the pharmaceutical,
electronics, consumer goods and financial
sectors among others. Multi-country contracts play
a significant role in the process of increasing longterm
and regular business, and C&I is therefore
seeking an even larger international presence.
Our employees
Our security officers and branch managers are the
cornerstones of our operations. To improve the
efficiency of our hiring process for security officers,
we have initiated an automated hiring process that
helps to ensure quality hires through customized
assessment and to guarantee compliance using
appropriate screenings before a person can be hired.
This was rolled out in the USA in 2007 and in
Canada in 2008, and while it cannot be completely
attributable to our automated hiring process, we
have seen our employee turnover drop and retention
rate improve. In 2009, we will introduce an updated
version of our online training academy to provide
continuous training for our officers. Learning plans
are developed based on client needs and expectations.
In 2004, we introduced the Branch Manager
Training Program in the USA tailored towards client
service, human resources and the financial aspects
of our business. The primary purpose of this training