Responsible Tendering
Derived from industry experts, these indicators reflect an ecosystem of factors that shape service quality — we then conducted in-depth analysis to learn whether or not pubic authorities consider them when awarding guarding contracts.
How dominant is price in procurement decisions for guarding services? What procurement processes have a positive correlation to a multi-criteria approach to contract awards? Which correlate with a low-bid approach?
The report pulls back the curtain on key aspects of the public procurement market, including the frequency of framework agreements, tender-to-award timeframes, supplier profiles, procedure type, contract value, and level of competition.
Focus Group insights on tender procedures that influence fairness, competition, and long‑term contract success — and a reality check on how often a model process is actually followed.
This issue of GSB Pulse, an interim supplement to the flagship Global Security Barometer (GSB), shares initial analysis from the Ligue’s global, long-term study of public procurement of security services, with the first results coming from Europe. The data project endeavors to provide useful context and facts for the many stakeholders involved worldwide and intends to inform efforts to improve procurement outcomes globally.
By just about any measure, the contract security industry has improved in recent decades. Private security officers tend to be more professional and better trained. Security firms typically possess greater expertise. Relationships between clients and providers more often resemble the “partnership” that is a precursor to security excellence. Still, price is sometimes allowed to hijack the tendering process, with troublesome—and sometimes tragic—results. Building trust through reliability, transparency, data, and facts is at the heart of our mission. We strive to consistently deliver exceptional quality and value to all stakeholders.
From available data, it is evident that most organizations relying on contract security officers—both private and governmental—are pleased with the direction in quality. Research shows that a majority sees improvement in the approach of contract security firms to entice clients on quality and service; to sell expertise, and not simply rent out bodies.
But improvement in the contract security industry does not diminish the need for clients to be deliberate in selecting a security firm. The contract security marketplace is not homogeneous. The level of excellence that some firms offer has risen substantially, but it is not assured—and substandard providers persist.
Global regulation of the contract security industry remains weak, with requirements often set too low to guarantee the satisfactory performance of private security personnel. Fly-by-night contract security firms may be increasingly rare, but they have not disappeared. If anything, careful selection and close monitoring has become more important as performance has improved: (a) because it has exacerbated differences in level of service one can receive; and (b) so that end-users can take full advantage of the gains that the industry has made.
Because the contract security industry has improved, the stakes are higher when selecting a private security guard partner. If problems arise, one can no longer say, “it happens to everybody.” It is no longer possible to blame the security industry as a whole when a contract goes poorly, because excellent providers are available. Instead, a failed contract will suggest a flawed tending process.
Public agencies need to employ a comprehensive approach to tender evaluation that puts focus on quality, experience, and expertise — not price.
The International Security Ligue offers resources that, together, act as a roadmap for organizations as they evolve to rely on private security partners, helping to:
Questions for procurement committees to review when selecting a provider of private security officers
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A major health care group found strategies mitigate the disruption of switching from their proprietary guard force to a contract guard force.
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