Officer Training Equals Quality at Affinia Hospitality

Sep 1, 2003 12:00 PM, William McShane

Success in the hospitality industry is often measured by quality of service. At least that's the driving philosophy behind New York-based Affinia Hospitality's hotel properties, and security officer training is integral to the philosophy. With more than 2,000 rooms and nine locations, the all-suite hotel group offers access to popular neighborhoods for business and leisure travelers.

Affinia relies on its employees and staff to create an experience of ease and comfort for its guests, while also maintaining security and safety. To this end, Affinia's security/fire safety department is committed to education of the staff.

The security/fire safety department is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring Affinia Hospitality's security, life safety and loss prevention programs. Goals are to provide effective security service and fire safety advice to internal customers and to reduce losses caused by internal and external sources.

The scope of legal duty and responsibility to protect guests, visitors and contractors has grown in recent years, and there is an increased expectation on the part of the public of improved security and safety.

Affinia's professional development program for security officers is designed to foster a greater sense of commitment and loyalty among security staff through a broad-based training curriculum that stresses professional enrichment as well as instruction specific to the hospitality industry. The Training and Professional Enrichment Program recognizes that the professional competence of the individual security officer encompasses many skill-sets that require continual refresher training to keep pace with the company's growth and repositioning.

The Affinia Hospitality Security Training Center addresses both the mandated requirements of the New York State Security Guard Act of 1992 and the proprietary standards of Affinia Hospitality. The center covers four areas of training: basic pre-assignment training, orientation, monthly training and annual in-service training.

The security officer's responsibility in a hospitality setting is to maintain order, to assist in guest service and to provide a safe environment for guests, visitors and employees. Given the complex and varied obligations, proper training is necessary to enable security officers to perform their duties. Enforcement of rules and regulations is complex and requires a delicate balance between civil rights and the maintenance of good order. Employees cannot learn the job through trial and error. Training and supervision of security officers is the cornerstone of a comprehensive security program. Aside from a security department's effect on the hotel's profit-and-loss statement and insurance costs, the individual security officer's performance has an impact on the property's reputation and character. It is a matter of not only what the security officer does, but how well he does it.

Pre-Assignment Training

The pre-assignment training program includes all the practices, procedures and information generally accepted within the industry as appropriate for hotel security operations. The required topics include instruction about the role of the security officer, legal powers and limitations, emergency situations, communications and public relations, access control, ethics and conduct, report writing and multi-cultural diversity. Security officers require a thorough working knowledge of the criminal statutes that apply to violations that occur most often in a hotel environment (burglary, robbery, criminal trespass, larceny, theft of services, fraudulent use of credit cards, disorderly conduct, etc.) Lack of appropriate training in legal powers and limitations may cause mistakes involving false arrest/imprisonment, defamation, battery and assault that will inevitably result in costly litigation and judgments.

Orientation

Although pre-assignment training prepares a security officer to perform his or her duties, it does not train the individual to perform in a particular hotel. Therefore, every newly assigned security officer gets orientation training, a prescribed and comprehensive introduction to the property. The orientation covers three key areas:

• a tour of the property including buildings, grounds and surrounding areas;

• an introduction to the people and equipment he or she will be working with; and

• a thorough briefing on administrative procedures including forms, files and records.

Monthly Security Training

The monthly security officers' meetings are primarily educational, but they also act as a vehicle to keep the security officers and the hotel management informed of each other's concerns in protecting the human and physical assets of the hotel properties. This training, including certification of all officers by the American Red Cross in CPR and first responders first aid, has contributed materially to the protection of Affinia's guests, employees and company assets, and is credibly reflected in guest opinion surveys.

In-Service Training

Security officers learn a lot through basic training, orientation and on-the-job experience. However, training of these officers is never complete. They must be kept abreast of changing laws and ordinances as well as recent court decisions that affect job performance. They need to have new procedures thoroughly explained to them so that they can understand the rationale, as well as the mechanics. Officers need periodic reviews to ensure a continuing clear understanding of the fundamentals of the job. And they need frequent critiques about incidents at the hotel because everyone should benefit from the experience of each officer. In-service training must be programmed to accommodate these needs.

Special Areas of Concentration

Verbal skills

Security officers need to know how to speak diplomatically. A security officer must learn to read other people's body language and then to respond verbally in a way that addresses those signals. For example, a guest's non-verbal communication may suggest haste, mild panic and even frustration. The security officer can address these signals and mitigate the underlying strong emotions.

Report writing

Written reports are the very lifeblood of security work. They provide a permanent record of each security incident by recording relevant information for future reference. If an incident results in litigation, going to trial may take years. During that time, details may fade from the memories of witnesses, while other witnesses may no longer be available to testify. Even some relationships between the hotel and key witnesses may turn from friendly to hostile in the interim. The written report will remain the same, providing complete, accurate and detailed information of the incident.

Reports act as silent messengers and are often a central piece of evidence in litigation arising from an incident. A report is the finished product of an investigation and the final measure by which the handling of the incident will be officially judged. Good report writing is not a natural ability, it is an acquired skill — one which can be mastered quickly and easily by following basic principles. A well-written report documents and analyzes each incident and allows a third party — who was not present at the incident — to draw valid conclusions based on the clarity and accuracy of the report.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William McShane, CPP, is director of corporate security for Affinia Hospitality, New York. He administers and directs the activities of the security and fire safety force for 10 hotels, corporate offices and other commercial holdings of the company. He is recognized by the American Hotel and Lodging Association as a Certified Lodging Security Director (CLSD). E-mail him at bmcshane@affinia.com.

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Every month, we are offering information about managing guard services and leading in-house staff. Among other things, this page will offer an opportunity for readers to share the management lessons they have learned and to provide other helpful information to their peers in the industry. To offer suggestions, or to contribute to this page, contact Jennifer Pero at (770) 618-0135 or e-mail jpero@primediabusiness.com

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