One of G4S’s customers is a large multinational financial services corporation. This customer has locations all around the globe, where it facilitates electronic fund transactions. When it comes to corporations in the finance industry, security is of the utmost importance.

The customer was having some security challenges in its China-based data centres. More specifically, the customer’s challenge was that it didn’t have any security in place at these China locations. This presented a huge risk for this large financial corporation that executes high-volume financial transactions and has access to highly confidential customer information. The COVID-19 situation made it particularly difficult for the customer to monitor the security of its data centres in China. This challenge brought about the realisation that on-site security staff was a pressing need. The customer required a full rollout of security on its premises. As there was no existing security in place, G4S was challenged to implement a completely new security programme from the ground up.

THE GOALS

The primary goal was to implement a suitable security programme to protect the customer’s assets at its China locations. With no on-site security in place at the time, G4S was tasked with rolling out a security plan quickly to eliminate the zero-security situation in a short timeframe. The customer also provided a very specific budget, and this was a significant concern. To meet the customer’s needs, G4S had a goal to institute a cost-effective and high-quality security programme. This would require some negotiation and flexibility to settle on a solution that both parties were to be happy with.

THE SOLUTION

Prior to engagement, G4S performed a thorough onsite investigation to identify potential safety risks and reported them to the customer in a timely manner. Weekly conference calls were also conducted to improve existing operations and ensure that the rollout of the security programme went off without a hitch. It was decided that both customer locations in China could be secured through security guarding services. Qualified, English-speaking security personnel were assigned to the customer’s sites. G4S provided thorough and consistent personnel training along the way to ensure the level of security was up to both G4S and the customer’s standards. 

THE RESULTS

G4S began rolling out its security plan in the first China location in March 2021, and it finished in time to move on to the second China location by May of the same year. The security guarding solution G4S put in place was highly successful. There have been no security failures since the G4S service began. All site incidents have been quickly reported to the customer, with follow-up by both the on-site team and the G4S management team. This timely communication is an important component in order to keep the security programme running smoothly. One of the most important aspects of the G4S process was the careful candidate selection and the rigorous training provided to the appointed security personnel. The customer was very happy with how thorough the candidate vetting and training processes were, which led to highly qualified security staff.

In addition, dedicated management reviews are held with the customer on a weekly basis for service monitoring and follow-up actions. This has kept the customer satisfied that its security team is working effectively, and if any issues arise, they can be addressed efficiently. G4S’s ability to be flexible and fit within the budget has also put the customer at ease. Negotiations on pricing were ongoing until both G4S and the customer were able to enter into the partnership on terms that both found satisfactory.