Day to Day goes in-depth with the people at the core of our service during a typical day in their working life.
In this edition, we get an insight from Chief Executive Officer Earl Knight into the details of his wide-ranging responsibilities and his thoughts on the indispensable role of people in our ongoing prosperity.
The CEO label is recognisable throughout industry. Yet its meaning, beyond responsibility for the entirety of a business, can vary greatly from organisation to organisation. Earl sheds some light on what it means in the context of a growing security company. “I’m ultimately in place to evolve and develop our service offering whilst delivering a first class experience for all of our stakeholders. That means developing our brand, too – one of my main aims is to make sure everybody recognises Consortio Security as a service leader in professional security solutions. Therefore, it is fundamental to my role to be confident in my understanding of the industry, giving us the opportunity to innovate, and to listen equally to all voices in the company so that we are always working in collaboration with one another.”
When it comes to the day to day, however, Earl’s role can be expertise-driven and technical at times. “Reviewing analytical information from throughout the business helps me to stay on top of our current trends. If I’m ahead of the curve, I can adjust support levels within the company to meet the needs of all of our different teams.”
“I also lead all of our audits, completed by external auditing bodies, which generally happen in Q3 each year. Although I do continually review our processes and procedures, each October this work comes into fruition as we get a different perspective that can show potential gaps in our process and potential best practices for us to adopt.”
These responsibilities may sound complex and focussed on the internal operation of the company, and they are, but that doesn’t restrict Earl’s activity to admin work in our Head Office. “When it comes to clients, I aim to be approachable to all, despite being high up in the business. My knowledge of the security industry and our collective ability to develop our service offering combine to allow the company to constantly evolve, never sticking to old habits and always listening to our clients’ desires.”
There has been some discussion of the role of technology in this column. While it is certainly the centre of the Consortio Security vision for the future, Earl believes the value of people cannot be lost in recent times. “Technology was at the forefront of every conversation pre-pandemic. But what 2021-22 showed was that there continues to be a real need for a physical presence, as technology is only as good as the people operating, installing and maintaining it. We want to develop the two in harmony so that the quality of our technology always mirrors the quality of our people.”
Similarly, Earl believes there is no silver bullet for the success we enjoy at Consortio Security, rather it comes as a result of many people’s continuing efforts within the business. “We want to keep delivering on what we have been for the last five years. It is pivotal that our Head Office function supports everybody and has consideration for the work of our incredible field-based teams. Without our officers getting up, travelling to work in all weathers and then carrying out their roles protecting people, property, assets and brands, we wouldn’t exist!”
“Our people are the most valuable piece of our business, so supporting them, developing them and treating them fairly remains the best way for us to thrive long into the future!”