I was a Shift Supervisor for this company through-out 2019.
Rather giving an over-all review, let me share things that you'll experience assuming your employment at this company, along with first-hand examples;
1. Company Politics 1:
Company politics play a MAJOR role with your standing within the company, and advancement. Far greater here than any other company I've worked for. If a higher ranking officer doesn't like you, it won't be hard for them to write you up for the smallest, mindless things that are not even job related, such as a very small stain on your shirt, or your shirt not being ironed "enough to their liking". However company politics works within the benefit of others as well such as over-looking major policies being broken to save people they like.
2. You will get fired if they don't like you:
If a higher-up wants you gone for not liking you, they will make it happen. The way this company fires people is not by one's actions. They will set you up in situations where you cannot avoid being written up. They will schedule you to stay at a certain post, then when you stay at said post through-out your shift, the next day they will call you before coming in asking why you "felt like you didn't have to do anything", and proceed to terminate you. (Unfortunately I was the victim in this one).
3. Managerial Corruption:
It was admitted by my Assistant Director, that an officer they wanted to fire but had no justifiable reason to, was given a major (multip
NOTE: This review is based on experience at a single site, and is only an opinion related to my experience at this particular site. This does not speak for the whole company, as I have not experienced any other sites.
I first came into this position looking to make a difference. However, I quickly learned that trying to be anything but a scapegoat here was next to impossible. Most people here keep their heads down and try to stay out of the way as they do their jobs. It was not what I expected.
A typical day at work for me starts at 10:30pm. I get in and immediately set about cleaning up everything the previous shift hasn't done, such as securing equipment properly, and making sure all doors are locked and cameras are on run patterns. From there, I monitor cameras, making sure nothing that violates the client's policy is happening. I make routine and random patrols, both inside and outside the building I'm assigned to. There are supposed to be two security officers here at night, yet I was solo for three days a week for two months in a row, and I've been solo five days a week for an entire month. Added to this is that neither the company nor the client provide any kind of protective gear.
This job has consisted of constantly identifying things that were breaking down or not working and having them ignored when they are brought up. The supervisors who have been here since the conversion from in-house security to AlliedBarton are obviously fatigued due to the politics
AlliedBarton Security Services... Sadly, this may be the best contract security company around.
A typical day at work? Routine patrols, if you don't mind walking for 8 hours a day this is a great but for almost every guard I have ever met they find a "secret area" to relax, nap or watch videos on their phone/tablet because they have realized that whether they work really hard or barely work at all they will make the same amount of money and wont get more no matter how well they preform. Since I have become a manager I no longer tolerate this at my site but as a guard you will witness this on a daily basis.
What have I learned? The only thing I have learned from working here is that contract security stinks. The officers stink, because they realize they can do nothing all day and get away with it. The higher management is terrible and no one cares about anything other than their own behind. We are here so that the company that is contracting us can save money on insurance. I sincerely wish more companies would care because I love security and I do enjoy my job but contracting any company to run your security is a bad idea. Do it yourself! Spend some extra money and get WAY more out of it!
Management? Could it get any worse? Site supervisors and Account managers are usually pretty good people who do try hard and do care about the people who work for them. They are constantly being berated and belittled by upper management though. The higher ups are full of back stabbers, pencil pushers, brown noses and generally bad people. The higher ups make working worse for
ProsIt's a paycheck right? But for the liability you have the small pay isn't worth it.
The experience you get with this job is very dependent upon the site and site supervisor. Allied has good and bad supervisors and highly sought after sites as well as those no one wants. I love the site I'm currently at and my manager is one of the best I've had in 20 years. He makes me feel like my hard work is appreciated and that my life matters. That being said, this is mostly because he's a great manager, not because this is the norm.
Local recruiting office is something of a different story. I'd say I was made to feel less important as a current successful employee than potential new hires. It takes forever for things to get done. It took nearly a month for me to be hired and start and my uniforms STILL have not arrived (VERY common occurrence). Communication is lacking but unless there are issues the low level guard really doesn't have to deal much with that office.
I enjoy the team I'm currently on, but Allied is known to hire anyone who can pass a background check and drug test. Unfortunately, just because you can meet those two requirements doesn't make you a good employee. Problem staff abound and they root in worse than ticks. The company seems very unwilling to fire, but will transfer to less desirable sites.
Training is poor. I’ve been a trainer in a number of jobs and have developed training plans in the past. The hiring training consists of the security licensing class and an orientation (mostly paperwork and policy info). Onsite training be
ProsEasy job
ConsInconsistency, bad benefits, and poor training
First, understand that when I rated management with 5 stars, that was with 1st tier, immediate office management. In my opinion, those two do an immaculate job, given what they have to work with, given the expectations. They are a two woman team (with "boots on ground") experience, running a 3 person (minimum) operation, in a grossly inadequate space. They are understaffed, ill equipped, and that's just fine with upper (corporate) management.
A typical day at work can genuinely summed up as mundane, but anyone with genuine security experience will tell you that that is the "nature of the beast." We are there for the exception to that status-quo.
I can only speak to the environment I was working. Beyond L&I, expect NO recourse. You or a customer must be literally attacked before you can directly intervene. Mind you, you WILL NOT carry a side-arm regardless of your qualifications or experience. That includes stun guns, pepper spray, batons, tasers, cuffs or even a timely response from P.D. (location withheld) via "crime check." As much to the client as well as company, the "civil rights" of the mental, addicted, dis-enfranchised DOES INDEED MEAN MORE than the civil rights of the retail store (Name withheld), the clients goods, their customers, the employees of that store, their vehicles that brought them there, etc. All that responsibility / consideration for $13 an hour. Does you very little good when you get shanked by a methed out pan-handler that you dared ask "What
SecurAmerica hired me on the spot, as they do almost anyone who walks in their doors. There is almost no interview involved. This undoubtedly leads to reckless hiring and, inevitably, firing. Except for the fact that officers are rarely fired; if they become problematic they will just be transferred site to site, ad nauseam, until the officer quits or settles into some obscure post with no co-workers. lt doesn't take long to see that their strategy is: hire as many as possible, because half of them won't last anyway.
l was originally hired to work at the Disney College Program housing complexes in Orlando, FL, which l did faithfully and proficiently for almost 2 years. Then one day l was unceremoniously removed, for no official reason, without discussion. Management plotted my removal clandestinely for what could only personal reasons, and ever since September 2016 l have been banished to the lower pits of downtown Orlando. l went from a comfortable, visually pleasing post with co-workers l enjoyed to a gritty, dangerous, hostile environment in the various parking garages in the Orange Avenue area.
At my various posts, l and other officers deal with unacceptable conditions:
-old and broken equipment
-worn-out uniforms issued as new
-no secure parking arrangements
-conflicting handbooks/official post rules
-convoluted or disputed authority structures
-major lack of communication with management
-infighting
-favoritism
-nepotism
-outright incompetency
...and
ProsWalk-ins welcome, no requirements, easy employment
I have worked for Allied for about 3 years now. The contract was in hospital healthcare. It was fun the first year as a regular officer because everything was new to me including the facility. After about a year I moved up to Supervisor (Sgt) and that is when I actually see how corrupted the company was.
The Wages:
The pay as a regular officer where I worked started you off at $12.50 and capped at $13.25 unless you were promoted. In this case, if you were to be promoted, the first step is a Corporal. That pay is about $14.25 ish and caps right there. Sergeants is the next rank which starts at about $16.50 or so and caps at that.
The Benefits:
These were flat out embarrassing. Every single healthcare plan is too expensive and would be difficult to live off of with just this job. The only cool thing was the perkspot mall page where it offered discounts on selected places like Travel, Hotels, Memberships, Shopping, etc which still was limited.
You earn one week of PTO after your first year, two after two years and it caps at that. However, recently I learned that I had a week worth of PTO and it got reset to 0 at the end of the year. As soon as the new year began, I had to start all over. They didn't even give me my two weeks like I deserved. I asked my account manager about it and he wouldn't/couldn't give me an answer as to why, so they are a use it or lose it company which ticked me off.
Work Environment:
This all depends where your contracted is associ
Compared to the four other security companies working within this immediate area, Allied pays the least amount.
Looking for benefits? Forget it, as it is a struggle. First they tell you you have to be full time (keep in mind full time for Allied is 35 hours... federally, its 32); if you are full time, then they say you have to wait a year; THEN they tell you that you need to have a certain number of Allied Barton personnel working within that area. Being friends with many of the guards from the other companies, I can tell you that Allied is the only one that does not readily provide benefits (ie, insurance).
Want vacation? Tell your family to wait. We've had people file for vacation days eight months in advance, only to have Allied tell them to cancel the week prior due to the fact they cannot maintain a working staff. If you're part time (anything under 35 hours a week, mind you), you do not get vacation days.
How about maintaining hours? If you're full time, you're full time. If you're part-time, and you start getting 35+ hours a week, even if those weekly hours were at that point for over a year, Allied still considers you part-time; they will still deny you vacation days and benefits. If and when you drop below 35 hours and then file for partial unemployment, Allied Barton tells that agency you were only hired on as part time, and thus you will be denied partial UI.
Think there's a relationship between management and staff? Some locations may be better than others, I
Prosif you love a life of stress, if you love time away from your family, then look no further!
This wasn't a difficult job for me to figure out as I had never worked in the security industry before but I needed a job quickly to put food on the table. The qualifications to become a security officer in Florida are laughably easy as almost anyone, with the exception of convicted felons, can get a security license. This position is really more about "customer service" than any real so-called security work because legally, a security officer has no jurisdictional authority over anyone.
Allied Barton is one of the better security companies you can work for considering there are a lot of awful ones out there. They at least make an attempt to offer some benefits even though they are meager and can be pricey. On the plus side, management does stress lots of training which they have online and it really can help especially when it comes to improving your communication and problem solving people skills.
The other thing that you quickly discover is that security companies are at best "temporary employment agencies". What that means is that the security company will find temporary work for you and place you at a client site based on your level of skill and education. If the client wants to keep you as their "security officer" then they inform the account manager or it's possible you could be assigned to work that site. More often than not, however, you are just another face in a uniform or should I say, costume. So, be prepared to work wherever they need you to.
First f
ProsLots of experience working at different client sites, Helpful online educational courses
ConsLow starting pay, erratic work schedules, temporary work
Where do I even start. I type this review as I am currently sitting through a 12 hour shift due to the lack of urgency from our "upper management" at the Phoenix office. Currently, my site is staffed with a whopping 4 employees (one of which is an older man who just took off for 3 weeks on vacation, leaving us with 3 guys) to work a 24 hour site.
My supervisor has contacted our manager at the main office about getting one or two more people to help with our site for the last 2+ months. His requests are constantly ignored and overlooked. We have been constantly understaffed and under appreciated from Universal Protection Services.
If I were quit my job right now it would literally leave my job site unable to operate due to lack manpower to even just be here. There is no communication from the Phoenix office to my site supervisor or fellow employee(s).
But, they sure are quick to make sure to notify us when my guard card is close to coming up due so I'd better get into that godawful office to sit through their "course." Which consists of sitting through a marvelous series of instructional videos from the early 90s at best(for 8 hours). And you 'd better be ready to pony up all fees required with renewing your card cause this company will have no intention of paying for a new one (that's a first I've come across in the industry).
I've learned that although this company is growing to be main source of privately contracted security they have no professionalism with st
ProsLol. They pay me weekly
ConsPoor pay, lack communication, no vacation time, no sick leave, no support from corp office, understaffed, no room for advancement or growth, job training is a joke, incompetent upper management, lack of empathy/respect
Questions And Answers about Allied Universal Security Services, Systems and Solutions
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Allied Universal a better place to work?
Asked Jan 31, 2017
If I was the Ceo I would hire second chances everyone make changes in their life and they work harder and are loyal so change your thinking and give them a chance you will have more good workers that will do the company well. Make the change now it will help many families.
Answered Dec 17, 2021
I would hire people that have experiences in security and make sure that they get proper training
Answered Nov 6, 2021
What is the most stressful part about working at Allied Universal?
Asked Sep 22, 2016
No time to be with your family.
Answered Nov 12, 2021
The residents are always mad or disrespectful. You don't get overtime or benefits. Most don't have iD.
Answered Aug 17, 2021
How often do raises occur at Allied Universal?
Asked Sep 22, 2016
Pay grade is set by the contracted client.
Answered Sep 11, 2021
About once a year, you need to get evaluated by a manager to get it
Answered Feb 3, 2021
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at Allied Universal?
Asked Aug 1, 2016
Make sure your answer any question they ask you on the interview
Answered Nov 6, 2021
Be confident and be professional. Have some questions and don’t be afraid to tell the interviewer(s) what kind of work interests you. I.e., front desk/ office environment, industrial, outdoors posts etc.
Answered Nov 5, 2021
What is the interview process like at Allied Universal?
Asked Aug 1, 2016
If handled correctly, it is quick and efficient. It was (for lack of a better term) sluggish and unreliable during the last two years of my employment with the company.
Answered Nov 12, 2021
As of present - 10/21, I did (so far) a video recorded "interview" at home, where I was asked 8 questions and given 2 minutes (I think) to answer them, as well as 1 minutes to prep. The questions were easy IF you had customer related experience and co-workers interaction at your previous job. If not, then it would be hard to answer them.
