Hawk Security Services Regional Vice President Mike Shirley proudly shows off his third "Top 100 Places to Work" award.
By Ashley Willis
FORT WORTH, Texas — For the third consecutive year, Dallas Morning News has named Hawk Security Services as one of the "Top 100 Best Places to Work" in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
In order to be considered for the program, a company must first be nominated by at least one individual. Employees are then asked to complete a survey to determine how they feel about their job and work environment. More than 48,000 employees completed the surveys, which are used to tabulate the Top 100 listings.
"This is truly an honor because our employees voted on this," Hawk Security Regional Vice President Mike Shirley tells SSI. "It was great to win it once, and after the second year that we won, I couldn't believe it. To win it again this year? I am blown away. We're one of 34 companies to have won this all three years."
So, how is Hawk Security able to motivate its 125 employees? Shirley says maintaining a positive work environment is very important for any business.
"I want to work in a positive environment, and I want to be happy when I come to work — I want my employees to feel the same way," he explains. "One thing I believe in is open communication because I want every employee to feel like a team member, not just an employee. My door is never shut."
Acquired by Interface Security Systems in 2005, Hawk Security is one of 26 branches under its parent company's umbrella. As a full-service security provider, Hawk Security specializes in access control, fire detection, hospital/infant anti-abduction systems, intrusion detection, life safety and managed IP networked applications for residential, commercial and industrial markets.
Because Hawk Security has a "customer first" business philosophy, Shirley realizes that highlighting his staff's strengths not only boosts employee morale, but sales as well.
"I try to recognize things that they are doing right, rather than focusing on the things that aren't quite where we want them to be," he says. "I look at any challenges that we might have as a chance to get better."
Of course, having an incentive plan in place doesn't hurt when trying to encourage employees, so Interface Security implements an "Employee of the Quarter" program that spreads to all branches. In addition to receiving a plaque recognizing their hard work, employees are also featured on Interface's intranet site to encourage roughly 600 workers nationwide.
"A lot of our culture here is based on how Interface runs the company," Shirley says. "We just happened to win the award here in Texas, but Interface operates like this everywhere."
In order to have a pleasant working environment, Shirley understands that companies must hire people who will contribute to a positive atmosphere. So, he makes sure that he participates in all the interview processes to get to know each potential candidate. As a team, management determines whether the applicant will be a good fit for the company — with a little assistance.
"We use a tool called the predictive index to figure out if a person will fit in a particular role," Shirley explains. "For example, perhaps there is a high energy, low patience applicant seeking a data entry position. That person is not going to be happy in that position because we need a person who is going to be good at the monotonous day after day type thing. The predictive index figures that out for us."
To view footage of how Hawk Security Services earned the "Top 100" spot, click here.
Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.