G4S UAE has been closely monitoring regional security trends for a number of years, in order to bring a customisable and diverse range of turnkey solutions to meet the growing demands of the market.
A WINNING CULTURE
To reflect the continued growth of the security sector in the Middle East, G4S UAE has widened its already extensive offering to bring a more diverse range of turnkey solutions to the market; offering custom-made solutions that are designed to fit the needs of each customer and their respective industry.
Under the watchful eye of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alida H. Scholtz – who hopes to replicate her track-record for executing successful growth strategies by leveraging a wealth of experience from working in the service and manufacturing industries – G4S UAE is on-target to implement a robust regional expansion and development plan that will deliver on both a technology and innovation front.
“Following the rapid economic development in the Middle East, national security has become a top priority for the United Arab Emirates,” Scholtz said in an interview in September, 2016. “The Middle Eastern security market is expected to maintain its ongoing growth; urging government and private sectors to boost their budgets for modernisation of national security through more professional security partners in the fields of technology, risk and gap analysis, and the sourcing of quality equipment.”
Having operated as a trusted security partner across all seven Emirates in the UAE for the past 25 years with dedicated contact points across the region, G4S UAE continues to expand and grow its leadership capabilities; bringing in new industry leaders to look after its cash, ESS (electronic security system) and aviation divisions.
The Company’s strategy to capitalise on the burgeoning commercial security sector in the UAE falls in alignment with the current global industry trends being closely monitored by the wider G4S Group. Operating in more than 110 countries across six continents and providing solutions to more than 20 different sectors, the world-leading integrated security Group has many accolades to its name; including a global positioning as a leading manpower provider and a reputation for pairing together innovation and technology to provide best-in-class services.
DRIVING EFFICIENCIES
Considered one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world with a well-developed market, the UAE’s growing investments in local infrastructure have necessitated investments in security systems, leading to the increased demand for security services and solutions. Further, increased security and safety concerns, theft and Government regulations are also equally important factors driving the growth of man security services and the electronic security solutions market.
Aligning with these local trends and demands, G4S has designed its portfolio offering to meet the exacting requirements of customers across the region, while also being fully-compliant with all the requirements of the Private Security Business Department and Department of Protective Systems.
According to a Frost & Sullivan report released in January, spending on physical security systems in the Middle East was scheduled to achieve a 36 percent boost in 2016; with regional demand expected to be worth US$5.2 billion, compared to $3.8 billion a year previously in 2015. Similarly, the access control market was expected to reach $10.4 billion by 2020, growing at an impressive CAGR of 10.6 percent between 2014 and 2020.
“Hence, G4S is focusing on the electronic and surveillance market, innovations for cash management solutions and delivering its risk analysis technology,” affirmed Scholtz. “The subsequent rise in budgets allow for extensive spending on security products and solutions such as man security, public surveillance systems, critical infrastructure security, X-ray and thermal scanners, and many others; with the aim to raise security levels in the country.”
She added: “We have invested significant funds in upgrading the processing tools in our cash centre combined with state-of-the-art tracking and surveillance equipment that will be integrated on one platform to provide service efficiency data to our customers. We have also partnered with strategic software developers to bring intelligent analytics to the banking sector and we are excited to launch and pilot this product in the market towards the end of November, 2016.
“All divisions offer an end-to-end service offering that drives efficiencies and effectiveness across the full supply chain of our clients and their customers.”
VOICE TO THE CUSTOMER
Elsewhere, the Company has spent much of the past few years increasing the capabilities of its surveillance equipment, coming up with new and faster cash processing tools and a series of other internal continuous expansion and upgrades to support its expansion plans.
Operating an open and transparent hiring and employment HR strategy – which adheres to the Government’s Emiratisation initiative to encouraging local development – G4S UAE believes in being the ‘voice to the customer’ through its people management capabilities.
Scholtz affirmed: “This means we have to ensure that we provide the best and most fit-for-purpose service to each client’s culture, while meeting the cultural nuances in the UAE.
“Essentially, we want our customers to feel that we listen to them, keeping our commitment to provide a best-in-class workforce that stays one-step ahead of their needs.”
The concept of ‘voice to the customer’ has become a methodology that drives new levels of customer satisfaction and brings fresh dynamics to the concept of truly understanding customer needs.
Rated an A-class employer, with accommodation and welfare activities considered best-in-class, G4S UAE has continuous public activities that proudly showcase its people and the investment in their welfare.
“Additionally, our continuous front-line staff engagement has shown our commitment to their wellbeing and success as ambassadors of G4S, representing our reputable brand at clients’ sites,” Scholtz emphasised. “This is one of our key winning leadership factors. We recognise that our staff are one of the most important assets we have to grow and succeed in the region due to their commitment to execute and drive our customer strategies. They live the voice to the customer.”
Subsequently embracing leadership capabilities across its diverse workforce, G4S has a simple engagement strategy epitomised by a relatively flat organisational structure designed for senior level employees to engage directly with manpower on the ground.
INNOVATE TO DIFFERENTIATE
Interlinking decades of industry experience with new, smarter security solutions with the help of the latest technology, G4S is able to use security data to facilitate the growing need of data intelligence and also allow monitoring of business trends. “Thus, we are moving beyond the borders of risk prevention and security data, by integrating our data to create intelligent analytics,” Scholtz explaind.
Enjoying the support of global relationships as well as notable strategic local investments, G4S UAE continues to expand its technologies and innovative solutions to efficiently reach customers across all industries with its full end-to-end solution; differentiated by its ability to embrace national legislation and changes to the business landscape, positioning this information to research and develop a stronger and safer security infrastructure for its customers.
“Whether it be security for the commercial, residential, government, industrial, healthcare or education sectors, every industry has started to use cutting-edge technology to create a secure and safe environment,” the CEO further detailed. “Our plan is to expand our reach to clients who are driving strategies of standardisation and looking to increase both the quality and awareness of their security protocols. Going forward, our expansion will be across all divisions, with a key focus on driving our customer value proposition across our whole product portfolio combined with our new innovative technology tools.”
Scholtz concluded: “We have a winning culture and carry our brand with great pride, allowing us to continuously challenge our way of working so that we can build and create products that will give our customers a competitive edge.”
