How Security Guard Roles Continue to Change in 2025
The daily routine of a security officer has shifted in ways that aren’t always obvious from the outside. While the core responsibilities remain the same – protecting people and property – the tools, expectations and skills required have expanded significantly from what was needed just a few years ago.
Mobile Reporting Standards for Security Guards
Perhaps nowhere is this change more evident than in how security officers document their work. While security officers have used mobile devices for years, the expectations around mobile reporting and documentation have become significantly more detailed and immediate.
What’s changed is the level of detail expected in real-time reporting. Guards are now expected to create comprehensive reports, verify patrol points through mobile applications, view detailed site information and capture site evidence as situations unfold during their shifts. Clients now expect photo documentation, GPS verification of patrol routes and detailed incident reports submitted while officers are still on-site. Providing detailed security reports to customers not only builds trust, but also helps strengthen relationships and improve contract retention.
This shift means the demand for guards to accommodate more responsive and technology-forward patrolling has become table stakes rather than a nice-to-have feature.
Security Officer Communication and Coordination Duties
These enhanced reporting requirements naturally lead to more complex communication responsibilities. Security officers increasingly coordinate with multiple parties throughout their shifts — facilities management, cleaning crews, vendors and building management. This requires more sophisticated communication skills and the ability to manage multiple ongoing situations simultaneously.
Officers often serve as the central point of information for what’s happening across a facility. They track and communicate various activities, maintenance schedules and security concerns to different stakeholders as situations develop. Rather than simply observing and reporting at the end of their shift, in some cases, security officers are functioning as real-time coordinators who keep various building operations running smoothly.
How Security Guard Scheduling is Changing
This expanded role comes with increased scheduling complexity that affects how officers approach their work. Security officers are increasingly expected to adapt to changing schedules, cover multiple sites and handle last-minute shift changes. The expectation of workforce flexibility has increased significantly, with many officers working across different locations or taking on additional responsibilities when colleagues are unavailable.
This creates challenges around consistent site knowledge and relationship building, as officers may not work in the same location regularly. It also requires officers to be adaptable and quick to understand different site-specific procedures and client expectations each time they’re assigned to a new location.
Security Guard Training Requirements
The combination of enhanced technology use, communication demands and scheduling flexibility has naturally led to more complex training requirements. Security officers now need familiarity with various mobile platforms, customer service protocols and emergency procedures that extend beyond traditional security training.
However, the scope of what officers are expected to handle has expanded without necessarily extending training periods proportionally. Many security companies struggle with providing comprehensive preparation for diverse responsibilities while keeping training efficient and cost-effective. As a result, officers often learn additional skills on the job rather than through formal training programs, creating inconsistencies in capability across the workforce.
Security Guard Salary and Compensation Discussions
These expanded responsibilities have naturally led to more complex conversations about compensation within the industry. The traditional view of security work as requiring minimal skills doesn’t always align with the reality of modern positions that require technology proficiency, customer service skills and multi-tasking ability.
Organisations are recognising that today’s security officers handle responsibilities that go well beyond traditional guard duties. Some growing industry trends currently define a security guard as an entry-level role focused on tasks like patrolling, monitoring and reporting incidents, reacting to issues as they arise and following instructions as assigned. Security officers, however, are typically more senior roles involving supervision, coordination of security operations, decision-making and proactive management of risk assessments, security plans and compliance. Some now engage in higher-value work: assessing threats with more context, assisting individuals on-site, building rapport and becoming the human face of a technology-enhanced security approach.
The challenge many security companies face is that clients increasingly expect comprehensive, highly professional service while maintaining pressure for competitive pricing. This creates tension between the level of service demanded and the compensation structures needed to attract and retain qualified officers capable of delivering that service.
However, the gap between expanded responsibilities and compensation adjustments remains a challenge that many security companies are still working to address.
Security Company Hiring and Retention Issues
All of these changes have created new challenges for security companies trying to staff their operations effectively, compounded by broader labour market conditions that make recruitment increasingly difficult. The expanded skill requirements create difficulties for both recruiting and retaining security officers, while tight labour markets across many regions have intensified competition for available workers.
Security roles face unique recruitment challenges, including non-traditional hours, varied locations and the need for specialised skills that aren’t always reflected in compensation levels. Current labour market conditions have made these longstanding challenges more acute.
Many security companies report difficulty maintaining full staffing levels, particularly for overnight shifts and weekend coverage. The combination of expanded job requirements and limited candidate pools means companies often face the choice between understaffing sites or hiring candidates who may need significant additional training to meet current role expectations.
In markets where immigration policy changes have affected workforce availability, these staffing challenges have become even more pronounced. Companies find themselves competing not just with other security firms, but with retail, hospitality and logistics companies that can offer similar wages with more predictable schedules and less demanding requirements. Even as companies explore non-traditional benefits packages (like earned wage access or flexible pay options) to help differentiate their workforce, becoming an employer of choice is difficult.
However, positions that accurately reflect the current scope of security work – including technology use, customer service and diverse responsibilities – can attract candidates looking for more than basic patrol work.
Keep Up to Date with the Latest in Security
The role of security guards and officers worldwide will continue to change as contract demands, labour markets and technologies demand more and more from the industry. To keep up with the latest, be sure to subscribe to TEAM Software’s LinkedIn newsletter.