AA Security Secures IIP Gold Status

Wilson Chowdhry receives certificate from IIP Assessor Kate Baker!

An Essex-based security firm’s future looks to be in safe hands after it secured Investors in People Gold status.

AA Security, which provides security services to clients including Brent Council and the Ministry of Defence, is thought to be the first company in the industry to achieve the Gold status.

The firm first achieved Investors in People recognition in 2002 and used the process to establish a clear business plan, focusing its efforts on staff training and delivering high quality customer service. 

Wilson Chowdhry, Managing Director at AA Security, said Investors in People had played a key role in helping his company weather the recent economic downturn.

“The recession has seen a lot of security firms go broke, often because they operated at the margins; their staff were on really low wages and they had no more room to cut costs,” he said.

“We downsized our operations but continued to invest in training. Establishing a niche based on quality and well-trained staff meant we needed an external validation of this quality. Investors in People provided that validation and, perhaps more importantly, helped to ensure we had the structures in place to see out the difficult times as well as the boom years.

“Investors in People is increasingly becoming a requirement for big contracts. So achieving Gold status really established that we were above the norm and it really gets you noticed. It means you are on the priority pecking order.”

John Telfer, Managing Director of Inspiring Business Performance Ltd (IBP), which is responsible for delivering the Investors in People Standard across London and the South, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for AA Security Ltd. I would like to congratulate the organisation and its people on their commitment to continuous improvement. I’m sure that news of AA Security Ltd’s success will encourage more security firms to sharpen their competitive edge by choosing to work with Investors in People.”

Investors in People is a national quality Standard awarded to well-run organisations which demonstrate good management practice with a high emphasis on best practice people management and development.

To find out more about IBP and the benefits of Investors in People, visit www.ibp.uk.com, email info@ibp.uk.com or call 0800 612 3098.

Security Firm fashions a new green way for Security Industry!

Innovative organisations have been crowned  at the Green Business Innovator (GBI) 2011 Awards which took place on Thursday 7 July 2011 at Middlesex University, London. 

The winners demonstrated excellence in environmental practice across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

Award winners were selected across six categories including Carbon Reduction Initiative, Waste Management Initiative, Lean Manufacturing, Green Voluntary and Community Sector Organisation, Green Public Sector Organisation and Green Business in the Service Sector.

A.A. Security Limited were a close runner-up in the waste management category and were awarded a certificate and trophy in a hotly and closely contested competition.   Director Wilson Chowdhry commented;

"We are fairly unique in our industry bearing our stronger than normal commitment to preserving our environment.  We feel it is important that modern commercial entities working within our sector adopt such practices as news of depleting resources is effecting the global economy.  We hope our success will inspire others to follow suit."

The awards were organised by environmental business experts at Middlesex University, who are currently managing the EcoVate Project, which provides free tailor-made environmental support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in London, and is part-financed by the European Union. Through EcoVate SMEs can receive advice on issues including waste, water, energy, transport, and supply chain linkages.  Since the beginning of the project in April 2009 more than 350 businesses have been supported by EcoVate to become more sustainable, achieve cost savings and comply with changes in legislation.

Ankit Kapasi, from Middlesex University, said: “The huge success of the first ever GBI awards in June 2010 encouraged us to expand our scopes and boundaries this year. The standard and number of entries this year was very high, which was particularly great to see in the current challenging climate.  All the organisations that entered have been working very hard to make themselves more sustainable and I want to congratulate the winners for leading the way in environmental practice.”

The judging panel was made up of representatives from the Environment Agency, London Borough of Camden, Waste Watch, Enterprise Enfield, AEA Consulting and Middlesex University.  Nuno Costa, a Sustainable Development Specialist from IKEA, also spoke at the awards ceremony. Nuno was particularly impressed with the GBI 2011 trophies, that had been designed and hand-made with more than 99 percent recycled materials, and offered the trophy designer the use of IKEA's 'waste streams' to develop other products.