Commercial Real Estate Safety and Security professionals face a wide range of situations and interact with various individuals daily. As such, they must possess a diverse set of skills to effectively manage and protect their assets. Below is a list of essential skills that are helpful for commercial real estate (CRE) safety and security professionals.

Effective Communication

Security professionals are often the individuals who hold key information. Tenants, visitors, and contractors alike tend to feel comfortable speaking with them and sharing important details. The key to this information sharing lies in how it is handled. Even the smallest piece of information can be valuable if it is shared with the right people at the right time.

Documenting information through daily reports, incident reports, and communication with leadership is crucial for maintaining a well-run building. The more information gathered upfront, the better. Active listening is a skill that can be difficult to master, but the more you practice it, the more effective you become. Often, and I admit I’m guilty of this too, people tend to think about what they want to say next while the speaker is talking, which means they may miss important details. Practicing active listening, taking notes, and then relaying the information back to the speaker ensures nothing is overlooked. This approach not only helps in gathering accurate information but also demonstrates to the individual that you value their input and the time they’ve taken to share it with you.

Empathy

The primary difference between sympathy and empathy lies in the level of connection with the individual in distress. Sympathy involves feeling pity or sorrow for someone, where empathy is about genuinely connecting with them during their difficult time. Empathy reflects a true concern for an individual’s well-being and helps them feel valued and understood. Sympathy often leaves the receiver of the information feeling better about themselves after the encounter, rather than addressing the needs of the individual going through a challenging time. As security professionals, practicing empathy in as many ways as possible can leave lasting impressions and, many times, help defuse tense situations. While security roles often require strict policies and procedures to be followed, delivering these with empathy can transform an interaction from negative to positive, fostering a more supportive and understanding environment.

Partnership

Security professionals often collaborate with other third-party partners in commercial real estate, including engineering, janitorial, parking, and/or property management teams. Effective collaboration across these departments is essential. This can take the form of in-person meetings or written communication. Regular check-ins throughout the week help ensure that all departments are aware of each other’s activities, such as when visitors or contractors arrive or when important tours take place, for example. Despite working with different contracted partners, the shared goal is maintaining a safe and healthy environment for anyone in the building.

Building and maintaining relationships outside of your organization, within the surrounding community and outside of it, is just as necessary as fostering internal relationships. I encourage you to find local professional groups and organizations to engage with and share valuable information. Many of these organizations are either low-cost or free, yet they provide invaluable insights and resources. Equally important is establishing trust with your immediate neighbors. This way, if anything arises in the area, you’ll know exactly who to contact.

It’s best to build these relationships before a crisis occurs. Networking with others in our field can also be incredibly valuable. Everyone brings unique experiences and perspectives to the table. An issue that may be new to you may regularly occur to someone else, and the solutions they’ve already found could offer fresh ideas for you to consider.

Your partnership with local public safety agencies is vital in the event of an emergency. The more familiar they are with your building, the better equipped they’ll be to respond effectively. I encourage you to reach out to your local precinct or firehouse to arrange building walkthroughs or regular meetings. Also, offering your facilities for training sessions with these teams could be valuable. Hosting annual public safety breakfasts is another great way to show appreciation and build relationships with responders. It provides an opportunity to meet face-to-face with the individuals who might be called to assist you in critical situations. Offering space or restrooms for responders to take a break when needed is also a thoughtful gesture that can make a significant difference.

Adaptability

Every experience offers a teaching moment, from an actual event to the policies and procedures used to address the situation. From the moment an incident occurs until it is resolved, there are invaluable lessons to be learned. No situation will ever be handled perfectly, which is why debriefing is essential. This process should involve discussing the event with the individuals involved and gathering insights from other perspectives, such as tenants or first responders. All perspectives can then be gathered and analyzed to see if anything needs to be updated.

The most detrimental thing a CRE safety and security professional can do is to keep something the same just because it has always been done one specific way. Be open to adapting to current trends and what works best for the current climate.
Many emergencies that could potentially occur don’t happen as frequently as we might expect. As a result, a policy or procedure that seems correct in theory may fall short when put into practice. And that’s okay. After debriefing with others, CRE safety and security professionals can refine these policies and procedures to better reflect actual events. This is a continuous process that should never end.

Open to Learning

Training should be an ongoing journey for CRE safety and security professionals. Every day presents new opportunities for learning within a CRE building. Post orders should encompass all safety and security protocols for an asset, but let’s face it—no one reads them daily, nor should they have to. However, this can lead to crucial details being overlooked if they’re not regularly revisited. That’s where continuous training comes into play. Daily, safety and security professionals can review different items. For example: How do we utilize the public announcement system? If an incident occurs at the corner of X and Y streets, is there camera coverage? How do we distinguish between service animals and emotional support animals? These questions can be discussed with a director, supervisor or on-site officers. If answers aren’t readily available in the post orders, it may be time to update them.

As highlighted in the adaptability skill set, learning from incidents is crucial for progress. Often, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts encounter different types of situations, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t all be prepared to handle any situation effectively. Sharing both successful and less-than-ideal responses to incidents with the entire security team fosters a collective learning experience. If an incident is handled well, it’s a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of team members. However, I firmly believe that learning from peers is one of the most valuable training opportunities.

There are also valuable training opportunities outside of your building. While not all officers at a building can attend additional professional development events, it’s important to ensure the information is relayed back to them. If director- and supervisor-level professionals attend, they should be able to summarize the material and share it with all safety and security professionals at the building. This ensures that the information is accessible to everyone and makes everyone feel included, validating the time and cost invested.

In my experience, the skills mentioned above are essential for safety team members on a daily basis. A combination of these skills can elevate any situation from good to great, both during and after an event. Continuously honing these skills, along with any additional skills you may find valuable, will pave the way for a successful career in CRE safety and security.

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