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Wincon Security Employees Recognized for Outstanding Service

December was a month of reflection and celebration — a time to honour the dedication and hard work of Wincon Security employees. This year’s festivities included the recognition of 10 remarkable individuals who achieved significant milestones in their service, along with the 2023 Employee of the Year.

Wincon Security Service Awards

Every year, employees who reach their five-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, or 30-year mark by December 31st are acknowledged. In 2023, a total of 10 employees reached various milestones. The annual Wincon Security Service Awards serve as a testament to the longevity and dedication of Wincon Security’s workforce. It’s a tradition that reinforces the company’s commitment to recognizing and appreciating the contributions of its employees, fostering a sense of pride and loyalty among the team.

The following employees were recognized during the Wincon Security holiday party on December 9:

15 Years
Neal Mitchell, Uniform Security Guard

10 Years
Asif Mehmood, Uniform Security Guard

5 Years
Piranaven Arunthavaselvan, Uniform Security Guard
Sarah Haid, Operations Coordinator
Saleem Harinanan, Uniform Security Guard
Umer Iltaf, Uniform Security Guard
Abdul Khan, Uniform Security Guard
Alexei Kourenkov, Uniform Security Guard
Syed Salahuddin, Security Supervisor
Hardeep Singh, Security Supervisor

Wincon Security Employee of the Year Award

Wincon Security 2023 Employee of the Year award-Nancy Brown - Award Presentation - Nancy Brown 8

Heather Seaton (left), Director of Finance & Administration, with Nancy Brown, 2023 Employee of the Year.

Amidst the celebrations, one individual stood out for her extraordinary contributions – Nancy Brown, the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Employee of the Year award. Although Wincon Security values and celebrates the hard work of all their staff, this award is reserved for someone who exemplifies that extra special dedication throughout the year.

Nancy initially joined Wincon as a consultant in 2005, working diligently for more than a decade behind the scenes, ensuring that the company’s staff received accurate and timely payments. In August 2019, she took on a full-time role as the Payroll and Accounting Specialist, showcasing unparalleled dedication. Nancy has played an essential role in managing Wincon’s finances, including handling payroll, remittances, and accounting responsibilities.

Despite her somewhat reserved nature, Nancy’s impact was undeniable. Her work ethic and commitment were especially evident during challenging times. Even when under the weather, she prioritized her responsibilities, ensuring that Wincon’s payroll was processed accurately and on time. Her diligence, professionalism, and willingness to bring forward concerns to senior management demonstrated her commitment to Wincon Security’s well-being.

In recognizing both the long-term Service Award recipients and the Employee of the Year, Wincon Security celebrates a culture of excellence and commitment that continues to drive the company’s success. Congratulations to all the recognized employees for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the Wincon Security family.

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Why a compassionate approach to Toronto security (and guard training) matters

Looking back to early 2020, few of us would have predicted that the coronavirus pandemic would continue to create social, public health, and business challenges nearly two years later. Nerves are frayed, patience is wearing thin, and policies meant to contain the most recent Omicron strain of COVID-19 have pushed many in the public to their limits. From a security perspective, it’s why now (as much as ever) is the time for organizations across the Greater Toronto Area to embrace a compassionate approach to security. That means relying on the expertise of Toronto security providers that protect and enforce rules but also focus on engaging and calmly controlling challenging situations.  

As we’ve noted in previous blogs, security risk mitigation is about taking both a proactive and reactive approach that puts the customer or community experience first. That applies in a range of settings, from retail outlets and residential communities such as condominiums to office complexes and public institutions such as healthcare facilities or college and university campuses.

But taking it a step further, it’s also important to apply security protocols in a reasonable and measured way. There are countless examples of alleged incidents of excessive use of force by Toronto security guards in Canada. Each incident must be assessed based on relevant facts and circumstances—and many are not always as they seem—but there is little doubt that, at times, some guards apply disproportionate force when responding to an incident. Often it’s because they lack the necessary training, tools, or management oversight that would otherwise prompt them to take a different course of action.

Highly aggressive security guard responses create significant liability for organizations—not to mention creating potentially negative ripple effects for their corporate brand or resident experience. A basic principle of effective security guarding is that with the right preparation and training, many incidents can be de-escalated and resolved without the use of force. The concept isn’t merely relevant during a stressful pandemic but during any interaction between Toronto security personnel and the public.

Enhancing brand experiences through Toronto security 

Depending on the setting, but especially in urban areas, security guards will interact with a broad subsection of the public. While the focus is often on their work to stop thieves or vandals from stealing items or damaging property, in many cases their time is spent interacting with vulnerable populations such as members of the homeless community or individuals struggling with drug or alcohol addictions. These encounters can be challenging, but when properly managed, confrontations can usually be avoided. 

 

integrated security services

For example, a security guard that encounters a homeless person sleeping in a shopping mall doorway in the middle of winter has an opportunity to help. While informing the person that they can’t camp in the doorway, they can also check that the individual isn’t suffering from an acute physical or mental health issue. If so, they can contact relevant first responders such as paramedics or police and then wait until one of those teams arrive on-site. In the absence of an acute issue, they can work to help the individual secure access to a social worker who might be able to help them find temporary lodging or other necessary care. 

It’s easy to take a heavy-handed approach in a scenario such as this. But by acting compassionately, a Toronto security guard can not only set the stage for positive interaction but can capitalize on the chance to assist an individual in need. That, in turn, reflects positively on the organization they’ve been tasked to protect. 

Measured response training at Wincon Security

Taking a compassionate approach to security starts with smart training, re-training, and culture-wide reinforcement. If a security provider sets the bar high and reminds guards of the expectation that they’ll deploy effective, appropriate, and measured responses in every situation, the chances of incidents escalating out of control will be greatly reduced.  

At Wincon Security, for example, we assess your Toronto security needs during our client intake process, then propose a comprehensive risk mitigation strategy that aligns with your operational requirements. That includes delivering pre-deployment training to our guards addressing a range of tactical considerations, including the use of force and non-violent crisis training.

Our training systems cover:

  • Arrest procedures
  • Situational de-escalation
  • Crisis communication
  • Non-violent intervention
  • Training on relevant provincial and federal use of force legislation
  • Hand-cuff techniques, use of baton and, self-defence and defence against edged weapons

Our goal is to not only provide strong security deterrence to help protect your property but to ensure that our guards have the training and tools needed to enforce the Trespass to Property Act and to set the stage for positive engagements with the public and other key stakeholders. 

Lastly, it’s important to note that for security providers, two important factors help to put a sense of compassion and caring behind their work: strong recruitment and employee engagement. By hiring committed professionals who arrive to work on time, are fully prepared, are in uniform, and are ready to give their very best every day, Toronto security providers can create a culture of success and dedication to client service. But many fall short in this regard, hiring guards merely to fill roles without investing in their training and career development. This is a significant oversight and it’s the reason why it pays to do proper due diligence when hiring a security firm. More on that in a future blog. 

In the meantime, it’s important to remember that putting compassion into security starts with a focus on culture, employee policies, and making investments in a Toronto security team’s ongoing success.

Is your business interested in an integrated security service?

Fill out our quote form and enjoy a consultation with us to learn about your security options.

Learn More by Requesting a Custom Quote

 

Winston Stewart, President and CEO
Wincon Security 

 

 

 

 

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Promoting employee engagement to serve you better

To help enhance our customer service experience and drive employee engagement, we are pleased to announce a new role for your Business Administrator Babita Prakash, who will now be responsible for team and community engagement.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll on all of us. On that, we can all agree. But it’s also presented new opportunities to build stronger connections with our clients and team members. For a security company in a highly competitive market such as the Greater Toronto Area, that’s extremely important. More so, it’s critical to continually enhance the client service experience here at Wincon Security, while building on already strong employee culture.

The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of communications and collaboration. As our clients faced unprecedented challenges ranging from new social distancing-related security requirements to full facility closures or capacity limitations, our team demonstrated their ongoing commitment and dedication to service excellence. That we have a highly engaged group of security professionals was no surprise. But the way they stepped up to serve our clients and meet their quickly evolving needs was truly inspiring. Still, they, like our customers, have endured widespread disruption overly nearly two years. Restrictions will likely remain in place into the foreseeable future, so they’ll continue to be tested on a daily basis.

At the same time, many of our clients are only beginning to recover from the worst of the pandemic’s financial malaise. They not only need reliable security service, but they’re also relying on our management teams to provide proactive consulting on everything from integrated security solutions to condo concierge security coverage or property guarding strategies to keep their people and assets safe.

In response, we’re taking steps to empower our team to be even better. The person who will help drive that initiative is Babita Prakash, our Business Administrator, who will now assume added responsibility for team and community engagement.

Daily team touchpoints

Babita is the ideal person to assume this important new role for several reasons. With more than four years of experience at Wincon Security, she has a keen understanding of our client’s needs, along with the composition of our workforce and the communities that they help to protect every day. She also has more than 20 years of industry expertise and widespread knowledge about the ins and outs of security solutions delivery.

Perhaps most importantly, she’s a wonderful communicator who takes the time to listen. Her empathetic touch and focus on both process and effective motivation are integral skills in this role because Babita will be tasked with engaging and supporting our front-line staff. We want to remind them that they’re both appreciated and have management’s ear, either via Babita or their direct supervisor, no matter the work-related challenges they may be facing.

“As we near the 30th anniversary of our company, I’m very excited to find new ways to better serve our clients and to provide the very best career experience possible to our security professionals and support staff.”

Leading the way by listening and engaging

Babita will be responsible for working with our leadership team to:

  • Ensure that each team member has the tools and resources to fulfill their roles. In addition, she’ll work to ensure that they’re also fully comfortable in their workspace and environment. Whether at our office or at a client site, we want to remove any potential barriers to their workplace success.
  • Provide a safe working environment. That’s especially important when our team members are working at commercial or industrial facilities, or even public-facing settings, where tensions have occasionally risen throughout the pandemic. Our guards are fully trained to manage conflict situations, but we want to remind them that we’re as committed as ever to ensuring they can always do their jobs safely.
  • Encourage staff to share ideas and concerns directly with their immediate supervisor or our leadership team. One of the drivers of Wincon’s nearly 30 years of growth and success has been our ability to constantly innovate and enhance our service experience. Our team members are a critical source of insights and information from the field, and we need their assistance to continue improving our service offering. Babita will help facilitate that steady flow of information.
  • Promoting teamwork and collaboration. That this already happens on a daily basis is a testament to the strength of our employee culture. But Babita is excited to take that feature of our work experience to the next level. She’ll be encouraging our team members to share ideas among themselves, to exchange real-time information and to help nurture each other’s career development.
  • Recognize each other’s achievements. One of our goals for 2022 is to ensure that when a member of our team does a great job, their hard work and commitment to excellence is acknowledged. So, Babita will be actively encouraging our team to recognize great work and to report it to her, their supervisor or a member of our leadership team. We’ll be honouring outstanding performance in various ways throughout the year.
  • Promote Wincon’s culture. That could mean sharing the word with friends and prospective employees about what a great working environment we’ve built, why Wincon is the right place for them to work or why they should engage with our recruitment team to learn more about our work experience and compensation packages.

As we near the 30th anniversary of our company, I’m very excited to find new ways to better serve our clients and to provide the very best career experience possible to our security professionals and support staff. We have a very big year ahead and I know that with Babita at the helm, our dynamic new employee engagement initiative is in great hands.

Is your business interested in retail loss prevention services?

Fill out our quote form and enjoy a consultation with us to learn about your retail security options.

Learn More by Requesting a Custom Quote

 

Winston Stewart, President and CEO
Wincon Security 

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Celebrating Wincon Employees of the Year Darrell Chen & Robert Bruce

Nearly a year ago, our world changed. Few of us knew much, if anything, about the COVID-19 virus that would soon transform our social interactions, our economy and our lives. But we soon got a crash course in epidemiology and terms such as ‘social distancing’ as the federal and provincial governments acted quickly to lockdown our communities and introduce sweeping health and safety measures. Through it all, Wincon Security guards and supervisors were on the coronavirus pandemic frontlines.

Our employees responded with professionalism, hard work and a dedication to excellence that was beyond exceptional—it was a true embodiment of our focus on providing the very best customer service experience our industry has to offer. To a person, our team exemplified our ‘Built on Service. Driven by Culture’s company mantra. My gratitude goes out to all of our employees for their ongoing support and efforts to continue improving our client experience. But in the midst of a tumultuous year, the work of two of our staff truly stood out.

I’m pleased to introduce our 2020 employees of the year: Supervisor Darrell Chen and security guard Robert Bruce.

You may notice a change from previous years when we acknowledged only one employee. This year we decided that it was important to ensure that a member of our leadership team also got the nod for their outstanding work.

In Darrell’s case, his management of a seven-person security team throughout the pandemic at GE’s Markham facility was nothing short of remarkable. Not that we’d expect anything different. Over his four-year career with Wincon, Darrell’s communication skills, leadership and problem-solving abilities have set the standard for others to follow. COVID may have put Darrell to the test, but he stepped up and responded to every challenge.

Wincon Darrell Chen 1

“Over the past year, we had to find different ways to provide safety and security,” he says. “We had to train additional guards, work with the EHS and occupational safety committees at GE, reinforce masking policies and work to develop methods to efficiently screen employees and delivery people every day. Our team is always great at communication and has a positive attitude, so by being proactive and planning for different workplace situations, we were able to make a tough situation as seamless as possible for our client.”

By keeping up the spirits of his team and showing appreciation for their work, Darrell reminded us all that it’s possible to turn a challenging situation into one for growth and development.

Wincon Robert Bruce 1

Our 2020 Guard of the Year Robert Bruce showed the same willingness to step up and adapt, but in a very different setting over the past year. As a guard at some of Etobicoke’s larger condominium towers, Robert had a front-row seat as the move to remote work took centre stage during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Suddenly, thousands of residents were working—and both caring for and teaching their children—from home. Access to everything from building amenities to the neighbourhood grocery store was instantly restricted.

Even as tensions ran high, Robert met residents with his trademark smile and pleasant demeanour and was able to make their day a little bit brighter simply by doing his job well. Efficiency was key.

“At a certain point we had to start screening people for COVID-19 when they entered the building, but due to the volume of residents coming in and out—not to mention parcel or food delivery people and visitors—we needed to process people as quickly as we could,” Robert recalls. “Adjusting to that was a challenge.”

Wincon Robert Bruce 2

That meant going to extraordinary lengths such as conducting temperature checks and even calling residents to pick up food deliveries in the lobby as part of the condo’s coronavirus protocols. Through it, all, Robert’s ability to anticipate both the condo property manager and residents’ needs, and to address potential issues before they arose, proved the difference.

On behalf of the entire leadership team here at Wincon, I’d like to congratulate Darrell and Robert for this achievement and thank them for their exemplary work. And while I’ve said it before, it’s worth reiterating that our entire team has gone above and beyond throughout the COVID-19 crisis. If I had to choose a word to sum up my feelings about our performance as a company, it would be: proud.

Proud that we’ve confronted one of the most difficult challenges of our generation and managed to succeed. Proud that we’ve actually improved our service offering in the face of some very big obstacles. And proud that our clients and industry partners were able to rely on us to meet their needs, no matter the circumstances.

As we progress further into 2021, I only have one more thing to add: Let’s keep up the great work together!

IS YOUR BUSINESS INTERESTED IN SECURITY GUARD SERVICES?

FILL OUT OUR QUOTE FORM AND ENJOY A CONSULTATION WITH US.

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Winston Stewart, President and CEO

Wincon Security

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Introducing the Wincon Whistleblower program

When we adopted our new company motto last year, we wanted to highlight the value we place not only on providing the very best service to our customers, but also the workplace experience that we offer to our employees.

In that sense, ‘Built on service. Driven by culture’ is far more than a tagline. It’s a philosophy that guides all of our decisions here at Wincon Security. By hiring the very best people and building an inclusive and diverse workforce that’s encouraged to innovate and raise their voices when things are going right—and in those rare instances when they may be going wrong—we’ve managed to build a positive and highly engaged workplace culture. It’s one that we work hard each day to protect and improve.

But every company has its challenges, and we’re not immune to ours, either. As we’ve grown, not all of our hires have been the right fit. Some haven’t lived up to the core values that we simply refuse to compromise as an organization. That’s why we’ve had to make tough decisions at times, parting ways with individuals who didn’t always live up to those standards, or who failed to treat our employees with the respect and appreciation they deserve.

We’re prepared to take steps to ensure that our staff feel comfortable and safe on the job, all so they can achieve their full workplace potential in a dynamic, fun and supportive environment.

On that note, we’re pleased to announce the launch of the Wincon Whistleblower Program. The initiative is intended to provide employees with an outlet to express concerns or report specific incidents of harassment, abuse or mistreatment while on the job. Staff can email us using the address whistleblower@wincon-security.com to voice their concerns.

Our message to employees is best summed up with a play on an old adage: if you see (or experience) something you shouldn’t, say something. We’re about ensuring fairness, ethical and moral behaviour in our work environment, and if any lines have been crossed, we want to know. Emails to the account will be handled anonymously, so staff needn’t feel intimidated to come forward. It’s important to note that we’re committed to addressing employee concerns in a timely way. Allegations will be investigated and matters will be escalated through the appropriate channels, as necessary. To ensure transparency and accountability, the findings of any workplace investigation will be reported to all parties involved in the matter.

Because the vast majority of our employees work at client sites most of the time, the Whistleblower Program is designed to provide an outlet to highlight negative or unwelcome interactions they may have with any of the stakeholders they encounter during the course of their work day—including clients, colleagues, third-party contractors or other suppliers.

If, for any reason, staff don’t want to approach their supervisor with serious issues, the Whistleblower Program is their outlet to voice concerns. It’s not intended to be used as a tool to raise questions or concerns about day-to-day operational issues such as scheduling. Those matters should still be discussed and addressed with the employee’s direct supervisor.

Importantly, we believe our whistleblower initiative will not only set the conditions to create an even safer workplace environment here at Wincon, but we also believe it will enhance our service offering and create a far better experience for our customers. The happier, more engaged and satisfied our employees can be in their work, the better they’ll perform. I think we can all agree that this exciting new program also enhances our business by ensuring that our values are not only upheld, but that they continue to be aligned with those of our clients.

Because nothing is more important to us as a company than protecting people, property and assets, while also defending our company culture. It’s a responsibility that we take seriously and actively embrace.

Winston Stewart

President and CEO

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