The thermometer hit 94 degrees on Poplar Avenue last Tuesday. That same afternoon, a security company owner on Summer Avenue told me he’d lost three guards in a single week. Two went to the FedEx hub in Olive Branch. One took a warehouse job at the Nike distribution center out in Frayser.
“I can’t blame them,” he said, standing in the parking lot of his small office near Highland Street. “They’re offering $15 an hour with benefits on day one. I’m paying $11 and asking guys to stand outside a construction site in this heat.”
Welcome to summer in Memphis. The temperature isn’t the only thing rising. So is the desperation among private security firms trying to hold onto their workforce while every logistics company in the metro area dangles better money and air conditioning.
The Numbers Tell an Ugly Story
Tennessee’s private security industry employs roughly 22,000 guards statewide. Shelby County accounts for about 4,800 of those positions, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from late 2018. The average annual turnover rate for security guards nationally hovers around 100 to 300 percent, depending on which industry group you ask. Memphis runs higher than the national average.
That means a company with 50 guards might need to hire 75 to 150 replacements over the course of a year just to maintain its roster. Think about that for a second. You’re not growing. You’re just trying to stay in place.
And summer makes everything worse.
Outdoor events multiply. Beale Street gets busier. Construction projects need overnight guards. Schools let out, which means more retail theft, more loitering complaints at strip malls, and more demand for security at apartment complexes where teenagers are home all day with nothing to do.
Meanwhile, the same pool of hourly workers who might take a security guard position can now choose from seasonal warehouse work, delivery driving, or event staffing jobs that pay as well or better.
FedEx, Amazon, and Nike Are Eating the Labor Pool
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Memphis is a logistics town. FedEx is the largest private employer in the metro. Amazon has been expanding its presence along the I-40 corridor for the past two years. Nike’s massive distribution center in Frayser near Millington employs thousands.
These companies are competing for the exact same workers that security firms need. Entry-level, no degree required, willing to work odd hours. The overlap is nearly total.
FedEx package handlers at the Memphis hub start around $14 to $15 an hour. Amazon warehouse associates in the area are pulling $15 with overtime available. Nike starts seasonal workers at $13 to $14.
Compare that to what most security guard positions offer. Allied Universal, the largest private security company in the country, posts Memphis guard positions at $10 to $13 an hour depending on the contract. Securitas runs similar numbers. Smaller local firms like Phelps Security and Imperial Security might offer slightly more for armed positions, but unarmed posts typically sit in the $10 to $12 range.
The math isn’t complicated. A worker choosing between standing in a parking lot for $11 an hour and loading packages in an air-conditioned warehouse for $15 isn’t going to think very long about it.
Why People Leave Security Work
Money is the biggest factor. It’s not the only one.
I talked to a dozen former security guards over the past month for this story. Their complaints fell into a few categories.
First, the schedule. Security companies need bodies at 2 a.m. on a Wednesday. They need someone at a gate on Christmas morning. The hours are brutal and unpredictable, especially at companies that do a lot of last-minute contract work. One former guard at a Whitehaven apartment complex told me he’d get calls at 10 p.m. asking him to cover a midnight shift because somebody no-showed. He said it happened twice a week for three months straight before he quit.
Second, the conditions. Standing outside a construction site on Winchester Road for eight hours when it’s 95 degrees isn’t pleasant. Neither is working a gate at an industrial park on Shelby Drive where the guard shack doesn’t have working air conditioning. Multiple guards I spoke with mentioned poor equipment, broken radios, and uniforms that don’t fit properly.
Third, the danger. Armed guards face obvious risks. Unarmed guards deal with confrontations too. A guard at a Raleigh shopping center described getting threatened with a knife over a shoplifting stop last December. He made $11.50 an hour. “For that kind of money, it’s not worth getting stabbed,” he told me.
Fourth, and this one came up more than I expected, the boredom. Long stretches of nothing happening, punctuated by moments of stress. Several guards compared it unfavorably to warehouse work, where at least the shift goes by faster because you’re physically moving the entire time.
What Companies Are Doing About It
Not enough, according to most of the guards I talked to. Still, some firms are trying.
Allied Universal, which absorbed several smaller companies through acquisitions over the past few years, has been pushing a benefits package that includes medical, dental, and a 401(k) for full-time employees. The problem is that many guard positions are part-time, which means those benefits don’t apply. A spokesperson for the company told me they’ve raised starting wages in certain Memphis contracts by $1 to $2 an hour over the past year.
GardaWorld, the Canadian security giant that’s been growing its Memphis presence, advertises referral bonuses of $500 for guards who bring in new hires who stay at least 90 days. The 90-day requirement is key. Without it, you’d have guards recruiting their cousins for a quick $500, only for the new hire to bail after two weeks.
Walden Security, which is based in Chattanooga and runs contracts across Tennessee including several in the Memphis area, has invested in a training program that gives guards a clearer path from unarmed posts to armed positions and eventually to supervisor roles. The theory is that guards are less likely to leave if they can see a future in the job. Whether that works long-term is hard to say. The program has only been running since early this year.
Phelps Security, one of the more established local companies, has been offering retention bonuses. Hit your six-month mark, get a check. Hit your one-year mark, get a bigger check. The owner told me it’s cheaper to pay retention bonuses than to constantly recruit and train replacements, which can cost $1,500 to $3,000 per new hire when you factor in background checks, licensing fees, uniform costs, and training hours.
Imperial Security is trying a different angle. They’ve been focusing on hiring retirees and veterans who aren’t necessarily looking for full-time careers but want steady part-time income. The advantage is lower turnover because these workers aren’t shopping around for better warehouse gigs. The disadvantage is a smaller candidate pool.
The Licensing Bottleneck
Here’s a factor that doesn’t get discussed enough. Tennessee requires private security guards to be registered through the Private Protective Services licensing program administered by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. The process involves a background check, fingerprinting, and completion of a state-approved training course.
For unarmed guards, the training requirement is relatively light. For armed guards, it’s more involved, including firearms qualification. Either way, there’s a processing time. A company that needs five new guards tomorrow can’t just pull people off the street and put them to work. There’s a weeks-long pipeline between “I want this job” and “I can legally do this job.”
That pipeline creates a bottleneck during high-demand periods. Summer is the worst. A security company might have 20 applicants in June, but by the time half of them get through the licensing process, some will have already taken other jobs. The window between applying and actually starting work is when companies lose the most candidates.
Some firms try to speed things up by pre-paying for fingerprinting and background checks. Others maintain a roster of licensed-but-inactive guards they can call when demand spikes. Neither solution is perfect.
The Client Side
Businesses that hire security companies feel the staffing crunch too. When a guard doesn’t show up, it’s the business owner who has to deal with the gap.
A property manager at a midtown apartment complex near Cooper-Young told me she’s been through four different security companies in two years. “They promise 24-hour coverage, and then half the time nobody shows up for the overnight shift,” she said. “I get calls from residents at 3 a.m. asking where the guard is, and I don’t have an answer.”
Restaurants and bars on Beale Street deal with this every summer weekend. Security is mandatory for liquor-serving establishments in the Beale Street entertainment district, and when a guard cancels last-minute, the bar either scrambles to find a replacement or risks a citation.
Construction sites are another pressure point. The building boom around downtown Memphis, including the renovation work along Union Avenue and new development near the medical district, has created demand for overnight security at dozens of sites. Developers don’t want their copper wire and equipment walking off at 2 a.m. Finding guards willing to work those hours at those locations for $11 an hour is a hard sell.
What Happens Next
The staffing crunch won’t ease up this summer. If anything, it’ll get worse as temperatures climb and outdoor events peak through July and August. The Memphis in May International Festival is behind us, but Mempho Music Festival, the Cooper-Young Festival, and dozens of smaller events are ahead. Each one needs security.
The longer-term question is whether security companies will accept that they need to pay more. The $10-to-$12-an-hour model was already shaky before Amazon and FedEx started expanding. Now it’s breaking.
Some contracts will have to be repriced. Clients who want reliable guards at $12 an hour are going to hear from their security providers that the number needs to be $14 or $15, and the clients will either pay it or accept worse service. That conversation is happening at every security company in Memphis right now.
For the guards themselves, the message is straightforward. If you’re licensed and reliable, you have options. Companies are competing for you. Use that.
For the industry, the summer of 2019 might be the season that forces a reckoning with how it compensates the people who do the actual work. Or it might just be another summer of scrambling, no-shows, and complaints. I’ve been covering this industry in Memphis for long enough to know which outcome is more likely.
But I hope I’m wrong.