oral communication competencies for security guards in bc-jan 2016

ORAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES

FOR

SECURITY GUARDS IN BC

By

TIMOTHY ROBERT SHORT

An Organizational Leadership Project in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In

LEADERSHIP

We accept this Final report as conforming

to the required standard

Submitted to

Axel Hovbrender, MA, Academic Supervisor

Sandra Sajko, MA, Project Sponsor

Brigitte Harris, PhD, Committee Chair

ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY

December, 2015

© Timothy Robert Short, 2015

SECURITY GUARD COMPETENCIES 2

© T. R. Short 2015

Executive Summary

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is a provincial government department responsible for the

oversight of the justice system within the province of BC. The mission statement of the MOJ,

“is to lead law reform in British Columbia, see that public affairs are administered in accordance

with the law and ensure that British Columbia is a province where people are safe” (Ministry of

Justice Annual Service Plan, 2014, p.7). The portfolio of the MOJ is extensive, diverse and

made up of many provincial, regional and local organizations working together to ensure public

safety and security. The Registrar for the Security Programs Division (SPD), my sponsor,

oversees and coordinates the delivery of security services for the province of BC.

My initial Action Research inquiry with the SPD and the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC)

which administers the basic security [guard] training (BST) in BC, was to determine their

respective views on the research topic as they have the responsibility to make change and solve

the issue (Weisbord, 2004; Coghlan & Brannick, 2012). That being said, the AR project also

engaged security guard instructors, security company management, and collaborative partners to

determine the essential elements of English language competencies for security guards and

attempted to answer the question, “What oral communication competencies are required for

security guards in BC?” Three subquestions informed a deeper understanding:

1. What are the qualifications to be a security guard in BC?

2. What English language competencies are required to be a security guard?

3. How does critical incident stress impact the language fluency of security guards

who are English language learners (ELL)?

This inquiry required three areas of relevant study: security guard qualifications, English

language competency, and how anxiety and stress affect ELL security guard oral communication

fluency. In addition, studying the benefits of competencies assisted in understanding the

advantages of experiential knowledge, educational, and vocational skills which meet the

minimum standards necessary to obtain security guard licensing in the province of BC

(DiStephano, et al., 2004; Billett, 2011; Burke, 1989; Schippmann, et al, 2000; Rogelberg, 2007).

Examining the relationships associated with English language competencies was critical as it

related to the importance of listening and oral communication during stressful or critical

incidents (Canale & Swain, 1980; Carnevale, 1990; Taylor, 1988; Woodrow, 2006; McCroskey,

1984; Woodrow, 2006; Hancock & Szalma, 2008; Suchy, 2011; Dunnigan, 2012; Reden et al,

2013; Lazarus, Deese & Osler, 1952)

Participants for the inquiry were selected on the basis of their participation in the security

industry in such areas as training, growth, accountability, credibility, and professionalism

(Wheatley, 2011; Stringer, 2014). In this inquiry, the first reference group included 105 security

guard instructors currently certified to teach the BST in the province of BC. The second

participant group included eight to ten senior management personnel from the 433 security

companies who provide security guard services. All the participants in the survey and individual

interviews received an invitation to participate in the inquiry informing them of the voluntary

nature and confidentiality of their participation.


© T. R. Short 2015

This inquiry was conducted in accordance with the Royal Roads University Research

Ethics Policy (2011), Royal Roads University Policy and Procedures on Academic Integrity and

Misconduct in Research and Scholarship (2010) and Tri-Council Policy Statement (Canadian

Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada,

and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2010). All three of the above

are founded on three core principles: respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice. Due

to the voluntary nature of this inquiry, I was able to mitigate the minimal ethical risks associated

to this project by being transparent with the ethics boards and with participants. As such there

were no risks for participants involved in the survey, or in the individual interviews for this

research study.

The first method of inquiry was the survey method. Survey data were collected from

security guard instructors as they were most likely to have an intimate knowledge of the English

language proficiencies of each student. Their insight as to the importance of oral communication

competencies was an essential piece of this inquiry. The second method of inquiry was the

interview. Individual interviews were conducted with senior personnel of security companies. It

is these senior members of the industry who have knowledge of current security guard

legislation, training, hiring, and deployment of the security guards in their employ. The purpose

of these research methods was to obtain more comprehensive data on oral communication

proficiencies of ELL security guards following their basic security training and hiring.

I analyzed the non-categorical items in the survey by reviewing statistics involving the mean,

mode and standard deviation and then coded and themed the data that informed the questions

from the survey. With this intent, the inquiry undertook two data collection methods which

supported qualitative and quantitative analysis methods in a survey and individual interviews

using manual and individual analysis as well as coding and triangulation, cutting, pasting and

sorting methods (Glesne,2011; Stringer, 2014). There were seven main findings from the survey

and interview data:

1. Problems with English language skills

2. The Importance of security guard qualifications

3. Security guard training

4. Assessment tools

5. Current industry needs for oral communication skills

6. Methods to ensure qualification credibility

7. Critical incident stress and public safety

I considered the theme of English language skills through multiple lenses based on the

experiences shared by the participants. Survey respondents indicated that a number of students

have difficulty in speaking English fluently because of their immigrant or ELL status as well as

listening challenges. Survey respondents emphasized the importance of oral language

communication as the single most important qualification for a security guard, followed closely

by skills, and then experience. All participants are supporters of increased security guard

training and development which will help inform security training competencies. Participants

also suggested additional concepts and methods to enhance skillsets in other areas with the

integration of divisions or tiers within the security industry as a whole.


© T. R. Short 2015

Participants in the interview group stressed the importance of oral communication in the

essential duties for security guards, citing that company, client and the public would be the major

benefactors. Another major concern in the security industry was the listening skills of security

guards. The vast majority of the interview group indicated that there should be a standardized

assessment tool to determine oral communication skills.

Critical incident stress was discussed with participants as it affects us individually and

sometimes with different results. It can be more debilitating to a person with ELL challenges and

can exacerbate one’s ability to communicate effectively. All participants concluded that a high

level of oral communication skills was necessary in the job, and that stress does affect their

employees’ oral communication abilities.

Of the seven findings from the survey and the interview, some are interrelated in that

similar themes occurred across multiple analyses. After examining the inquiry themes

individually and collectively through a second cycle of analysis, three conclusions were made.

These conclusions are:

1. Good oral communication is necessary to be a security guard.

2. Verification methods are needed to qualify security guards licensing.

3. Public safety is at risk as a result of security guards who lack good oral

communication skills.

The purpose of this inquiry was to determine what oral communication competencies are

required for security guards in BC. Three of the qualifications to be a security worker (guard) in

BC are appropriate skills, training and/or experience. Embodied in the construct of a required

skill set for a security guard is a level of English language fluency sufficient for such a worker to

be able to converse in English with the public while carrying out his/her duties. Analysis of the

research findings indicated the participants felt that English language fluency was the most

important qualification for a security guard in BC.

The findings and conclusions supported the three recommendations which suggest that

through action research the current issues with English language competency verification

methods can be solved. The three recommendations are as follows:

1. Evaluate security worker application forms to address English language certification

verification methods.

2. Educate and inform potential security workers, security companies, BST instructors,

and designated security training schools of any changes to security worker licensing

processes.

3. Implement of the plan.

To ensure that the Security Programs Division has credibility with both internal and external

stakeholders, it is recommended that the most important element is for the SPD to support the

changes to the validation and verification of English language competencies as it relates to ELL

workers through compliance and enforcement policies.


© T. R. Short 2015

The second recommendation is to have a clear process in place for sharing evaluation

criteria and to communicate with all stakeholders, security companies, security guard instructors,

the JIBC, designated security training facilities, and government regulators of the Security

Programs Division.

My final recommendation is related to the implementation of the plan by the SPD who,

by virtue of their position, have the power to make change to policy as the needs of stakeholders

and government shift and can respond quickly to reviewing policy and amending when

necessary. The process will depend on the substance of the change and whether consultation

with industry and stakeholders are necessary. Other factors, including legal application, strategic

objectives, and overall benefit analysis will also have to be considered.

The participants have recognized a gradual shift for the expectations of the general

security worker which currently require a greater mastery of oral communication competencies.

The participants clearly identified the importance and ranking of oral communication levels for

security guards necessary to do their jobs and the need for a standardized assessment or testing

process verifying those ELL employees appropriately. Security guards numbers are two times

larger than the police forces in BC and Canada with projected increases to be almost three times

larger in the near future. If the recommendations are not initiated to effect security guard

verification and compliance methods in BC, the industry may not to be able to catch up with

validating the current ELL security guards let alone the future anticipated increase in applicants.

In order to allow for an opportunity to share this inquiry project with the key stakeholder the

JIBC, the organizational sponsor the SPD and I have agreed that a face-to-face meeting to share

the inquiry findings, recommendations, and future implications would be in order. The SPD has

indicated that they are currently reviewing their process in conjunction with the JIBC to see

where efficiencies can be made with the English fluency requirements. This aligns itself in part

with the first recommendation for verification methods.


© T. R. Short 2015

Table of Contents

Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………................2

Table of Contents…………………………………………………..…………………………6

List of Figures………………………………………………….…………………………..…8

Chapter One: Focus and Framing …………………………………………………………………...9

Significance of the Inquiry…………………… ……………………………………………12

Organizational Context…………………..…………………………………….……………13

Systems Analysis of the Inquiry……………………………………….……………………14

Chapter Summary…...............................................................................................................17

Chapter Two: Literature Review. ....................................................................................................... 17

What are the Qualifications to be a Security Guard in BC? ……………………………..…19

What English Language Competencies are Needed to be a Security Guard?………………26

How Does Critical Incident Stress Impact the Language Fluency of ESL Security

Guards?.............................................................................................................................29

Chapter Summary…………………………………………………………………………...33

Chapter Three: Inquiry Project Approach…………..……….…..………………………………….34

Inquiry Project Methodology……………………………………………………………….34

Project Participants………………………………………………………………………….36

Inquiry Team………………………………………………………………………………..37

Inquiry Project Methods…………………………………………………………………....37

Ethical Issues………………………………………………………………………………..42

Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………...…45


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Four: Action Inquiry Project Findings and Conclusions………………………………….46

Study Findings……………………………………………………………………… ……46

Study Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………56

Scope and Limitations of the Inquiry………………………………………………………61

Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………….63

Chapter Five: Inquiry Project Recommendations and Implications………………………………..64

Study Recommendations………………………………………………………………… 64

Organizational Implications……………………………………………………………… 69

Implications for Future Inquiry…………………………………………………………….71

Chapter Summary …………………………………………………………………… ..…..72

References………………………………………………………………………………………75

Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in a Survey……………………………………………...81

Appendix B: Letter of Invitation to Participate in Interview…………………………………...82

Appendix C: Inquiry Team Confidentiality Agreement………………………………………..83

Appendix D: Interview Consent Form…………………………………………………………85

Appendix E: Survey Questions………………………………………………………………...86

Appendix F: Interview Questions……………………………………………………………...89

Appendix G: Reasons for Fluency Difficulties in English………………………………….. 91

Appendix H: Most Important Qualification…………………………………………………. .92


© T. R. Short 2015

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Stakeholders in the training of security guards in British Columbia, Canada….16


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter One: Focus and Framing

In 1981, the Province of British Columbia (BC) enacted the Private Investigators and

Security Agencies Act to provide compliance of security-related matters to include security

employees such as security patrol, alarm service, locksmith and security consultants (British

Columbia, 1981). The Private Investigators and Security Agencies Act remained in effect until

2008 when it was replaced by the Security Services Act and Regulations.

The Law Commission of Canada (2006) report on The Future of Policing in Canada

stated that, structurally, private security organizations tend to be very different from their public

policing counterparts in that, unlike the case with public police service, lateral entry into private

security organizations was normal. There was thus a much greater variation of experience,

education levels, maturity, training and skills. Unlike public policing organizations, private

sector policing organizations tended not to define their missions and objectives so exclusively in

terms of crime prevention, control and law enforcement, but more commonly specialized in

particular kinds of policing functions such as cash carrying, guarding, investigative work, alarm

response and servicing, executive protection, and security consulting. In some instances, the

RCMP have hired private security to help with limited policing functions at airports to serve

parking tickets (Law Commission of Canada, 2006, p.49).

Over the past few years, traditional and social media outlets have reported incidents of

criminal misconduct [assault] and human rights violations [discrimination] perpetrated by

security guard personnel in various Lower Mainland communities. These incidents raise the

issues of accountability and transparency of the security industry in BC. As a result, a call for

the need to reform the Security Services Act and Regulations in British Columbia has been

suggested (Pivot Legal Society, 2013).


© T. R. Short 2015

For the past five years, I have been employed as a security guard instructor at Douglas

College in Coquitlam, BC. My work in the security field was informed by my previous career in

policing which has given me intimate knowledge and experience associated with the training

methodologies, concepts, and theories associated with the Basic Security Training (BST)

program and, in particular, the necessary competencies for security guards. Examples of these

competencies would include knowledge, skills and English language proficiency in oral

communication. Although the current Security Services Act references security guards as

security workers, in this inquiry the use of the term “security guard” has been utilized

throughout.

I have instructed approximately 300 students of which at least 65% spoke at least one

other language in addition to being English language learners (ELL). Various written language

testing processes have been conducted to ensure English language competencies at the college

level were adhered to. However, when participant levels were low, allowances were made to

accept those without a testing process. That being said, my interest in the ability of ELL students

was always a concern to me, as was whether the oral language fluency levels that they exhibited

in class were enough to maintain employment and keep the candidates and the public safe.

The inquest into the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez a Mexican National, who, while in

custody at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) holding cells at Vancouver International

Airport committed suicide, has sparked not only the outrage of family members, but also the

concern of CBSA officials who hired a private security guard company to monitor and maintain

security of the facility for those waiting trial or deportation. CBSA officials were extraordinarily

disturbed by the 911 call reviewed in the inquest, which revealed that the security guard on duty

at the time of the death of Ms. Vega Jimenez, “did not have strong English skills” It was after


© T. R. Short 2015

reading this comment in the Vancouver Sun newspaper (October 7, 2014) that I decided to focus

my OLP on ELL competencies for security guards. The recommendations from the inquest did

not infer any language competencies about the security guards actions.

The right to deliver Basic Security Training (BST) in British Columbia has been

conferred by the Security Programs Division Policing and Security Branch (SPDPSB) of the

Ministry of Justice and administered by the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).

Instructors who have the required qualifications have provided instruction from the BST Manual

as their primary resource. The forty-hour mandatory training course has prepared students to

carry out their mandate as security guards in a safe, effective, and professional manner (Justice

Institute of British Columbia, 2013, p.17).

Several jurisdictional bodies have governed the responsibilities of security guards in the

performance of their duties, but none has been more important than the use of force as described

in the Criminal Code of Canada and discrimination in the Canadian Constitution under The

Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in the Security Licensing Process and Licence Conditions

Policies for the province of BC. These laws and policies are described in the BST Manual and

inform the security guard of their legal obligations and customer service responsibilities when

dealing with the public whether or not a crime has been committed.

This research project has engaged security guard instructors, security company

management and collaborative partners to determine the essential elements of English language

competencies for security guards and attempted to answer the question, “What oral

communication competencies are required for security guards in BC?” Three subquestions

informed a deeper understanding:



© T. R. Short 2015


3. How does critical incident stress impact the language fluency of ELL security

guards?

Significance of the Inquiry

The Basic Security Training (BST) Participant’s Manual came into effect in 2008,

developed by the Justice Institute of BC under the auspices of the SPDPSB. The BST has been

mandatory training for those who wish to seek a career in the private security industry. The BST

Participant’s Manual has contained course information for instructors to cover during the

program and provided a framework of knowledge associated with duties of security professionals

(guard) such as ethics, professionalism, customer service, legal framework of duties and powers,

the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, powers of arrest and limitations, making arrests, use of

force, improper or illegal conduct, note-taking and report writing, personal safety, and effective

communication. The latter “occurs when one person through actions or words evokes an

understanding of a message in another person…to communicate effectively, one needs clarity of

thought and effective listening” (Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2013, p.202).

The JIBC is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading public safety educators. The

focus of training at the Justice Institute is on experiential learning for its students to prepare for

success in the workplace (Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2014). This action research

project has been endorsed by the SPDPSB to further enhance best practices and strategize

methods to improve verification of security guard oral communication qualifications. Through

action research the current issues with oral communication verification methods could be solved

thereby mitigating another step in the security guard qualification process. This would also

enhance credibility in the security industry, which, in turn could create immediate change to


© T. R. Short 2015

organizational and industry practice as well as encourage actions that could influence long-term

organizational thinking. By implementing the study recommendations, professionalism and

customer service are expected to increase exponentially. Oral communication competencies will

be consistent with government initiatives, regulations, and that of the client. It is also hoped that

this initiative will provide credibility and pride as a result of implementation of verification

methodology, hence validating education and competency. This will ensure public confidence in

the security industry.

Should the recommendations not be implemented the status quo will prevail and the

public safety will continue to be at risk due to the inability of security guards to do their jobs

without sufficient and appropriate English language competencies.

Organizational Context

The Ministry of Justice (has been the provincial government department responsible for

the oversight of the justice system within the province of BC. At the time of this inquiry, the

mission statement of the Ministry of Justice was, “to lead law reform in British Columbia, see

that public affairs are administered in accordance with the law and ensure that British Columbia

is a province where people are safe” (British Columbia, 2014, p.7). The portfolio of the Ministry

of Justice was extensive, diverse and made up of many provincial, regional and local

organizations working together to ensure public safety and security. These included agencies,

boards, commissions, crown agencies, enforcement, emergency providers, court, legal and

justice services, and the Registrar for the SPDPSB, who oversaw and coordinated the delivery of

security services for the province of BC.

The certification of security guards in the province of BC has been accomplished through

a testing process with a minimum passing score of 60% or an exemption process if an applicant


© T. R. Short 2015

is a previous peace officer, police officer, security guard, or other recognized status in current or

other provinces in Canada. Once certification has been obtained, the next step has been to apply

for the security license. In order to do so, applicants have had a criminal record check, been

fingerprinted and photographed, and approved through the SPDPSB (British Columbia Ministry

of Justice, 2008).

This research project, although specific to the topic, may also inform the SPDPSB of

further inquiry projects associated with training delivery methodologies, certification, and further

accreditations. There is however, a current and compelling need for the SPDPSB to proceed

with this research project. I am guided by Kouzes and Posner (2007) who state:

“If you are going to promise customers quality products and superior customer service,

you’re going to have to equip employees with the skills [competencies] and resources to

do superior work” (p. 260).

The steady economic growth and population expansion reported by the government of

BC has created a need for more security guards in various sectors of society. Many security

companies have taken on the additional responsibility of providing job specific training for

security guards in areas such as health care, loss prevention, educational institutions, banks, and

corporate security, and in personal protection services [i.e., body guards]. The JIBC Programs &

Courses website (April 2014) for BST stated that security guards were required to have the BST

training, but did not require them to have any other additional certification to work in the other

aforementioned job areas. This incident brought into question not only the competencies of

security guards but the credibility of the security industry as a whole.

Systems Analysis of the Inquiry

According to the SPDPSB for the Province of BC, this study was timely as it coincided

with the SPDPSB five-year review of policies, procedures, and security training programs. This


© T. R. Short 2015

research inquiry and information gathered was designed to help identify strategies specific to the

security industry in future licensing and certification methods for security guards. As Margaret

Wheatley (2006) stated, “Conversations among new and different parts of the organization [are]

important … through these processes, new information is spawned, new meanings develop, and

the organization grows in intelligence” (p. 108). Figure 1 is a systems diagram showing how the

stakeholders in the evolving security industry in BC influence, or are affected by, the current and

future initiatives of the Security Programs Division, Policing Security Branch, Ministry of

Justice.


© T. R. Short 2015

Figure 1.1 Stakeholders in the training of security guards in British Columbia, Canada.

Stringer (2007) stated that the structure of an organization is relevant in inquiry, and

emphasized the importance of identifying those affected and those who have influence (p.45).

During this inquiry, I was surprised to learn that the City of Surrey hired private security

guard companies to provide parking ticket enforcement. This job which was previously

performed by bylaw officers or police officers was being performed by security guards with an


© T. R. Short 2015

annual cost savings of 50% to the City. The growth of potential job opportunities for the private

security industry in BC seemed to me to be limitless.

The Law Commission of Canada (2006) promulgated that, in general, these examples

signal that the traditional public-private distinction no longer adequately accounts for modern

policing arrangements. The quantum growth in the use of security cameras in the private sector

provided a much different policing function than traditional public police patrolling activities and

had become embedded into the physical architecture of spaces that are monitored by private

security. In general, the evidence suggested that we should think of policing not in terms of a

public-private dichotomy, but rather a public-private continuum. The public-private divide was

no longer accurate when discussing different policing functions. Instead, we have witnessed

witnessing the emergence of networks of policing (Law Commission of Canada, 2006, p.26-49).

Pigeon (1998) suggested that, “the line between public police and private security is

becoming blurred and that private security personnel are being hired more than ever before to

protect the types of private property…and making inroads into what traditionally was a police

domain” (p.45). In recent years this relationship has led to a growing interest with closer and

more cooperative relationships with public and private sector policing organizations and their

personnel, spawning an emerging discussion about proper roles for the public and privates sector

policing organizations. The burgeoning private security industry and proven public security

have been following similar paths in safety and security (Pigeon. 1998, p.54-55).

Chapter Summary

In Chapter One I have presented the framework, organizational context, and system

analysis which provided the foundation for this research project in relation to what oral

communication competencies are required for security guards in the province of BC who are


© T. R. Short 2015

English language learners. The following chapter will explore literature that is relevant to the

study concepts, including defining language competency, oral communication and anxiety

speaking English as a second language in relation to the inquiry. The findings and

recommendations from this inquiry have the potential to reap many benefits for the security

industry as a whole.


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Two: Literature Review

This inquiry required three areas of relevant study: security guard qualifications, English

language competency, and how anxiety and stress have affected ELL security guard oral

communication fluency. In addition, studying the benefits of competencies will assist in

understanding the advantages of experiential knowledge, educational and vocational skills which

meet the minimum standards necessary to obtain security guard licensing in the province of BC.

Examining the relationships associated with English language competencies will be critical as it

relates to the importance of listening and oral communication during stressful or critical

incidents. The study of psychological stressors and anxiety will inform the nuances of first

responder deliverables and emotions. In this literature review, I have explored the policy and

literature surrounding the required qualifications for becoming a licensed security guard in the

province of BC. Without the benefit of credible verification methods for English oral

communication competencies, security companies and their employees may pose a risk to the

public and be subject to civil litigation as a consequence.

What are the Qualifications to be a Security Guard in BC?

Prerequisites.

Pre-requisites, pre-admission, or admission standards into post-secondary and vocational

institutions have anecdotally been considered a staple requirement, but DiStephano, Rudestam,

and Silverman (2004) stated that, “Admission criteria are the requirements established by

colleges and universities to ensure the adequate preparation of students for postsecondary

education and to manage the demand of enrollment” (p.21). Those who have met the criteria

have been admitted. Generally, however, community colleges have maintained open enrollment


© T. R. Short 2015

policies, with very liberal, access-oriented admission for their courses and academic programs.

These admission requirements could change from year to year based on the issues of curriculum

which identified what students needed to know prior to enrolment, the external market forces

needed to maintain equilibrium in the work force, and the mission and tradition of the institution

(DiStephano, et al., 2004 p.21). Billett (2011) suggested that

although the field of vocational education ranges from the highest status programs in

universities…to the lowly esteemed programs in schools, colleges and workplaces, it is

most often seen…largely reserved for those with poor outcomes from schooling, and who

are unable to secure access to higher forms of education” and “despite all the interest…it

remains doggedly of low status and the professional, governmental and public discourses

often do little to overcome this perception (p.2).

This also suggested that prerequisites for vocational institutions could be less than that of

colleges and universities.

The JIBC, a primary stakeholder in this research project, is both a post-secondary and

vocational institution. On behalf of the Registrar of the Security Programs Division, Policing

and Security Branch for the Ministry of Justice it has also been responsible for the development

and maintenance of training standards, monitoring examinations, inspection and quality control

of schools and approved security instructors (Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2014). The

course prerequisites to apply to the Basic Security Training program, as described on the JIBC

website in September of 2014, was limited to age only. In defense of the aforementioned lack of

prerequisites, DiStephano (2004) stated that, “Students interested in particular courses or

certificates can usually apply as non-degree (sic) students, which is much less restrictive than

admission into degree programs. Few, if any, admission standards must be met for non-degree

status” (p.21). However, to obtain your security license in BC an applicant was required to

possess the qualifications described in the following section.


© T. R. Short 2015

Qualifications.

The Security and Licensing Process and Licence Conditions Policies of BC stated in

Section 2.6 of the qualifications for license section that

security workers must possess the appropriate skills, training and/or experience to safely

and properly perform the kind of security work they wish to be licensed for…The

policies set out in this section assist the registrar in determining whether an individual

meets the qualifications for a particular license type. (British Columbia Ministry of

Justice, 2008)

Because the application process into the BST course required minimal prerequisites such

as age and being entitled to work in Canada, there was little or no verification of prior vocational

training, skills, or language proficiencies. The Security and Licensing Process and Licence

Conditions Policies (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2008) indicated that once certification

of the BST was obtained by passing the exam and barring any unforeseen unknowns such as a

criminal record, the license should follow. This, process bypassed the basic qualifiers of Section

2.6 such as knowledge, experience, skills, and English language competency which were

identified as essential qualifications to obtain the security license. The balance of licensing

verification was therefore based primarily on one’s ability to pass an exam. The following

literature identified not only the relevance of having the appropriate competencies, but, in

particular, oral communication.

Competency.

What is the competency skill level needed to be a worker, supervisor or manager in any

of today’s work environments? Burke suggested that “occupational standards are based,

implicitly, on a concept of competence…to drive standards and associated assessment and


© T. R. Short 2015

learning systems” (1989, p.26). Burke went even further when he noted that occupational

standards

…are keystones of Vocational Education and Training…If we are clear about what we

mean by competence, we can derive associated standards which describe what

competence means in specific occupations and work roles. Standards thus developed, are

incorporated into vocational qualifications and inform the programmes of learning which

deliver the standards. (1989, p.26)

Upon examining a variety of definitions, Schippmann et al., (2000) suggested that the

word competency has a varied use stating

Clearly, there is a wide range of definitions, even among a fairly homogeneous expert

population, underscoring the difficulty of pinpointing a standard definition of the term.

This lack of consensus shouldn’t be too surprising, given the multiple domains in which

the terms “competent” or “competency” are prevalent. (p.707)

The term “competency” was embraced in the vocational counselling profession to define

broad areas of knowledge, skills and abilities linked to specific occupations, and “successful”

performance of a certain task or activity, or “adequate knowledge of a certain domain of

knowledge or skill in educational environments” (p.707).

In recent years, the competence of security guards in BC has come under attack by

traditional news and social media sources. The media reports have included accusations of the

use of excessive force or assault and abusive language by a security guard in his handling of a

suspected male shoplifter in a Vancouver mall (CBC News, Oct 2012) and accusations of

discrimination and assault against five marginalized members of the community by mall security

guards (Pivot Legal Society, 2012). The death of Patrick Shand in 1999, which resulted from an

apprehension by store employees and mall security, and the subsequent inquest in 2004, made 22

recommendations to the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act in Ontario for


© T. R. Short 2015

standardization with mandatory training and licensing for security practitioners in the security

industry (Carroll, 2004).

In order to assess competencies, Rogelberg (2007), stated that program evaluation has

been used as a tool for assessing the merits of education and governmental programs, where

public funding demands a demonstration of accountability (p.635). Rogelberg (2007) further

stated that organizations with many job applicants need to be able to quickly and efficiently

screen out those applicants who not only fail to meet the minimum qualifications, but are also

unlikely to be successful on the job if hired (p.635-640). Burke (1989) further posited that,

“Certification which attests to competence should infer, with adequate certainty, that the

individual is competent” (p.80).

Essential skills.

The Government of Canada, along with national and international agencies has identified

and validated key literacy and essential skills needed for nearly every workplace, learning other

skills and life (Government of Canada, 2015a, p. 1). Nine essential skills have been identified

such as reading, document use, writing, numeracy, oral communication, thinking, working with

others and continuous learning, and are used in nearly every job in Canada at different levels of

complexity (Government of Canada, 2015b, p. 1).

The benefits of an essential skills assessment provide employers, educators, and trainers

with the ability to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness and develop focused intervention

strategies. The Conference Board of Canada’s report on Life, Literacy and Employment stated

that a Job Standard skill level of 300 or more out of a score range of 0-500 indicated the person

had “the minimum level at which employees can be expected to perform their jobs well…means


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at a minimum, being able to read and use the documents… follow required health and safety

procedures and being able to communicate effectively with co-workers, supervisors and

customers” (Conference Board of Canada, 2006, p.4).

Essential skills assessments have been designed to compare security workers’ skills to be

to the requirements of the security guard job classification as described in the essential skills

profiles of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) (Government of Canada, 2011a, p.1).

The NOC reflects the unification of Employment and Social Development Canada’s NOC and

Statistics Canada’s NOC-S. At the time of this inquiry, NOC was the nationally accepted

taxonomy and organizational framework of occupations in the Canadian labour market. It

organized over 40,000 job titles including security workers. According to Statistics Canada,

47% of Canadian workers did not possess adequate skills in three areas that were essential for

workplace safety and productivity: reading text, document use, and numeracy (Government of

Canada, 2011b, p.1).

In a report to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, now named the

Department of Employment and Social Development Canada, Douglas College authored

Essential Skills for Security Personnel (2006), a national research project to examine whether or

not the skill levels of security workers met those of industry needs. The report stated that,

“training standards are minimal at best and companies compete for business in terms of price

only, staying competitive by hiring low skilled and under-employed workers” (p.1). “The

Essential Skills for Security Personnel research project clearly identifies and confirms the

alarming skill gaps that exist within the private security industry” (p.22). The confirmation of

skill gaps had a number of impacts to be considered and suggested that, “One key issue the

project findings raise is the question of personal and public safety. Undoubtedly, individuals


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who lack the skills required to competently work in the security industry put themselves and the

public at risk. Given the nature of work the private security industry provides, this concern

around safety is extremely critical” (p.23).

Verification of qualifications.

Buster, Roth, and Bobko (2005) stated that, “The use of education and experience

minimum qualifications (MQ) is nearly ubiquitous in employment settings, yet it appears to be

rare that such MQ are validated by the end user” (p.771). These MQ have been among the most

common selection procedures used in both the private and public sectors, including various

forms such as tasked-based systems or education and experience statements in order to initially

screen applicants before they have progressed further into selection systems that may include test

or interviews. In essence, MQ have typically been characterized as disqualifying individuals

from further progression in the system (p.772). Buster et al (2005) further stated that there was

relatively little literature guiding MQ development and validation, but the ability to provide

evidence supporting the use of MQ or any selection device is important (p.793).

Gibson and Prien (1977) stated that

the minimum requirement or qualification is a statement of the minimum level of

competence the individual must have for a job” and “as a measure of relative

qualification stems from the basic premise for qualifications, namely, that those stated

education, training, and work experience activities invariably lead to the minimum

competence to perform the job duties of the position.” (p.447- 449)

In his blog, Rosenbaum (2015) identified this analogy of competence vs proficiency:

A competency model is the traditional way to identify what needs to be included in a

typical training program. A competency model breaks things down into three

parts…Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes… When you build a competency model you end

up with a long list of items to include in training…With a competency model, you can

master all the competencies and not produce the desired results on the job… With a

proficiency definition, the end result is completely spelled out and training doesn’t end

until the employee becomes proficient. (p.1)


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What English Language Competencies are Required to be a Security Guard?

Oral communication.

Canale and Swain (1980) suggested that in the theories of basic communication skills

with second language programs in mind,

a theory of basic communication skills can be characterized as one that emphasizes the

minimum level of (mainly oral) communication skills needed to get along in, or cope

with, the most common second language situations the learner is likely to face. (p. 9)

They further suggested that these are the skills needed to get one’s meaning across, to do things

in the second language, to say what one really wants to say such as gathering information, and

asking questions (p.9). Building upon Canale and Swaine’s theory, Carnevale (1990) wrote that

speaking and listening skills…should be considered basic competencies and measures of

functional literacy” and that “people who lack proficiency in the skills of oral

communication are handicapped not only in communication with others, but also in

learning for personal and professional development. (p.25)

In general, good oral communication involves an exchange of thoughts, ideas, and

messages and “is a key element of good customer service” (p.26). Workers who can express

their ideas orally and who understand verbal instructions make fewer mistakes and adjust more

easily to change because these skills contribute to their overall success in areas of interviewing,

resolving conflict, being assertive, and working in a team environment (p.25). In addition to

English language fluency, Carnevale (1990) further suggested that “oral and listening

communication skills…are central to the smooth operation of a competitive venture…resolving

conflict and providing meaningful feedback all hinge on the capacity to speak and listen well”

(p.28).


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Language competency.

Having effective language competencies as a security guard cannot be understated in its

importance to efficient and effective communication. Carnevale (1990) stated that, “in the first

two to four minutes of a new interaction, words (verbal communication) contribute only 7% to

communication and that a person’s choice of words… make up a verbal message, whether

spoken or written” (p.132). “Words are important, but in oral communication, if receivers do not

like what they hear or see in the message sender’s body language or appearance or are stopped

by something in the sender’s voice, evidence suggests that they may not care about the words”

(Carnevale, 1990, p.132). When body language and vocal characteristics are appropriate and

meet receivers’ expectations, receivers move more quickly to act on the words (p.132).

Carnevale further suggested that

If a sender works for an unpopular organization…a receiver may not get past that fact to

the substance of the sender’s message. On the other hand, if a receiver is prejudiced,

biased, ignorant, stressed, or fatigued, has language differences with a message sender, or

is a chronically inattentive listener [drug addict] the sender’s message may not be receive

as intended (p.133).

Carnevale (1990) also stated that, “workers whose jobs depend on establishing rapport,

trust and credibility with other people must learn to master the skill of adjusting their

communication style to work well with people whose styles differ from their own” (p.137).

The complexity of the listening process is one reason why without instruction, most

people lack listening skills. Some listening characteristics are culture, gender, ego, personal

anxieties, attention span, intelligence, linguistic aptitude, reading skill, level of apprehension,

and note taking. “To be blunt, people do not listen well to people they consider unattractive,

inferior, or not credible” (Carnevale, 1990, p. 148).


© T. R. Short 2015

English language proficiency.

I have followed the line of reasoning from Carnevale (1990) in his analogy of language

competencies to language proficiency as described by Taylor (1988) in which proficiency is

described:

If we admit that competence in its restricted sense is still a useful concept (i.e., referring

to some kind of ‘knowledge’ or, better, ‘state of knowledge’), then we can draw a

distinction between competence and proficiency, the latter term designating something

like ‘the ability to make use of competence’. Performance is then what is done when

proficiency is put to use. Competence can be regarded as a static concept, having to do

with structure, state, or form, whereas proficiency is essentially a dynamic concept,

having to do with process and function. We can thus avoid the difficulties that arise from

confusing these things. (p.166)

I have thus concluded that language competency and fluency is a measure of language

proficiency with listening and speaking English as stated in the provincial Security and Licensing

Process and License Conditions Policies of BC (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2008):

Some security workers may need to communicate with the police or other emergency

services personnel while on the job. To ensure public safety, it is important that these

workers have a sufficient level of English fluency…an individual must meet, at a

minimum, the standards for listening and speaking English established by the Canadian

Language Benchmarks...the national standard used in Canada for describing, measuring

and recognizing the second language proficiency of adult immigrants (Sec.2.6.1-2.6.1.2).

Therefore, language proficiency for security guards is only attained once the level of

language competency is acquired, which in this case has been supported by the Security Service

Act legislation through the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) (Government of Canada,

(2012). These benchmarks have provided a standard descriptive scale of language ability,

communication competencies such as listening, speaking, writing, and reading in English a

second or additional language (ESL) and have reflected the progression of the knowledge and

skills of ELL learners (Government of Canada, 2012). A security guard working in the province


© T. R. Short 2015

of BC with an ELL category, has been required to have a minimum CLB level 5 competency, in

order to carry out his or her duties (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2008, Section 2.6.1.2)

Over the past five years, I have instructed over 300 students in the BST program at

Douglas College. At least 75% of these students were new immigrants to Canada with English

as their second language. Those who had only a CLB level 5 as required by SLPLCP, (Section

2.6.1.2) have barely passed the BST exam. I felt that the language skills of this cohort were

hardly sufficient for the duties required in the security field and acted only as a survival tool at

best. Even during my own career as a police officer, my native English speaking skills were

challenged in potentially stressful situations because they were affected by fear, anxiety, and the

inability to think clearly. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that security guards who have

English as a second language may be significantly challenged to communicate effectively during

such crisis situations.

How Does Critical Incident Stress Impact the Language Fluency of ELL Security Guards?

Anxiety and speaking English as a second language?

Over the past 10 years, the Security Programs Division has reported that almost 57% of

licensed security guards in BC are foreign born (J. Huska, personal communication, October 20,

2014) which suggest that a significant number of them have English language challenges. The

impact of stress on the language capabilities of ELL speakers has been emphasized by Woodrow,

(2006) who stated that, “Second language anxiety has a debilitating effect on the oral

performance of speakers of English as a second language” (p.308). This can be categorized as

reflecting worry or emotionality, but also seen as more debilitating as it occupies the cognitive

capacity that would otherwise be devoted to the task at hand, for example speaking a foreign

language. In addition, anxiety inhibits the recall of previously learned material and is negatively


© T. R. Short 2015

related to language speaking and oral performance and one of the strongest predictors of foreign

language success with the major stressor being, interacting with native [English] speakers

(p.309-314). This evidence supported the assumption that, “anxiety can adversely affect oral

communication…” (321). Hancock and Szalma (2008) stated that;

In situations of threat…we tend to react with basic behavioural patterns, associated with a

quick and intensive energy mobilization similar to the well-known flight/fight response”

(p.69). This however, “is not appropriate to perform complex tasks and make difficult

decisions” (p.69) but, “in situations where the course of events is unpredictable and the

outcomes uncertain, we tend to react with anxiety and to fall back on well-learned, basic

strategies that are rigid and non-adaptive, but give a feeling of safety…With extreme

threat people are no longer able to think in a flexible way, which inhibits their problem

solving. In panic situations people may adhere to incorrect coping strategies. (p.69)

Communication apprehension.

McCroskey (1976) stated that communication apprehension (CA) is “an anxiety

syndrome associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or

persons” (p.39). McCroskey and Daly (1984) further stated that

When people are confronted with a circumstance that they anticipate will make them

uncomfortable, and they have a choice whether or not to confront it, they may decide

either to confront it and make the best of it or avoid it and thus avoid the discomfort.

Research in the area of CA indicates that the latter choice would be expected in most

instances. (p.35)

In the security profession, security guards may not have the luxury, or be able, to avoid

oral communication and may find themselves in situations that generate a high level of CA with

no advance warning. McCroskey & Daly suggested that, “under such circumstances, withdrawal

from oral communication is the behavioural pattern to be expected” (1984, p.35) in addition to

absolute silence or partial, a very short speech, talking only when called upon, or only supplying

agreeing responses with no initiation of discussion (1984, p.35). McCroskey & Daly posited that


© T. R. Short 2015

communication disruption behaviour suggests that a person with high levels of CA “may have

disfluencies in verbal presentation or unnatural non-verbal behaviours. Equally as likely are poor

choices of communicative strategies” (1984, p.36) and “that such behaviours may be produced

by inadequate communication skills” (1984, p.36). The results of communication apprehension

studies have indicated that a high level of CA has been seen as a potential inhibitor of the

development of communication competence and skill and as a direct precursor to negative and

ineffective communication (McCroskey & Daly, 1984, p.37).

First responders.

As the security industry has moved forward with additional responsibilities, so have the

dynamics as they relate to emergency response for which the phrase first responder is

appropriate. Samuels (2006) used the term first responders to describe emergency response

professionals who are first to arrive at the scene of a fire, hazardous materials or items,

emergency medical services, or crime. First responders include members of security, health,

transportation, communication, and law enforcement agencies (p.264). Pass and Embar-Seddon,

(2009) stated that since the 2001 terrorist attack in the US, the public has become more aware of

the roles of first responders. In response to the aftermath, the United States President George

Bush issued a presidential directive that defined first responders as those skilled individuals

involved in the first stages of an incident who carry out many roles for the purposes of protecting

people and preserving property. It suggested further that first responders are specifically trained

persons who are the first to arrive at crisis incidents, disaster scenes and criminal investigations

such as police (p.476-477).

The first responder, specifically the security guard, has a myriad of responsibilities in his

or her job description from policing functions such as arrest and investigation; medical assistance


© T. R. Short 2015

such as basic first aid; and emergency preparedness such as fire, earthquake and environmental

concerns. That being said, it is only appropriate that given the similarities of job responsibilities

between public and private security, training standards [in the private security industry] should

be embraced to reflect the core values of policing (Law Commission of Canada, 2006, p.109).

Stress on first responders.

In order to understand the constructs of stress, Suchy (2011) stated that

stress is typically defined as a mental, emotional, or physical strain that often occurs in

response to perceived or real threat to one’s physical or psychological

integrity…unpredictable and uncontrollable, has been termed ‘bad stress’ and has been

shown to have deleterious effects of physical, mental and neurocognitive health. (p.205)

What cannot be overlooked are some of the psychological symptoms that stress and

anxiety contribute to the emergency responders [first responder] profession. Dunnigan (2012)

addressed the post-traumatic stress reactions of emergency responders after an incident, asserting

that

emergency responders, or first responders, include police officers, fire fighters or medical

technicians who respond to…traumatic events and who are charged with the duty of

addressing the often horrific results and requirements of these scenes are at a greater risk

despite all of their training. The combination of daily demands…can have debilitating

effects on these professionals. Catastrophic events have been found to result in traumatic

stress including natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, accidental

catastrophes such as airplane or vehicle accidents and human-induced catastrophes such

as assault, robbery, arson, and murder (p.1).

Anxiety of first responders.

Renden, Landman, Geerts, Jansen, Faber, Savelsbrergh and Oudejans (2013) conducted

anxiety research in psychomotor behaviour on the execution of arrest and self-defense skills of

police officers. When in high-pressure situations, such as against aggressive assailants, the

police officer’s performance decreases. In such situations, pressure-induced anxiety can be

defined as “an aversive emotional and motivational state in threatening circumstances”, and is


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“related to the subjective evaluation of a situation, and concerns jeopardy to one’s self-esteem

during performance to physical danger, or insecurity and uncertainty” (p.100-109). During

police work, officers occasionally experience anxiety and any resulting decrease in performance

may be devastating as there is extensive risk of physical injury or even death (Anderson,

Litzenberger, & Plecas, 2002).

Lazarus, Deese and Osler (1952) reported that “stressed subjects showed a reduction in

efficiency in performance” (p.304) and that, “many experimenters have reported signs of

emotional upset such as sweating, tremor, subjective anxiety…” (p.305). Renden et al (2013)

suggested that when police officers are in high pressure situations such as shootings, arrests, or

using self-defense skills, when anxiety levels are also high, it is harder to pay attention to goal-

directed information gathering. The study further suggested that their emotional state was

incongruent with their goals and that the more anxiety and mental effort invested, the more their

level of performance decreased (p.101). The reported emotional state experienced by police

officers was that they were not sufficiently able to inhibit avoidance tendencies in their behavior,

which led to less effective performance (Renden et al 2013, p. 110).

Chapter Summary

In this chapter, I have examined theories around three areas of relevant study: Security

guard qualifications, English Language competency, and how anxiety and stress affect ELL

security guard oral communication fluency. In the next chapter I have described the inquiry

approach and methodology used.


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Three: Inquiry Project Approach

In Chapter Three, I have defined the inquiry research methodology used in the research

project, along with the selection criteria for the participants and the inquiry methods. I have also

profiled the qualitative and quantitative analysis and have described how the ethical issues of this

Action Research (AR) were addressed and how the privacy and rights of the participants were

protected.

My Organizational Leadership Project (OLP) was designed to answer the question:

“What oral communication competencies are required for security guards in BC?” Three

subquestions enabled a deeper level of understanding:



3. How does critical incident stress impact the language fluency of ESL security

guards?

Inquiry Project Methodology

The Action Research strategies used during this project were based on the basic

concepts as described by Coghlan and Brannick (2012). In their work, they stated that the goal

of AR focused on research in action and worked through a cyclical four-step process of

consciously and deliberately planning, taking action, and evaluating the action, leading to further

planning. The action of taking that first step, and fact finding, involved evaluating the first step;

seeing what was learned; and creating the basis for correcting the next step which was aimed at

developing awareness, gaining knowledge, solving problems, and fostering change (p. 3–13).

For this to occur, action research was seen as an effective change management approach as


© T. R. Short 2015

“those with a stake in the problem help define and solve it” and “assume responsibility”

(Weisbord, 2004, p. 206–207). That being said, it was important to include individuals impacted

by the OLP as “the less involvement of those affected, the less likely will be an implementable

solution” (Weisbord, 2004, p. 206). The challenges in delivery of traditional action research

were hampered by SPD maintaining a current sponsor. The SPD was not a person, but an

agency within Ministry of Justice, a ministry within the provincial government which required

time to search for employees with the appropriate qualifications to fulfill the duties of the

Registrar’s portfolio who has the power to make changes within the Security Licensing Process

and Licence Conditions Policies. Under the auspices of acting directorship of the SPD, I have

been fortunate to have met one of the contributors, J. Huska a policy analyst for the SPD who has

kept the communication channels open through phone calls and emails to support and supply me

with much needed information for this project.

Since the inception of the inquiry question and the determination of the appropriate

sponsor, the SPD of the Ministry of Justice has suggested that any recommendations arising out

of this study will be analyzed before any implementation or considerations of a plan. The

process would depend on the substance of the change and whether consultation with industry and

stakeholders was necessary. Other factors, including legal application, strategic objectives, and

overall benefit analysis would also have to be considered. In conjunction with the above, the

SPD has suggested a face-to-face meeting to discuss the findings and recommendations of this

research project which may also feed into the SPD and JIBC reviewing processes involving

English language fluency requirements for security guard licensing (J. Huska, personal

communication October 23, 2015).


© T. R. Short 2015

The first method of inquiry used was the survey method. This survey data was collected

from security guard instructors as they were most likely to acquire an intimate knowledge of the

English language proficiencies of each student; therefore, their insight as to the importance of

oral communication competencies was an essential piece of this inquiry.

The second method of inquiry was the individual interviews with senior personnel of

security companies. It was the senior members of the industry who had knowledge of current

security guard legislation, training, hiring, and deployment of the security guards in their

employ. The purpose of these research methods was to obtain more comprehensive data on oral

communication proficiencies of ELL security guards following their basic security training and

hiring.

Project Participants

My initial inquiry with my sponsor, the Security Programs Division, and the JIBC was to

determine their respective views on the research question: “What oral communication

competencies are required for security guards in BC”? Wheatly (2006) stated, “Conversations

among new and different parts of the organization [are] important … through these processes,

new information is spawned, new meanings develop, and the organization grows in intelligence”

(p. 108).

Participants for my OLP were selected on the basis of their participation in the security

industry such as training, growth, accountability, credibility and professionalism. Stringer

(2014) stated that “qualitative and AR studies require a different process called purposeful

sampling … “that consciously selects people on the basis of a particular set of attributes” (p. 77).

Stringer (2014) describes a “critical reference group” as “those who are primarily concerned with

the issues at hand” (p.79).


© T. R. Short 2015

In this OLP, the first reference group consisted of 105 security guard instructors who

were currently certified to teach the BST in the province of BC. Email invitations to participate

in the survey were extended to all members of the group. The second reference group consisted

of eight to ten participants from the 433 security companies who provided security guard

services. Individual email invitations were sent to senior management personnel working in

companies with over fifty security guard personnel. The first eight individuals who responded to

emails were contacted further to complete this phase of the research project. All the above OLP

participants both for the survey and individual interviews received an invitation form explaining

the voluntary nature and confidentiality of their participation in the action research project as

detailed (see Appendices A and B).

Inquiry Team

My inquiry team consisted of three members: a previous facilitator/colleague from

Douglas College; a former English Language Studies (ELS) faculty member from Kwantlen

Polytechnic University, and a past Royal Roads University Master of Arts in Leadership

graduate and colleague. Team members assisted with the creation of questions and the analysis

of the data from the survey. This helped to determine questions for the individual interviews and

with analysis, coding and theming for all the data. Each person on the inquiry team had access to

the research data, but not the names or emails of participants and as such were required to review

and complete research confidentiality agreements (see Appendix C).

Inquiry Project Methods

In this section, I have described the data collection tools I used and the methods in the

data collection process. My approach was built upon the AR assumption that knowledge

inherent in people’s everyday lives has as much validity to the concepts and theories of academic


© T. R. Short 2015

disciplines or bureaucracies therefore seeking “to give voice to people who have previously been

silent” (Stringer, 2014, p.212-213). Although I was not using appreciative inquiry methods, I

was guided by Lewis, Passmore & Cantore (2008) who stated that, “when considering an

organizational assignment from an appreciative perspective, one of the first challenges to

identify, ‘What is the behaviour we want to grow?’ not ‘What is the behaviour that we want to

stop?’ (p.24).

Data Collection Tools.

Action research involves multiple iterative cycles of constructing, planning, action, and

evaluating (Coghlan & Brannick, 2010, p.8) throughout the term of the study. With this intent,

the inquiry originally undertook two data collection methods which supported qualitative and

quantitative analysis methods: a survey and a focus group. There was a shift in methodology due

to respondent numbers not meeting the minimum requirements, therefore an alternate method of

conducting individual interviews was chosen as described below.

Survey.

The survey data collection method I used was a survey tool hosted by an online Canadian

survey company, Fluidware Inc. (2014). My rationale for using an online survey is that it

allowed all current licensed security guard instructors in BC to be a part of the survey, thus

providing more diverse perspective geographically of the security guard demographics in those

areas. With the survey, the absence of an interviewer tends to “free the respondents to answer

personal questions more honestly than when faced with a human interviewer” (Ritter & Sue,

2007, p. 8), thus increasing the validity and reliability of the data. Following that data analysis, I

used the survey to inform the questions for the interviews.


© T. R. Short 2015

Focus Group.

Focus groups, according to Glesne (2011) and Stringer (2014) are described as a

gathering of people to conduct a group interview. Questions are used to guide conversation in

focus groups similar to those used in survey methods. During this process, it is important to set

ground rules and to ensure that each participant has an equal opportunity to speak (Glesne, 2011,

p. 130; Stringer, 2014, p.110). The purpose of using the focus group was to combine the new

knowledge gathered from the survey and the focus group to support the creation of an action plan

(Stringer, 2014, p. 103-105). This method would support the AR inquiry by involving the

stakeholders in the process of planning the next steps in the evolution of the security industry.

Invitations were sent via email to forty security companies, requesting participation

from those senior management personnel with current knowledge of security worker legislation,

training, hiring and deployment of workers. This criterion was to identify participants who

would be able to assess the oral communication competencies of security workers and who

would also be interested in participating in the focus group. A participation date one month in

advance was given. However, after two weeks of waiting for responses only one person

responded. With the remaining two weeks before the focus group date approximately twenty

security companies were contacted to see if the invitation form was received and if anyone

would be attending. The standard response was that they had received the invite, but that this

was a busy time of year and that they were too busy to attend. The result of the aforementioned

prompted a shift in methodology to individual interviews as per further documentation.

Individual Interviews

Invitations to participate in the interview process were sent via email to forty security

companies operating throughout BC. Each company was required to have at least 50 security


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guard employees. The initial invitation was followed up with a phone call. Responses from

eight senior management personnel were received and one-on-one interviews were conducted at

their security company’s location. The designations in this group were Branch Manager,

Director of Human Resources, Vice President of Operations, General Manager, and Chief

Operating Officer. The purpose was not only to collect data, but to elicit a variety of responses

to questions similar to those addressed in the survey. The interview data were manually and

individually analyzed and coded using cutting, pasting and sorting methods. As an AR

collection tool, Stringer (2014) posited that the “key features of successful interviews is the need

for participants to feel as if they can say what they are really thinking, or express what they are

really feeling” (p.105-6).

Data were recorded using a digital audio recording device and android phone.

Interview questions and probing questions were undertaken during the session. Probing

questions were asked to clarify and solicit deeper information on security guard oral

communication fluency. Participants in the interview were asked to review and sign a consent

form (Appendix D) for the interview and given a copy to keep for their records. Participants

were reminded that they were free to withdraw from the study at any time without prejudice. The

survey and interview group questions are attached (Appendices E and F).

Study Conduct.

Upon receiving approval from Royal Roads University (RRU), I brought together the

inquiry team and ensured that confidentiality agreements were completed. The inquiry team was

asked to provide advice and guidance on the development of various method questions as well as

structuring the data analysis.


© T. R. Short 2015

This inquiry was a two-phase process. In the first phase, a survey was conducted with the

support of the JIBC, a primary stakeholder and certifier of security guard instructors. The JIBC

are the gatekeepers of the instructor database and as such privacy issues prevented obtaining

direct emails from these instructors. The JIBC, however, assisted in sending out the “Invitation

to Participate in Survey” to 105 approved security instructors (Appendix A). After only a few

responses in two weeks, the JIBC was asked again to resend the invitations. I also emailed

invitations to the approved security training schools as per the JIBC recommendation (K.

Johnson, personal communication March 11, 2015). The last survey response was received April

9, 2015.

The responses of the survey and the subsequent analysis informed the research team and

myself of areas on which to focus the next line of questions for the interviews. In the second

phase, out of a total of 1283 security companies in the province of BC, 433 were identified as

security guard providers. It was determined that the best persons to assess oral communication

competencies of security guards would be senior management personnel who had knowledge of

current security worker legislation and the training and hiring of security workers. It was further

determined that companies with more than 50 security guards as employees would best be able

to respond to interview questions related to security guard oral communication due to the high

volume of interactions or engagement with employees. Security companies in the Lower

Mainland (LMD) were chosen not only for their geographical proximity to the interviewer, but

also because although 190 security guard companies are registered in the LMD, only 40 of the

security guard companies have more than 50 security guard employees. These 40 security guard

companies were supplied with an invitation to participate in an interview (Appendix B).


© T. R. Short 2015

Data Analysis.

This phase of the inquiry began immediately after I received the completed surveys. The

research team and I analyzed the mean and mode of the data collected from the survey, and

coded and themed the data that informed the questions from the survey. I then analyzed the

qualitative and quantitative data collected from the survey and the interviews using manual and

individual analysis as well as coding and triangulation, cutting, pasting, and sorting methods.

I established the trustworthiness and authenticity of the data through the study design. As

Stringer (2014) noted, “Rigor in action research is based on checks to ensure that the outcomes

of research are trustworthiness” (p. 92). I compiled the data from multiple sources such as the

verbatim principles then coded categories from the multiple perspectives of the research

participants which generated multiple themes. I also used the triangulation method which

incorporates the use of various sources of data from multiple methods to obtain diverse

perspectives on the same question” (Glesne, 2011; Stringer, 2014). Within this inquiry, the

participants represented a diverse perspective by work classification and geographical areas. I

transcribed the audio recordings from the individual interviews into what Glesne (2011) referred

to as analytic coding incorporating classification and categorizing methods, entering into an area

referred to as “the code mines” and delving deeper and further by “exploring the data to seek

meaning” (p.194). Through this process of coding, classification, categorizing, and finding

themes, trends and patterns emerged (Glesne, 2011, p.208-209).

Ethical Issues

The guiding principles of the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy (Royal

Roads University, 2011) and the Tri-Council Policy Statement (Canadian Institutes of Health

Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Social Sciences


© T. R. Short 2015

and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2010) are founded on three core principles: respect

for persons, concern for welfare, and justice. This inquiry was conducted in accordance with the

Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy (2011) and the Royal Roads University Policy

and Procedures on Academic Integrity and Misconduct in Research and Scholarship (2010).

Glesne (2011) posited that ethical decisions are not unusual to qualitative research and that there

is an emphasis on “informed consent, avoidance of harm, and confidentiality” (p. 162). Due to

the voluntary nature of this inquiry, I was able to mitigate the minimal ethical risks associated

with the project by being transparent with the ethics boards and with participants. In this way,

there were no foreseen risks for participants involved in the survey or individual interviews for

this research study.

Respect for Persons.

The information I collected, while using the principles of anonymity should not have

compromised or identified any of the participants and would not benefit the participants directly.

However, there could have been a possibility that research participants felt that they had been

“ordered to cooperate” (Glesne, 2011, p. 58) due to the project sponsor’s role, or a security

company’s power-over authority for its employees. In order to avoid this perception, all research

invitations to participate clearly stated that participation was voluntary. Respect for persons was

maintained in this inquiry by ensuring that those who interviewed participants had a complete

understanding of the nature of the research, its ethical implications, the research methods, and

transparency on how the data would be used (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al, 2010,

p. 28-45) which was also supported by the invitation letters and consent forms.


© T. R. Short 2015

Concern for Welfare.

The concern for welfare focuses on being concerned not only for the quality of a person’s

life, but privacy, welfare and to minimize the risks. The privacy protection in the inquiry

included (a) securing electronic data with password access; (b) security print copies of data and

agreements with locked access; (c) having transcripts of interviews vetted for personal

information; (d) ensuring access to raw data is limited to the inquiry team member who have

completed a confidentiality agreement; (e) having the interview participants complete a

confidentiality agreement; and (f) supplying participants with a letter and a number so that their

contributions were not traceable (Canadian Institutes of Health Research et al, 2010, p.22).

Confidentiality was important in this research (TCPS, 2010, p. 55-65) and as such all data were

maintained on my personal home computer that was and continues to be password protected.

Justice.

The principle of justice is the obligation to treat people with equal respect and concern

and also allow equal opportunity to participate in the research voluntarily (Canadian Institutes of

Health Research et al, 2010, P. 47-53). Justice was maintained in this inquiry by ensuring that

the respondents and participants were selected based upon the needs of the research and

supporting criteria. All qualified security instructors in BC were invited to participate in the

survey group, and individuals were invited to participate in the interview group based on their

knowledge of security worker legislation, training, hiring, and deployment of security guards.

These core guiding principles were demonstrated through my commitment to transparency,

meeting the ethical standards of TCPS, and in my application to Royal Roads University for an

ethical review.


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Summary

In this chapter I described two methodology principles used in the research. Ethical

issues were addressed which encompassed respect for persons, concern of welfare, and justice in

regards to conducting the research project with humans. Care was taken to ensure confidentiality

and anonymity during the process, with the collection of data to identify themes and conclusions

which have been explored in detail within the next chapter.


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Four: Action Inquiry Project Results and Conclusions

The purpose of this chapter is to present the research findings that are the result of data

gathering and analysis described in Chapter Three. In this chapter, I have also developed sound

conclusions and identified the scope and limitations of the study and future inquiry implications.

The primary research question for this inquiry was, “What oral communication competencies are

required by security guards in BC?” Three subquestions probed for a deeper understanding:




guards?

Study Findings

The study findings provided qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data gathered

from the two methodologies utilized, through an online survey which provided a confidential

method of data gathering, and in eight one-on-one individual interviews with senior management

personnel who were provided with confidential and anonymous pseudonyms. Respondent codes

for the interview were the letter P followed by a number. Quotes and comments gathered during

the survey and the interviews are cited using the codes attached to the methods used to gather

information. The data were manually and individually analyzed and coded using triangulation,

cutting, pasting, and sorting methods. Once they were reformatted, themes were developed.

Key themes emerged during the data analysis: four from the survey and five from the interviews.

Survey Findings.

The survey group participants consisted of government-certified security guard

instructors for the province of British Columbia who provide BST to potential security guard


© T. R. Short 2015

candidates through a mandatory 40 hour program. In this program, the instructor has the

opportunity to assess and gauge the level of English language competencies, not only in written

format but in oral communication. The 105 security instructors were contacted via a confidential

email database from the JIBC with the invitation to participate in the survey in order to capture a

potentially large data sample. As a result, 23 of the 105 security instructors in the province

responded to the survey, which is a 22% response rate. The participants were asked 16 questions

which yielded some basic personal information, ratings and responses to open-ended questions.

The participants submitted their survey responses to the web-based survey company, from which

I gathered and analyzed the quantitative data and subsequently coded the qualitative responses

into themes. A thematic analysis of personal information of the survey participants was

collected in three of the 16 survey questions using mean, median and mode analysis. The

categories were (a) number of years in security, (b) number of years as instructor, (c) how many

students taught.

From the respondents, the number of years of employment in the security industry ranged

from one to three years (4.5%) to over six years (77.3%) with 18.2% responding as not

applicable. Eighty-seven percent of the instructor’s hade over six years of experience, and 13%

of the remaining instructors combined for one to five years of experience. The survey

encompassed five rating questions.

The survey also encompassed eight open-ended questions for which participants were

presented with a list of multiple choice answers along with the opportunity to write out their own

responses. This also supported the triangulation method of cross-checking, giving a deeper

understanding of the data which also incorporates the question: On a scale of 1-3, one being the

most important, rank the following qualifications for security guards in BC; experience, skills or


© T. R. Short 2015

English language fluency. The qualitative graph (Appendix H) describes the graduated

assessments in order of importance.

The survey data was manually and individually analyzed and coded using cutting,

pasting, and sorting methods to understand some of the themes. The thematic analysis identified

three key themes that described the oral communication competencies are required by the

security guards in BC:

1. Problems with English language skills

2. The Importance of Security Guard Qualifications

3. Security Guard Training

Theme 1. Problems with English language skills.

Survey respondents were asked to provide feedback relating to the English language

skills of their security students, specifically oral communication: speaking skills, and listening

skills. I considered the theme of English language skills through multiple lenses based on the

experiences shared by the participants. This was supported by the following feedback and

comments from survey respondents. One respondent noted that, “There are significant

proportion of students who have problems with English language skills (sic).” Seventy-two

percent of the respondents indicated that a number of students have difficulty in speaking

English fluently (Appendix G) because of immigrant or ELL status and 40% of respondents

indicating there were also listening challenges for immigrant and ELL students. One respondent

noted, “A large portion of students have difficulty in speaking English” and another respondent

stated, “Of the proportion of students who have problems with their English language skills or

with English language fluency, a large proportion are ELL learners.” One respondent stated,

“They do not listen to understand they only listen to reply.” However, difficulties with listening


© T. R. Short 2015

comprehension were not limited to those workers with ELL challenges. Other respondents noted

that native English speakers, too, may also have difficulty in listening comprehension as a result

of minimal vocabulary, misinterpretation of verbal communication into relevant/personal

meanings, attention deficit, and limited education.

Theme 2: The Importance of security guard qualifications.

Sixty-three percent of survey participants emphasized the importance of oral language

communication as the single most important qualification for a security guard, followed closely

by skills, and then experience. When asked whose responsibility it was to ensure that security

guards have the appropriate qualifications, 73.9% of the respondents suggested that either the

security instructor, the JIBC, or security guards themselves supply the appropriate

documentation for licensing. Some respondents queried the question of qualification this way,

“Define qualification for verbal comprehension and communication. What level of proficiency?

To what standard? Who is qualified to make an assessment?” Other respondents made

suggestions such as “the liability rests with the employer to ensure that their security officers are

effective recruited, selected, trained, disciplined, and supervised.” This respondent stated

I think instructors and the JIBC should be accountable to ensure students have a good

understanding of the material and their job role and responsibilities. To increase the

passing grade on the exam and to have a standard universal English reading and

conversational test that must be passed before being accepted into the BST program. But

how about the security companies? Shouldn't they be required to ensure their staff can

speak English?

All of these supported the importance of security guard qualifications hence

competencies. However, where they were not conclusive was in identifying which agency was

responsible for the validation and verification methods as they relate to English language

qualifications or credentials.


© T. R. Short 2015

Theme 3: Security guard training.

There were many responses about the security training competencies other than the

English language competency, suggesting additional concepts and methods to enhance skill sets

and the integration of divisions or tiers within the security industry as a whole. One respondent

suggested, “It is also my opinion that the passing mark for BST certification should be 70%

rather than 60% which would eliminate 10% of the personnel that should not be involved in the

security industry.” The 10% of the security population referred to above was unknown and

subjective based on the participant opinion.

Interview Findings.

Out of the 40 companies canvassed only eight senior management personnel participated

in the interview process. These participants included the following: Branch Manager, Director

of Human Resources, Vice President of Operations, General Manager, and Chief Operating

Officer. Prior to the interviews, participants were directed to the BC provincial government

website link to the Security Licensing Process and License Conditions Policies pertaining to

English fluency requirements for immigrants (Sec. 2.6.1-2.6.1.2). Worthy of note is the fact that

these eight company representatives were from eight of the ten largest security guard companies

in the Lower Mainland. These individuals were able to give a more proportionate response to

the interview questions, but also a potentially different response to similar questions addressed in

the survey in which the majority of the participants were from geographic locations outside the

LMD. The interview were manually and individually analyzed and coded using cutting, pasting

and sorting methods to understand some of the five themes. Once they were reformatted, themes

were developed:

1. Assessment tools.


© T. R. Short 2015

2. Current industry needs for oral communication skills.

3. Methods to ensure qualification credibility.

4. Critical incident stress and public safety.

Theme 1: Assessment tools.

When asked what assessment tools they used to qualify potential security guard

applicants in oral communication, participants were unanimous in their responses that a formal

in-house written test to qualify writing and reporting abilities of security guard applicants was

utilized by their company. On the other hand, they were not aware of any formal oral

communication testing tools and all oral communication testing was done informally through

general conversation and at the discretion of the interviewer. One participant, P2, went onto say

that, “It’s not just about the quality of the answer, but, did they comprehend the question you

asked and were they able to answer the question, hear it, understand it, and then there scored

based upon that.” P1 simpified the process by suggesting that, “it’s all subjective.” There was

almost a unanimous consensus, except for one of the eight participants, that there should be a

standardized assessment tool to determine oral communication skills.

Theme 2: Current industry needs for oral communication skills.

Participants in this group shared the importance of communicating effectively in oral

communication at the highest level in the essential duties for security guards, citing that the

company, client, and public would be the major benefactors. Participants also identified the

criticality of oral communication as being paramount for sustainability of security guards while

working for the client. As one participant stated

I guess one of the first essential duties would be dealing with our clients, that’s pretty

crucial because they end up being the ones who tell us what is going on…right now

everything that we bid on where we are asked to present the formal bidding process, it’s


© T. R. Short 2015

very specific that strong oral and written communication and a strong command of the

English language gets used quite regularly. (P2)

The same participant also made an observation from that no one else had mentioned

which is based on a security guard company providing security in his residential building and it

contrasted differences between insider and outsider perspectives of the same service:

We have some great guards there, who I can tell you that their oral communication is

absolutely terrible, but they do a good security job which is, I think, you know from an

insider’s perspective I see the job that they do. I think that if I was an outsider… I would

…not say that they did a great job. You would see it from a very different perspective.

So, if you were to look it from a public side…I would probably back my answer up that

and probably add public to the top of my list, um which is tough because I always look at

it from an insider perspective as opposed to the outside. (P2)

Another participant stated that, “It’s very common for us to hear from our clients that

they require someone that speaks the language clearly and they let you know if a security worker

doesn’t meet their standards.” (P6). A different participant stated;

Clients, involve communication with their clients and customers at a mall for instance

where a lot of people who start talking to you (security guard) and asking where stores

are where the bathrooms are, places like that require more communication skills than, say

if you’re looking over a construction site overnight. (P7)

Participants were asked what the most important qualification was for a security worker.

Their responses were, in order of importance, English fluency, skills, and experience. (Appendix

H). One participant offered the following competencies as having significance to the English

language issues, “So, listening and speaking I would say would be the biggest challenges of

those who have English as a second language. (P4)

One of the participants, provided this analysis of security guard oral communication

skills


© T. R. Short 2015

Definitely one of the challenges is their abiltity to express themselves in a clear way that

they’re understood and what the meaning of what they are trying to communicate is,

finding the right words is a concern. (P7)

This participant also offered this compelling statement which probably was

understated/rated in the whole oral communication process:

On the other side, having them (security guards) actually understood what’s been

instructed to them. If someone’s giving them instruction and they haven’t fully

understood it, a lot of times they won’t let you know that they do not understand clearly

or maybe that they don’t even know that they don’t. (P7)

Among the participants, there appeared to be various level entry jobs for security

workers. One respondent offered the following statement concerning new employees: “One of

the number one things that we get asked for now is “I want someone who can speak English.”

(P2)

Although a high level of oral communication receives a high level of need by certain

clients and security companies as part of daily objectives, there is an informal graduated tier

level for oral communication skills at different jobs sites.

Theme 3: Methods to ensure qualification credibility.

One of the major concerns in the security industry as referenced earlier in this paper is

not only the oral communication competencies of security guards, but also their listening skills.

A question was asked of all participants about how the security industry could ensure that

security guards were properly qualified in oral communication. The participants offered the

following suggested implementation processes such as make it part of the BST coursework, a

BST course pre-requisite, an additional assessment tool, and in-house training. One participant


© T. R. Short 2015

suggested that “We do need a standard English proficiency oral communication level that we can

all agree upon as a starting point for a baseline.” (P8)

With the above conceptualization of a need for standardized oral communication testing

process, one participant offered his thoughts;

“I think specifically when people are considering this industry, I think they have to be put

through some form of, or have some kind of document that they must complete, to give a

clear understanding of what direction they need to follow to meet the standard to obtain

the job.” (P6)

The establishment of English language proficiency for ELL security guards appeared to

be paramount for establishing security guard qualifications, although the verification methods

appeared to be more self-regulated and left up to those participants guiding the security worker.

One participant P8 offered this analogy,

I guess the challenges might be that they are all different and that each company designs

their own probably to meet the requirements that the security licensing division has laid

out, so in some ways they are dependent on the knowledge and skill set of the human

resources departments to ensure that is the purpose of the tests are meeting with the

outcomes that they hope for. (P8)

In retrospect, the acknowledgement of not knowing the current legislation governing

English language competencies for the security guards in BC was indicated by all participants;

their responses were limited. One participant offered this solution, “I think that if there was

something that is more standardized so that everyone was working off of, that would make it a

lot easier.” (P3)

The responsibilities for verification methods of oral communication competencies and,

hence, qualification was echoed by all participants. The company has a duty to perform. One

participant stated it in the following way: “Ultimately it’s the employer I think, if we are going


© T. R. Short 2015

to put somebody in our uniform we should make sure that they have the oral communication

skills to do the job.” (P5) Another participant formulated his response this way:

It would be unprofessional of us to say, oh well we think this should be tested so that it is

not our problem, right now even if it is tested, it’s still our problem we need to make sure

that there is a mechanism in place, but, if that mechanism isn’t in place at the time of

getting the license it needs to be in place when we put them on site. (P2)

The majority of participants suggested that some sort of standardized testing would be

appropriate for verification methods. However, one participant suggested this alternative, “As I

said before, there needs to be some level of testing to do that…As a part of licensing.” (P7).

Theme 4: Critical incident stress and public safety.

The topic of stress which in itself conjures up subjective analysis by each individual,

whether English is our first language or not, and affects us individually and sometimes with

different results. To a person with ELL challenges, stress can only exacerbate one’s ability to

communicate effectively. Critical incident stress was discussed with participants who all

concluded that a high level of oral communication skills was necessary in the job and stress does

affect their employees’ oral communication abilities. One participant shared this views: “Even

something as simple as a fire alarm can cause, the bells ringing, you know the stress surrounding

that, you need to make an announcement, kind of public speaking thing, those kind of scenarios.”

(P5) This idea was further enunciated by a participant who responded:

Well, I think it effects all of us, I think all of us have difficulty in finding the right words

regardless of whether English is our first language, so, you know does it affect one’s

ability… Sometimes in real time critical incident stress happens and our business is

health care where there is a lot of stress in health care and there are emergencies

constantly, you are in an emergency department and a patient is attacking a staff member,

you’re called to respond, you need to communicate on the radio that you need assistance,

in what’s going on and you’re right in the middle of an assault taking place in front of

you, that you need to engage in as quickly as you can, but you need to communicate the


© T. R. Short 2015

situation clearly, quickly and concisely to your base or to your colleagues or whoever you

are communicating. (P8)

The following story was shared by a participant P2, when asked whether critical incident

stress had an effect on the ability of a security worker to communicate effectively. He stated

I responded yesterday… to an incident where there was a jumper who was deceased in

downtown on one of our sites and while asking the officer some basic details…they kept

reiterating that they were doing their patrol…there was definitely a concern, did I do

something wrong…you could see the stress in him. I told him that you are not in trouble

here, we’re just trying to help out the police to get the facts and help our client get the

facts so that they can move ahead…and after he calmed down… we were able to walk

him through the process asking very simple questions, he answered them different than

what he was initially thinking about. (P2)

Participants were asked if the current legislation regarding security workers’ oral

communication goes far enough to ensure public safety and the majority of the participants

responding negatively. Some shared the opinions illustrated observations such as, “they need to

look at setting standards” (P7), “there really is no current legislation” (P6), and “I don’t know

what the standard is.” (P5). However, one participant offered a different response:

There should be an oral component to the initial legislation, to the initial licensing and the

BST class I think that’s important…there should be ongoing… more than just oral, but I

think, you now I look at renewing a license shouldn’t just be the ability to just go in and

pay for it. There should be an oral component those two things are important you know

to professionalize the industry. (P2)

Study Conclusions

There were seven themes identified in the survey and interview data. Some of the

findings were interrelated in that similar themes occurred across multiple analyses. The inquiry

was conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods which generated measureable

information to support the conclusions and answer the main research question, “What oral

communication competencies are required for security guards in BC?”


© T. R. Short 2015

After examining the inquiry themes individually and collectively through a second cycle

of analysis, three overarching themes surfaced:

1. Good oral communication is necessary to be a security guard.

2. Verification methods are needed to qualify security guards’ licensing.

3. Public safety is at risk as a result of security guards who lack good oral


Conclusion 1: Good oral communication is necessary to be a security guard.

During this inquiry, there were a variety of definitions and descriptions that emerged

based on the need for effective oral communication strategies for security guards. This was

determined from the literature in Chapter Two and the supporting evidence from the survey and

interview phases. This conclusion is based collectively on the evidence in the survey themes and

individual interview themes.

There are many avenues to explore when speaking about communication skills as it

relates to the duties for a security guard, however, none is more important than oral

communication. One hundred percent of the participants described that a high level of oral

communication was needed by security guards for employment with the client and employer to

support the customer service levels that the client requires. This level is not too different to

Canale & Swain’s (1980) suggestion that in general, good oral communication involves an

exchange of thoughts, ideas and messages and “is a key element of good customer service”

(1980, p.26). Carnevale (1990) suggested that, “speaking and listening skills…should be

considered basic competencies and measures of functional literacy” and that “people who lack

proficiency in the skills of oral communication are handicapped” (p.25). One participant offered

a retention problem with those employees with limited languages skills and states,


© T. R. Short 2015

I have seen half of the people we get asked to be removed from a site or can’t do the

duties, tends to be related to oral comprehension, and listening and being able to

communciate back to the public, to the client and to us. (P2)

Another particpant stated, “I can tell you that we do turn away people that do not meet

our oral communication requirements.” (P8)

Security job functions have increased due to many growth initiatives and the need for

effective communication skills. The ability to earn trust and credibility from the public has also

increased to the point where, “workers whose jobs depend on establishing rapport, trust, and

credibility with other people must learn to master the skill of adjusting their communication style

to work well with people whose styles differ from their own…with the complexity of the

listening process is one reason why without instruction, most people lack listening skills”

(Carnevale, 1990, 137-148). This is also echoed in the current BST manual. “To communicate

effectively, one needs clarity of thought and effective listening” (2014, p.198).

Conclusion 2: Verification methods are needed to qualify security guard licensing.

This conclusion is based collectively from the evidence in the survey themes and

individual interview themes. The study findings show that although the research project’s main

focus was oral communication skills, there was an overwhelming desire by many to see

significant changes to the BST manual in various disciplines. The subject of who would be

responsible for the implementation of this verification method was posed and even though

participants were given a copy of the legislation for qualifications for a license which

encompassed English language fluency levels of assessment and the compliance measures

therein they still showed a strong desire and need for an assessment process that focuses on oral

communication skills for ELL security guards through a standardized testing, assessment or

training process. Responses to three of the questions in the interview were based on the


© T. R. Short 2015

knowledge associated with legislation. From the response it was clear that the participants were

unfamiliar with the English language fluency levels necessary to be an ELL security guard in the

Province of BC.

With this in mind, the current licensing conditions policies and qualifications section of

the SLPLCP, has recognized ELL security workers as adult immigrants who need be able to

communicate sufficiently and, to ensure public safety, require the level of English fluency

described through the CLB Benchmarks standards. This section and further qualifies the

importance of speaking (oral communication) and listening. The importance of training,

qualifications, and the verification methods was represented by one participant who made this

statement

if there is a language barrier, we would actually hear it from the client and they would say

that you know that we can’t get through we are not providing customer service and then

they [the security guard] would be more likely transferred. (P4)

This avoidance technique is echoed by others in this research project which only

confirmed that there was a lack of training, qualifications, pre-requisities, and/or verification

methods to get a security license. The avenue for clarification of verification methods and

assessment tools to affect this process has been addressed in the recommendations in Chapter

Five.

Conclusion 3: Public safety is at risk as a result of security guards who lack good oral


The study findings showed that there was strong evidence to support the security industry

in ensuring that the public is not at risk, based on the day-to-day functions of a security worker

and that the appropriate level of English is employed by all security workers in their duties. This


© T. R. Short 2015

conclusion was based on the evidence in the survey themes and individual interview themes,

collectively.

As security workers take on more first responder responsibilities, they are asked to do

many things such as attend crisis incidents, disaster scenes, and accidents; investigate crimes;

arrest criminals; and remove people. As such, there is a modicum of stress and anxiety, if not all

out fear, associated with those tasks which are no different to those of actual police, fire fighters,

or paramedics. Renden et al (2013) observed that when police officers are in a high pressure

situation such as arrests or using self-defense skills, anxiety levels are high and it is harder to pay

attention to goal-directed information. This suggested that their emotional state was incongruent

with the goal-directed task in that the more anxiety and mental effort they invested, the more the

level of their performance decreased (p.101). Dunnigan (2012) posited that emergency

responders who respond to traumatic events are at a greater risk despite all of their training

which can have a debilitating effects on these professionals (p.1). Lazarus, Deese & Osler

(1952) went further and stated that “stressed subjects showed a reduction in efficiency

performance” and that “many experiments have reported signs of emotional upset, such as

sweating, tremor, subjective anxiety…” (p.305).

Given the challenges for normal communication in a mother tongue, having to learn

another language can only exert extra pressures on the need to speak clearly and effectively

during anxiety and stressful situations. Research has suggested that even during the simple

questioning of events by superiors can cause anxiety and heightened levels of stress. One

participant offered this example of a stress-related incident in which the security officer was

asked about a deceased person on the client’s property:


© T. R. Short 2015

while asking the security officer some basic details like; did you see anyone else with this

person, had he seen this person around before, the security officer kept reiterating that

they were doing their patrol and had a hard time coming back to the question and their

communication was quite strong, but, there was definitely a concern “Did I do something

wrong” and when we had to go back and get the facts from him. So you could see the

stress in him…I told him that you are not in trouble here, we’re just trying to help out the

police to get the facts and help our client get the facts.” (P2)

This was an example of what McCroskey described in the following words. “When

people are confronted with a circumstance that they anticipate will make them uncomfortable,

and they have a choice whether or not to confront it, they may decide either to confront it and

make the best of it and thus avoid the discomfort” (1984, p.35). The anxiety felt by this ELL

security officer in a non-violent situation showed the high stress levels that a security officer can

go to with limited oral communication confidence which, in this case, was debilitating in a

critical time period of discovery. Woodrow (2006) also emphasized that, “second language

anxiety has a debilitating effect on oral performance of speakers English as a second language.”

(p.308). In addition, anxiety inhibits the recall of previously learned material and is negatively

related to language speaking and oral performance and one of the major stressors being,

interacting with native speakers (p.309-314).

These compounding quotes have painted a picture of potential risks, not only to the

security guard but to the public, in the event that a security guard is met with anxiety or stress in

a job which can be exacerbated by being an ELL learner.

Scope and Limitations of the Inquiry

This study was not and did not intend to include a representative sample of all persons

who are affected by the security industry, their functions, or their employees. Unlike

quantitative research, qualitative research does not look to draw generalizations to a larger


© T. R. Short 2015

population; rather, readers can see the results and generalize or adapt to their own settings as

appropriate. Stringer (2014) stated that “qualitative and AR studies require a different process

called purposeful sampling … “that consciously selects people on the basis of a particular set of

attributes” (p. 77). Biases can have a definite impact on any research project. Although I had no

power-over authority with any of the participants; was not employed by any security companies

or the Security Programs Division; and had no affiliation with any security instructors providing

any information, I was, however, a facilitator of the BST course for a number of years and the

students that I taught have been hired by security companies.

The limitation therefore would be, that there was no intrinsic attachment to security guard

providers or the industry proper in this inquiry. However, there was a connection in that, at

times, security providers have attended my BST program as representatives of their companies

which may be perceived as having undue influence. Further limitations developed as a result of

two sponsorship changes with eventual project extensions requests and the additional challenges

of gathering data over the summer months for the facilitation of a focus group which had to be

abandoned as a result of low responses to attend. This development encouraged and initiated a

change in methodology prompting the individual interviews phase.

This inquiry represented feedback from two groups, a survey group and individual

interviews of participants who have direct knowledge and experience in the security industry.

As with most research, this inquiry had some limitations and may limit the application of the

inquiry findings and conclusions. The conclusions apply to these two groups; therefore, caution

should be used not to generalize others who did not take part in the research. To reiterate this

point, a larger survey group would have yielded a larger quantitative analysis which, would have

yielded a more definitive answer to some of the questions supporting the study findings.


© T. R. Short 2015

The interview process required an in-depth analysis of security companies registered as

security guard providers in the Province of BC and a determination through an analysis of the

demographics and number of employees employed, and which company personnel would the

most valuable provider of information and be available to interview within the required study

timeline. That individual interview participants were those security guard providers or alternates

who had attended my BST class on one or two occasions as representatives of their company

which should not be seen as influencing. The research respondents from the survey and

interview participants, formed by individual designations were from diverse demographical areas

and communities, and the findings aligned with the literature review. Further limitations to this

study would be that the design of the inquiry did not include other stakeholders such as the ELL

security guards currently employed, the general public, and the client who employs the services

of security guard companies.

Chapter Summary

Chapter Four has outlined research findings and reported the conclusions based on the

research and supported by literature. To answer the OLP question on what oral communication

competencies are required by the by security guards in BC, two primary data collection activities

were completed: a survey and individual interviews. This data collection resulted in a total of

seven themes which were represented by the three study conclusions. Each of these conclusions

illustrated that good oral communication skills, also referred to as competencies, are needed by

security guards; verification methods are needed to qualify security guards for licensing; and

public safety is at risk without good oral communication skills.


© T. R. Short 2015

Chapter Five: Inquiry Implications

In this chapter, I have presented recommendations based on the conclusions from Chapter

Four that attempt to answer the research question, “What oral communication competencies are

required for security guards in BC?” In the first section, I have outlined the study

recommendations. In the second section, I have explored the organizational implications. In the

third section, I have examined the project process and suggested areas for future inquiry as well

as the implications if the recommendations are not implemented. The fourth section involves the

summary of Chapter Five. In addition, I add the following three subquestions to provide a

deeper level of understanding:

1. What are the qualifications required to be a security guard in BC?



guards?

Study Recommendations

The purpose of this inquiry is to determine what oral communication competencies are

required for security guards in BC. Three of the qualifications to be a security worker (guard) in

BC have been listed in the Security Licensing Process and Licence Conditions Policies Province

of British Columbia (2008) which are the licensing-related policies of the Registrar of Security

Services for the province of BC. The qualifications are appropriate skills, training and/or

experience. Embodied in the construct of a required skill set for a security guard is a level of

English language fluency sufficient for such a worker to be able to converse in English with the

public while carrying out his/her duties. Analysis of the research findings indicated that the


© T. R. Short 2015

participants felt that English language fluency was the most important qualification for a security

guard in BC (Appendix H).

The intent of the recommendations has been to create a cohesive framework which will

align security guard English language competency verification methods with the Security

Programs Division as defined in the Security Licensing Process and Licence Conditions Policies

and Security Services Act and Regulations (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2008).

Coghlan and Brannick (2012) stated, “Action research has been traditionally defined as an

approach to research which is based on a collaborative problem-solving relationship between

researcher and client which aims at both solving a problem and generating new knowledge.”

(p.35)

The following recommendations are based on the combined conclusions of the

participants in the two methods utilized in this study. This included (a) the survey respondents–

security guard instructors and (b) the interview participants–senior management, human resource

managers, and vice presidents of security companies in BC. Chapter Four findings and

conclusions supported the three recommendations which suggested that through action research

the current issues with oral communication verification methods could be solved. It would also

enhance credibility in the security industry, which, in turn could create immediate change to

organizational and industry practice as well as encourage actions that could influence long-term

organizational thinking.

I speculate that implementation of these recommendations would enhance the credibility

of security guard qualifications methodology. The three recommendations that could provide

guidance to the Security Programs Division in validating and verifying security worker CLB

qualifications are as follows:


© T. R. Short 2015

1. Evaluate security worker application forms to address English language

certification verification methods.

2. Educate and inform potential security workers, security companies, BST

instructors, and designated security training schools of any changes to security

worker licensing processes.

3. Implement the plan.

Recommendation 1: Evaluate security worker application forms to address English

language certification verification methods.

To ensure that the Security Programs Division has credibility with both internal and

external stakeholders, it is recommended that the following elements be considered: (a)

involvement of a recognized third party for the validation and verification of English language

competencies as it relates to ELL workers, (b) Security Programs Division support for the

process, and (c) an evaluation of the success and outcomes of the compliance and enforcement

policies to effect verification changes. A third party external stakeholder may be an alternative

to the SPD validation and verification methods of English language competencies and be viewed

as unbiased, ensuring a credible and competent verification.

To ensure that the CLB certification compliance is maintained, it is also recommended

that guiding policies be put in place to ensure continuity and sustainability. As previously noted,

the SPD licensing policies have identified the necessary CLB proficiency levels for adult

immigrant security workers for speaking (oral communication) and listening. This issue of

validation qualifications has been addressed by Buster, Roth, & Bobko (2005) who stated, “The

use of education and experience minimum qualifications (MQ) is nearly ubiquitous in


© T. R. Short 2015

employment settings, yet it appears to be rare that such MQ’s are validated by the end user”

(p.771).

The required CLB levels for security guards’ English language fluency is currently in

place. However, without the implementation of verification methods for English language skills

and certification in security guard licensing, the credibility of the security industry remains in

question. Bolman & Deal (2013) suggested that, “Over time, organizations evolve by adapting

goals and aspiration levels, altering what they attend to and what they ignore, and changing

search rules” (p.191). The concluding research of oral communication competencies for security

guards is of high importance for the participants. The SPD should, as part of their five-year

policy review, endeavour to confirm the acceptable levels of English language competencies and

incorporate them in the policies. With that in mind, recommendation two would follow.

Recommendation 2: Educate and inform potential security workers, security

companies, BST instructors and designated security training schools of any changes to

security worker licensing processes.

The recommendation is to have a clear process in place to communicate with all

stakeholders, security companies, security guard instructors, JIBC, designated security training

facilities, and government regulators of the Security Programs Division. The important elements

include the sharing of evaluation criteria such as CLB testing facilities, English equivalency

program testing facilities, English language programs comparable to required CLB levels, and

support system information. It is important that all stakeholders are familiar with the changes

and have the same understanding of the intended results.

It is important that the potential security guard is made aware of these changes well in

advance of attending a BST program. It should also be made clear to students that the BST


© T. R. Short 2015

program is a prerequisite to obtaining their security license and, that their English language

proficiency will also need to be verified before licensing if they are an ELL student.

There are a variety of ways to ensure this is accomplished such as through websites of

stakeholders responsible for change, various government websites, the JIBC, and other

information systems supporting security guard training and jobs. The next recommendation will

ensure that all participants are made aware of the process suggested in the implementation of the

plan.

Recommendation 3: Implement the plan.

My final recommendation is related to the implementation of the plan. The Registrar and

project sponsor, whose powers and responsibilities are appointed under the Security Service Act,

could play an integral part in moving forward with any recommendations by virtue of their

positions. They have the power to make change to policy as the needs of stakeholders and

government shift. They can respond also quickly to reviewing policy and amending when

necessary (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2008, Sec.1.4). The first two recommendations

can be implemented after the plan is formulated and implemented. However, the

recommendations arising out of this study will have to be analyzed before implementation of a

plan can be considered. The process will depend on the substance of the change and whether

consultation with industry and stakeholders is necessary. Other factors, including legal

application, strategic objectives, and overall benefit analysis will also have to be considered (J.

Huska, personal communication, Oct 23, 2015). In the next section, I have outlined some ideas

to assist in implementing the recommendations and include a description of potential

implications if the recommendations are not enacted.


© T. R. Short 2015

Organizational Implications

Chapter Four findings and conclusions provided the voices of the participants relative to

their engagement in the security industry. Security companies within the province of BC have

for years, through their own admission, self-regulated various aspects of additional security

training, inclusive of some formal English language written and reading competencies, but

without any formal assessment of oral communication competencies. The participants have

recognized a gradual shift for the expectations of the general security worker which currently

require a greater mastery of oral communication competencies. The participants clearly

identified the importance of ranking of oral communication levels necessary for security guards

to do their jobs.

There is no current mechanism to verify that CLB certification levels have been received

and verified upon application by the security worker. The research participants recognized a

need for a standardized assessment or testing process and the need to verify those ELL

employees appropriately. This statement by Bolman and Deal (2008) provided another lens

through which to consider change: “Like surfers, leaders must ride the waves of change. Too far

ahead, they will be crushed. If they fall behind, they will become irrelevant” (p. 437). The

current state of security guards is that they number more than twice the membership of police

forces in Canada with projected increases to be almost three times larger in the near future. If

change is not initiated to affect security guard verification and compliance methods in BC the

industry may, through the expected growth and the re-certification of security workers whose

English language fluency levels have not been verified, fall further behind and make any

verification methods become irrelevant if they are not enforced.


© T. R. Short 2015

In the security industry in BC today, there are no real data or processes to verify what

level of oral communication competencies there are for any of the currently licensed ELL

security guards. Over the past 10 years of recorded licensing of security workers in BC, 45,847

security workers have been licensed with over 21, 502 having been born outside Canada and

another 4,600 of unknown origin (J. Huska, personal communication, October 20, 2014). This

figure equates to approximately 57% of the total security guards employed in BC as foreign

born. With the current security guard workforce of security guards at 21, 283 with an additional

412 being designated as a security guard under supervision (J. Huska, personal communication,

August 25, 2014), it is reasonable to suggest that at least 57% of the security guard workforce is

comprised of foreign-born security workers. However, this information does not take into

account the English language fluency of the foreign-born worker. As Pigeon (1998) suggested,

“the line between public police and private security is becoming blurred and that private security

personnel are being hired more than ever before to protect the types of private property…and

making inroads into what traditionally was a police domain” (p.45)

The mission statement of the Ministry of Justice as shown in the Ministry’s Annual

Service Plan, “is to lead law reform in British Columbia…and ensure that British Columbia is a

province where people are safe” (British Columbia Ministry of Justice, 2014, p.7) and the SPD is

one of many organizations within the Ministry of Justice that work together to ensure public

safety.

These recommendations will pose some challenges of time and, if the verification

methods are approved, resources, and finances will have to be allocated to make implementation

possible. SPD will have to coordinate and design the business processes for the CLB

certification and verification measures.


© T. R. Short 2015

As we are dealing specifically with the SPD in the Ministry of Justice, other agencies and

regulatory bodies may have to be involved in any final decision-making process which could

also impact security employment and training outcomes in the province of BC. There are a

number of implications if the recommendations are not implemented. Without verification

methods of ELL security workers the status quo will prevail. As a result, public safety will

continue to be at risk due to the inability of security guards to do their jobs without sufficient and

appropriate English language competencies.

Implications for Future Inquiry

This project has not only examined strategies for security guard qualifications and

verification methods, it has also provided a number of opportunities for future inquiries. Action

research may be of assistance in support of future inquiry in further development of security

industry goals and objectives. In addition, recommendations have been suggested to aid in the

implementation, and validation design methods. Although many questions were answered and

conclusions reached, the implications for future inquiries are based on the perceived value of the

participants, the research team and the OLP advisory team. The following questions may guide

future research initiatives to further develop the security worker framework and policies.

1. Is there a need to change or challenge the CLB level five as a minimum for security

guard qualifications? If so, how would this be done?

2. What other provincial security legislation strategies are available in measuring

security guard competencies and verification methods?

3. If verification methods are not endorsed by the SPD, who will be the verification

designate and how will this data be collected?


© T. R. Short 2015

4. What evaluation tools should be used for the assessment or testing of oral

communication and writing competencies (fluency) if the recommendation for

verification methods are not implemented?

5. Should there be a grandfather clause for previously hired ELL security guards who

have not been verified?

6. Should there be other certification or licensing programs for private security such as

in a hospital, loss prevention, physical protection, and port facilities? And if so, what

levels of CLB would be required for ELL security workers?

7. If the recommendation for CLB verification methods is not approved, should there be

an ELL prerequisite for the basic security training (BST) program?

Although not exhaustive, the future suggestions are hypothetical in nature and identify

areas that could be explored in the future to prompt further dialogue and the potential of more

action research projects.

Chapter Summary

In this inquiry participants were asked many questions relating to oral communication

competencies of security guards in BC. The majority of participants supported the necessity of

standardized assessments or testing for those security guards in the ELL learning category. I

have used the word “competencies” throughout this OLP which for lack of a better word means

“skills” and skills require training. The competence of an organization such as the SPD has to be

built not only on the competence of its leaders, but the competencies of its employees.

This inquiry involved the SPDPSB for the Ministry of Justice an integral stakeholder,

with various participants and literature reviews resulting in three recommendations to assist in


© T. R. Short 2015

designing a verification processes for those ELL security guard learners who require the

minimum CLB level five in order to obtain their security guard license.

My recommendations are (a) to evaluate security worker application forms to address

English language certification verification methods; (b) to educate and inform security

companies, BST instructors, and designated security training schools of changes to security

worker licensing, and (c) to implement the plan.

For any of the study recommendations to be implemented, the Ministry of Justice through

its branches including the SPD must approve and lead the way. Kouzes & Posner (2007) inform

us that leaders should model the way, “earning the right and the respect to lead through direct

involvement and action” (p.16). This organizational change (recommendation) albeit though

small in context, will affect all members of society in BC in some way.

In communication with my organizational sponsor, the Security Programs Division of

Ministry of Justice, it appears that any recommendations arising out of this study will be

analyzed before implementation of a plan can be considered. The process will depend on the

substance of the change and whether consultation with industry and stakeholders are necessary.

Other factors, including legal application, strategic objectives, and overall benefit analysis will

also have to be considered. That being said, the SPD is currently reviewing their processes in

conjunction with the JIBC, to see where efficiencies can be made with the English fluency

requirements. The recommendations herein may feed into that. The next step in gaining support

of the findings and recommendations will be a face to face meeting with my SPD sponsor and

key stakeholder from the Justice Institute of BC.

By implementing the study recommendations, professionalism and customer service are

expected to increase exponentially. Oral communication competencies will be consistent with


© T. R. Short 2015

government initiatives, regulations, and that of the client. It is also hoped that this initiative will

provide credibility and pride as a result of implementation of verification methodology, hence

validating education and competency. This will ensure public confidence in the security

industry.


© T. R. Short 2015

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© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix A: Invitation to Participate in Survey

Date

Dear [Prospective Participant]

I would like to invite you to be a part of Tim Shorts’ research project. This research

project will address oral communication competencies necessary to be a security guard in the

province of BC and the verification methods used for licensing. The project is part of the

requirement for a Master of Arts in Leadership at Royal Roads University. Tim Shorts’

credentials with Royal Roads University can be established by contacting Dr. [Name], [Title],

School of Leadership Studies, by email [Address] by phone [Number].

The objective of the research project is to discover strategies to optimize and verify

security guard competencies in English language proficiency, which will consist of this survey

and is foreseen to take fifteen minutes to complete. You have been chosen as a participant

because of your instructor status, in which you will have intimate knowledge of security guard

trainee.

The information you provide will be summarized, in anonymous format, in the body of

the final report. As such, at no time will any specific comments be attributed to any individual

and all documentation will be kept strictly confidential. The data will be stored on an encrypted

mobile storage device and will be stored in a secure location at his residence. It will be

destroyed, January 1, 2016 by being erased.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose to participate, please press

“Submit” when you have answered all questions. You are free to withdraw at any time without

prejudice during the survey by closing the browser. It should be noted once the survey is

submitted it cannot be withdrawn as it is anonymous.

The survey will be hosted on a Canadian online survey company, FluidSurveys as it

adheres to Canadian privacy legislation and will leave no electronic footprint from which you

can be identified. The survey completion deadline is [insert closing date]. Here is the link:

[insert link].

In addition to submitting his final report to Royal Roads University he will be sharing his

research findings with the Justice Institute of BC and the Security Programs Division Policing

and Security Branch, Ministry of Justice for their consideration at the conclusion of the inquiry.


© T. R. Short 2015

If you have any questions about the survey or accessing the link above, please contact:

Tim Short at [E-mail Address]

Sincerely,

[Name]

Manager, Security Training Programs

Justice & Public Safety Division | School of Public Safety & Security

[Telephone Number]

[Email address]


© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix B: Letter of Invitation to Participate in Interview

Date: (month/day/yr)

Dear (participant),

I would like to invite you to be part of a research project that I am conducting. This

project is part of the requirement for a Master’s degree in Leadership at Royal Roads University.

My name is Tim Short and my credentials with Royal Roads University can be established by

contacting Dr. [Name and Title], by email [Address] or by phone [Telephone Number].

Your name was chosen as a prospective participant, because as a senior management

member your knowledge of current security worker legislation, training, hiring and deployment

of security workers enables you to assess the oral communication competencies of security

workers in your employ and to provide valuable input into this research project.

The objective of my research project is to address oral communication competencies

necessary to be a security worker in BC, and the verification methods used for licensing by the

Security Programs Division Policing and Security Branch (SPDPSB) for the Ministry of Justice

in the Province of BC.

I will be using the information for the completion of my final report that will be

submitted to Royal Roads University, Justice Institute of BC and the SPDPSB of the Ministry of

Justice.

The interview process is estimated to last about 30 minutes and take place at a date,

time and location yet to be determined. The information provided will be audio-recorded, and

hand-written or word processed. Anonymity is ensured and all documentation will be kept

strictly confidential. Research findings specific to this inquiry method if requested by a

participant will be made available either through a paper copy or email. All recordings,

transcriptions, flash drive and documentation will be kept at the researcher’s principle residence

and destroyed on 2016-08-01.

You are not required to participate in this research project, however should you choose to

participate, your participation would be entirely voluntary and should you choose not to

participate, you are free to withdraw without prejudice.

If you are interested in participating in my research project, or have any questions

regarding the project please contact me at any time.

Sincerely,

Tim Short

[Email Address]

[Telephone Number]


© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix C: Inquiry Team Confidentiality Agreement

THIS AGREEMENT made effective as of the day ____ of _________________, 2014.

BETWEEN: ________________________________________

(Inquiry Team Member)

AND: ________________________________________

(the “Inquiry Researcher”)

As an Inquiry Team Member you will have access to, or witness directly, data elicited

through the inquiry study process undertaken with the Security Programs Division Policing and

Security Branch, Ministry of Justice as required by the Master of Arts in Leadership Degree

offered by Royal Roads University. The Inquiry Researcher agrees with the Inquiry Team

Member, and the Inquiry Team Member agrees with the Inquiry Researcher, as follows:

1) In this Agreement, “Information” means all information about, or elicited from the inquiry

research participants. It includes information communicated orally, in writing, or

electronically, during the course of any data collection method or in any other way.

2) The Inquiry Team Member will read the ethics section of the Inquiry Researcher’s

Organizational Leadership Project Proposal and, when possible, apply the same ethical rigor

to his or her involvement within the Organizational Leadership Project.

3) The Inquiry Team Member will agree to keep the information confidential and to not disclose

it to anyone without the prior written consent of the Inquiry Researcher, the Security

Programs Division Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Justice or Justice Institute of

BC.

4) The Inquiry Team Member agrees to use the information only for the purpose of supporting

the Inquiry Researcher in meeting the requirements of the Organizational Leadership Project.

5) This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and such counterparts together shall

constitute a single instrument.

The parties have executed this agreement on ____________________________ 2014 to

be effective as of the ____ day of ________________, 2015.

Per: _____________________________ ________________________________

Inquiry Team Member (print) (sign)

Per: _____________________________ ________________________________

Inquiry Researcher (print) (sign)


© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix D: Interview Consent Form

Addressing Oral Communication Competencies necessary to be a security worker in BC,

through Collaborative Inquiry.

One-on-one Interview

By signing this form, you agree that you are over the age of 19 and have read the

information letter for this study. Your signature states that you are giving your voluntary and

informed consent to participate in this project.

I consent to the audio recording, hand written and/or word processing notes of the

interview method.

Name: (Please Print): __________________________________________________

Signed: _____________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________


© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix E: Survey Questions

How long have you worked in the security industry?

a. less than 1 year

b. 1-3 years

c. 4-5 years

d. 6 or more years

e. not applicable

2. How long have you been a Security Guard Instructor in BC?

a. less than 1 year

b. 1-3 years

c. 4-5 years

d. 6 or more years

3. How many security students have you taught in B.C.?

a. 1-50

b. 51-150

c. 151-300

d. 301 or more

4. Of the students which you have taught, approximately how many have had problems with

their English language skills?

a. None

b. 0-25%

c. 26-50%

d. 51-75%

e. 76 – over

f. Don’t know

5. Do you pre-screen students’ qualifications for English language skills before entry into

your class?

a. always

b. sometimes

c. never

a. other _________________________ (Please specify)


© T. R. Short 2015

6. Approximately what percentage of your students have difficulty speaking English

fluently?

a. None

b. 1-25%

c. 26-50%

d. 51-75%

e. 76 – over

7. What would you say is the main reason for your student’s difficulties in speaking English

fluently? Please specify.

___________________________________________________________

8. Approximately what percentage of your students have difficulty in listening

comprehension?

a. None

b. 1-25%

c. 26-50%

d. 51-75%

e. 76 – over

9. What would you say is the main reason for your student’s difficulties in listening

comprehension? Please specify.

_______________________________________________________________

10. On a scale of 1-3, one (1) being the most important, rank the following qualifications for

security guards in BC.

____Experience

____Skills – academic, technical

____English language fluency

11. How can the Security Programs Division Policing and Security Branch ensure that

security guards have the appropriate qualifications for licensing?

a. Security guards to submit qualifying credentials with licensing application

b. JIBC to verify student qualifications

c. Instructors to verify student qualifications

d. All of the above

e. None of the above


© T. R. Short 2015

f. Other _______________________________________________________

12. Do you see the retention of security guard personnel as a major problem for the security

industry? Y or N

13. If yes, how can the security industry keep its employees?

a. More training

b. Better wages

c. Improved benefits, perks

d. All of the above

e. Other (Specify)________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

14. In your opinion, what are the top 3 issues that need to be addressed related to security

guard training?

a. ____________________________________________________________

b. ____________________________________________________________

c. ____________________________________________________________

15. In your opinion, what are the top 3 challenges for the security industry as a whole in BC?

a. __________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________

16. In your opinion, what would you say is the main reason a student applies to be a security

guard?

a. Foreign credentials are not valid in Canada

b. Looking for work

c. Start of a new career

d. New immigrant

e. other_________________________ (Please specify)


© T. R. Short 2015

Appendix F: Interview Questions

1. Name 3 essential duties of security workers which require oral communication? In those

duties, what level of oral communication skills would they require - low, moderate or

good?

The following questions pertain to security workers (guards) who speak English as a

second language (ESL).

2. What do you see as the current challenges with the security worker’s oral communication

skills?

3. What formal or informal “oral communciation” assessment tools do you use for security

worker applicants?

4. Should there be a standardized assessment tool to determine oral communication skills?

Y/N

5. In your opinion, what is the turnover rate of employees in the security industry due to

oral communication barriers? In your company?

6. In your opinion is there a lack of licensed security worker applicants with adequate oral

communication skills? Y/N

7. Out of those that you have accepted as employees, what is the percentage of applicants

that you have you turned away, because of inadequate oral communication skills?

8. How can the security industry ensure that security workers are properly qualified in their

oral communication skills?

9. What is the current demand by your clients for security workers with English proficiency

in oral communication? Rate the demand on a scale of 1-10, one being low. Example


© T. R. Short 2015

10. Does current legislation in security workers oral communication skills go far enough to

ensure public safety? Y/N If no, give an example on how to improve.

11. Are there any challenges with current English Language fluency verification methods?

Y/N If yes, what would those challenges be?

12. In your opinion, does critical incident stress have an effect on the ability of the security

worker to communicate effectively? Y/N If yes, rate your response on a scale of 1-10,

one being low. Give an example?

13. Whose responsibility is it to verify oral communication skills? How can this be

achieved?

oral communication competencies for security guards in bc-jan 2016

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