After growing Solaren Risk Management from two founders to 300+ security professionals across multiple states, I’ve learned that company culture isn’t just HR policy — it’s the foundation that determines whether your business succeeds or fails. Here’s how we built a culture that attracts talent, retains employees, and delivers exceptional client service.

Company culture in the security industry faces unique challenges. Your employees work alone at remote locations, often during overnight shifts, with minimal direct supervision. They make split-second decisions that can affect lives and property. Building a strong culture when your workforce is dispersed across multiple states and time zones requires intentional systems, clear values, and consistent reinforcement.

When Curtis Dodson and I founded Solaren in 2017 (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/solaren-risk-management-dd19), we started in a small office in a mall with just the two of us. Today, we manage over 300 contractors across the southeastern United States. That growth didn’t happen by accident — it happened because we prioritized building a culture that people want to be part of.

What Makes Security Industry Culture Different?

Security work presents cultural challenges that don’t exist in traditional office environments. Your employees often work alone, face potential danger, and must make critical decisions without immediate supervisor input. They need to feel connected to something larger than their individual assignments.

Unlike businesses where teams work together daily, security officers might go weeks without seeing colleagues or supervisors. They work at client locations where they’re often viewed as outsiders. Creating belonging and professional identity under these conditions requires deliberate effort and creative solutions.

The industry also struggles with high turnover rates and staffing challenges. As Bethany Gill, our Chief of Operations, observes: “Security is not the most appealing industry anymore. It’s hard to find people who genuinely are passionate about this kind of work.”

This reality means culture becomes even more critical for retention. Employees who feel valued, recognized, and part of a professional organization stay longer and perform better than those who view security as just another temporary job.

How Do You Define Core Values That Actually Matter?

Many companies post generic values on walls and forget about them. We took a different approach at Solaren. We spent extensive time identifying values that reflect both our law enforcement backgrounds and our business objectives. The process wasn’t quick or easy — we wouldn’t leave the room until we reached consensus.

Our five core values are professionalism, accountability, integrity, diversity, and commitment (https://www.solarenrm.com/about/). These aren’t abstract concepts — they’re practical guidelines that shape daily operations and decision-making.

Professionalism means showing up on time, maintaining appropriate appearance, communicating effectively, and representing clients professionally. Every interaction with clients, colleagues, and the public should reflect the highest standards of the security profession.

Accountability means taking responsibility for outcomes, both positive and negative. Officers who make mistakes face consequences, but they also receive support and additional training when appropriate.

Integrity governs how employees behave when nobody is watching. In security work, this principle is especially crucial because officers often work alone with access to sensitive areas and information.

Diversity ensures our teams reflect the communities we serve. Different perspectives make us stronger and help us better understand client needs across various demographics and industries.

Commitment means dedication to continuous improvement, professional development, and excellence in service delivery. This value drives everything from our comprehensive training programs to our client relationship management.

What Role Does Recognition Play in Remote Work Culture?

Traditional recognition programs don’t work well for dispersed security teams. You can’t rely on team meetings, office celebrations, or casual praise when employees work different shifts at different locations. We’ve developed systematic approaches to ensure outstanding performance gets noticed and rewarded.

Our annual Christmas party serves as our primary recognition event. We review performance evaluations from throughout the year and present awards to officers who have demonstrated exceptional service. As Bethany Gill explains: “At the end of the year, we have a Christmas party, a company Christmas party that we do. If somebody based on those performance evaluations throughout the year has just done an exceptional job, they’ll get an award, which usually correlates with some kind of pay boost.”

Awards recognize different types of excellence: outstanding field performance, completion of specialized training, exceptional client feedback, or life-saving actions. Each award comes with financial recognition — typically one or two weeks of additional pay — because meaningful recognition requires meaningful investment.

We also provide immediate recognition for exceptional performance. When one of our officers used emergency medical training to save someone’s life outside a Nashville venue, we didn’t wait for the annual party. We took him to Bridgestone Arena with all expenses covered as immediate recognition for his heroic actions.

Recognition extends beyond individual performance to team achievements. When we successfully managed security for major events or completed challenging deployments like Hurricane Milton, we acknowledge the collective effort through team communications and shared celebration.

How Do You Build Community Among Isolated Workers?

Security officers often work alone, but they don’t have to feel alone. Creating community among distributed workers requires intentional communication systems and opportunities for connection. Technology plays a crucial role, but personal relationships remain most important.

We use integrated mobile platforms that enable communication between officers, supervisors, and headquarters. As Bethany Gill notes: “Everything that we use for our phone and communication and all that stuff is mobile based because all of our operations team is out in the field almost all the time.”

The platform includes chat functions that allow officers to communicate with colleagues, ask questions, and share information. This creates informal networking opportunities and peer support systems that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

Regular training sessions provide face-to-face interaction opportunities. We hold in-person courses for unarmed security, armed security, specialized certifications, and professional development. These sessions allow officers to meet colleagues, share experiences, and build professional relationships.

Field supervisors play a crucial role in community building. They conduct regular site visits, maintain personal relationships with officers at their assigned locations, and serve as communication links between field personnel and headquarters.

Our hiring and promotion practices also strengthen community. Most supervisory staff started as field officers who proved themselves through excellent performance. Promoting from within creates career pathways and demonstrates that the company invests in employee development.

What Training Methods Build Culture Beyond Skills?

Training programs serve dual purposes: developing technical competencies and reinforcing cultural values. Every training session becomes an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to professional excellence and employee development.

Our training coordinator, Darrell Webb, brings active law enforcement experience and deep knowledge of security best practices. As Bethany Gill describes: “We have our training coordinator, Darrell Webb, he’s phenomenal. He’s active law enforcement and he knows his stuff for sure. He does a lot of the training through the law enforcement agency, the department that he works in.”

Training covers technical skills like report writing, emergency response, first aid, and weapons handling. But it also emphasizes cultural elements: professional communication, ethical decision-making, client service excellence, and company pride.

We regularly hold report writing classes because not everybody knows how to write a report. Not everybody knows what categories on their report mean. This training ensures consistency across all locations while demonstrating our investment in employee capabilities.

Specialized training like Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) shows officers that we provide skills that could save lives — their own or others. Officers who complete advanced training receive certificates and recognition, creating positive associations with professional development.

Training also includes company-specific elements: our values, policies, procedures, and expectations. New hires learn not just what to do, but why we do it and how it reflects our organizational culture.

How Do You Maintain Standards Across Multiple States?

Operating across multiple states with different regulations and cultural norms requires systems that maintain consistency while allowing local adaptation. Clear standards, regular communication, and strong local leadership create coherence without micromanagement.

We maintain consistent hiring standards regardless of location. Panel interviews, background checks, and qualification verifications follow the same process whether we’re hiring in Tennessee, North Carolina, or Florida.

Our integrated technology platforms enable consistent scheduling, documentation, and communication across all locations. Officers access the same systems, follow the same procedures, and maintain the same professional standards.

As Bethany Gill explains our technology approach: “We have one platform that we use where we keep track of all the documents for our contractors, all of the time sheets, the schedules, everything all in one app.”

Local supervisors receive extensive training on company culture and expectations. They understand that they’re not just managing contracts — they’re representing Solaren values and maintaining organizational culture in their regions.

Regular communication between headquarters and field operations ensures consistency. Weekly operations meetings review performance across all locations, discuss challenges, and coordinate solutions. This creates accountability while providing support for local leadership.

What Systems Support Culture in High-Stress Situations?

Security work involves high-stress situations where cultural values face real-world tests. The systems you build during normal operations determine how your team responds during emergencies. Hurricane Milton provided an excellent example of culture under pressure.

When clients in Florida needed emergency security support, we mobilized resources quickly while maintaining our standards. As Bethany Gill recalls: “We ended up taking a command center down there and we had multiple vehicles so we could patrol the properties. We had to gather as many people as we could to go down there.”

The deployment required rapid recruitment of qualified personnel, verification of credentials, coordination of equipment and transportation, and maintenance of service quality under difficult conditions. Our culture of professionalism and accountability enabled successful execution despite time pressure and challenging circumstances.

Clear protocols help employees make good decisions under stress. Chain of command structures ensure appropriate escalation when situations exceed individual authority. Training programs prepare officers for emergency responses before they encounter real emergencies.

Support systems also matter during high-stress periods. Supervisors maintain regular communication with field personnel, headquarters provides resources and guidance, and the organization recognizes exceptional performance during challenging assignments.

How Do You Balance Growth with Culture Preservation?

Rapid growth can dilute company culture if not managed carefully. Scaling from two founders to 300+ employees while maintaining cultural integrity requires intentional systems and consistent reinforcement of core values.

As we built our company from a startup to a regional leader, we faced pressure to compromise standards for faster growth. We resisted that temptation by maintaining rigorous hiring standards, comprehensive training programs, and regular performance evaluations.

New employee orientation includes extensive cultural education. Employees learn our history, values, expectations, and success stories. They understand from day one that they’re joining an organization with specific standards and professional pride.

Leadership modeling plays a crucial role in culture preservation. Supervisors and managers demonstrate the behaviors they expect from field personnel. When leaders prioritize professionalism, accountability, and integrity, employees follow those examples.

Regular culture reinforcement prevents drift over time. Company communications, training sessions, recognition programs, and performance evaluations consistently emphasize our values and expectations.

What Makes Employees Stay in Security Work?

Employee retention in security requires more than competitive wages — it requires professional dignity, growth opportunities, and meaningful work. People stay when they feel valued, respected, and part of something important.

Career advancement opportunities keep good employees engaged. Most of our supervisory staff started as field officers and worked their way up through demonstrated performance. As Bethany Gill explains: “Nine times out of 10, it comes from people who have worked for us out in the field and have really done a good job. We’ve got plenty of people that we’ve pulled in from out in the field to become field operations coordinators.”

Professional development shows employees that we invest in their futures. Training programs, certification opportunities, and skills development demonstrate long-term commitment to employee success.

Recognition and respect create emotional connection to the organization. When employees feel proud to work for Solaren, they’re more likely to stay and perform well.

Meaningful work matters especially in security. Officers understand that they’re protecting people, property, and communities. They take pride in professional service and positive client relationships.

My experience and background in law enforcement taught me that people want to be part of organizations they respect. When you build culture that emphasizes professionalism, integrity, and excellence, you attract employees who share those values.

Company culture in the security industry isn’t luxury — it’s necessity. The dispersed nature of the work, the high-stress situations, and the industry’s staffing challenges make culture a competitive advantage for companies that get it right.