Dan Dhanoa began his career at GardaWorld 14 years ago as a security guard in Calgary. From Day 1, he would find extra ways to help his clients. This has helped him move up the ranks to operations manager.
I was first hired as a security guard in 2006. I had served in the military in India, so that gave me an advantage. But GardaWorld is open to anyone and everyone. We hire people without any experience in security if we think they’ll be a good fit, because we have the training capabilities in place to give them the skills and certifications they need. You can tell a lot about a person, and the way they present themselves, in an interview.
Within four months, I was promoted to be a site manager for Canada Post. I think I got the promotion because while I was the day guard, I offered to do extra things for the clients, such as paperwork. They appreciated my contributions, so they sent emails to my office. I think these client testimonials helped me when a position came up as the site manager of Canada Post. When you do a little extra for your clients, they are very happy.
From boots on the ground to HR manager
Around 8 months after I started working as a site manager, I was promoted to HR manager in the GardaWorld office. The HR manager is a very important position; it’s where everything emanates from, including the quality of guards and how we train and mentor them.
For GardaWorld, if there’s a problem at the guard level, many things can go wrong. So it’s very important that the HR processes are strong and effective. At that time, we didn’t have a standard PowerPoint for the orientation class we did for the guards, so I created that, and our VP sent it to the other branches to use as well.
From HR manager, I was promoted to operations manager. This includes day-to-day tasking, invoicing, and a host of other things. In this role, I’m aware that I’m setting an example. If I'm not doing something I need to do, then the account managers and others in the office will follow suit. Similarly, when I'm on the site interacting with the guards, I try to mentor them and set an example.
A longstanding client relationship built on trust and respect
Even though I’m operations manager, I still manage one account, Oxford Properties; they’re our biggest client. The reason for this is I was the manager initially, when they very hesitatingly awarded us the account for one of their properties. At that time, they had problems with other companies they’d hired in the past. My relationship with my key contact at the company was very good. So after about seven months, I asked him why he wouldn’t give us the whole portfolio. He said he didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket.
Shortly after, the other company that they had hired was not doing the job they said they would. So they started depending on us to help out on the other site as well. When that site came up for a request for proposal (RFP), we got it. Later, the client said he’d give us the complete portfolio but only if it would be managed by me. We gave our word. That’s why I’m sticking to this client, even though I’m operations manager. I'm available for them 24/7, and I do their scheduling single-handedly.
Hard work is rewarded
The advice I have for any new person to the company is that hard work never goes to waste. When I started, I used to come to the office at about five in the morning and stay until five in the evening. I used to speak to every driver in the mobile division in the morning.
The other point I want to stress is that security is a really good career. If you work hard and you keep getting your qualifications, which GardaWorld will help out with, there will be many opportunities for advancement.
Discover how you can enjoy a successful career at GardaWorld. View our job opportunities here.