Avantguard News
May 2024 - ACS Audit Success
Another year has gone by and we've just had our 11th ACS Audit.
We've managed to improve our score once again and now sit at 106 points. This is a fantastic achievement by our team, especially for a company of our size and it puts us in the top 15% of all ACS companies according to the ACS Pacesetters.
The average score for a company of our size is 72 points and that includes companies with between 26 and 250 employees. Avantguard employ around 35 employees so we are very much at the smaller end of this size bracket and that makes us all the more pround of our score of 106.
Amongst the feedback received, the auditor was particularly impressed with comments from a client who had worked with various providers and contractors for 40 years and considered Avantguard to be "by far the best that he has worked with".
The audit identified two areas of Good Practice. The first related to conducting Enhanced DBS checks annually, which is in excess of the generally accepted 3 or 5 years.
The second relates to the newly introduced Private Health Care scheme for all employees.
Staff Feedback Survey
In August 2023 we asked our team to complete a staff feedback survey and we have now collated all the results.
We're really pleased at an overwhelmingly positive response from the team with 100% of our staff agreeing that they would recommend Avantguard as an employer to others.
We also had some really good feedback and suggestions which we are looking to implement and some very nice comments which you can find on our Recruitment page
If you work for Avantguard, you can access the full survey results via the Staff login area.
New Professional Security Operative Apprenticeship
After more than 3 years of hard work, Kate and Tony of Avantguard Security are very pleased to report on the final approval of a new security apprenticeship.
The Private Security Industry Trailblazer Group announced the approval of a new, government-funded level 2 Professional Security Operative apprenticeship.
The new apprenticeship has been approved by government as a route for those wanting to join the private security industry, and for those already in employment who wish to progress. This achievement represents three years of hard work by employers and stakeholders across industry, supported by the SIA (Security Industry Authority).
The apprenticeship will provide funded opportunities for professional training in core security skills, and allow employees to choose a specialism:
• Operational Security Operative
• Cash and Valuables in Transit
• Mobile Security Patrol
• Security Control Room Operative.
Mark Williams, Security Operations Manager, Parliamentary Security Department, and Chair of the Trailblazer Group responsible for developing the apprenticeship, said:
“I am really pleased that the hard work of employers and others has paid off. This is a major step forward for the industry. This apprenticeship will address some of the workforce issues that we have, by helping to attract new talent to the industry, as well as retaining and developing existing staff. I am extremely proud of the hard work, tenacity and collaboration shown by the group to achieve this step forward to help professionalise the industry.”
Heather Baily QPM, Chair of the SIA, commented:
“We are really pleased to have supported the group to achieve this outcome. It is another great example of the progress that can be made when industry collaborates on skills issues with our support and hopefully a further step along the way of making the private security industry a career of choice.”
Further information:
For employers wanting to find more about offering apprenticeships visit:
Hire an apprentice (apprenticeships.gov.uk)
The new Professional Security Operative apprenticeship can be found here:
Institute of Apprenticeships & Technical Education
The Professional Security Operative apprenticeship is available in the United Kingdom. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland employers seeking to access apprenticeship funding should approach their local apprenticeship funding body.
Apprenticeship levy payers in England – employers in the private or public sector with an annual wage bill of more than £3 million will, for the first time, be able to use their levy to pay for high-quality training for their private security operatives.
May 2023 - Approved Contractor Scheme - Audit Success
Great News!
On the 8th & 9th May we had our annual Approved Contractor audit and it was another success. Despite a challenging year for everyone, we have raised our score to 103 points. That puts us just 2 points short of being an industry pacesetter (top 15% of all ACS companies in the country).
Our auditors spent time interviewing clients and staff and we received some great feedback.
Observation of service delivery highlighted that security staff were highly motivated, customer focused and demonstrated good attention to detail. They fully understood the high expectations that both Avantguard and the clients had of them and took a pride in meeting these. They had a good awareness of site issues and vulnerabilities. The confidence and competence of new members of the team was also evident. This is a testament both to Avantguard’s focus on training and the peer support that all staff said they enjoyed.
When the Assessor asked staff about their experience of working for Avantguard, the phrase “I’m loving it” was said by three of them, both long-serving and recent recruits.
Clients praised Avantguard for being genuinely local, responsive and professional.
The assessment found that Avantguard’s USP is that it is a technology-led security company. GuardTools is embedded across all areas of the business and extensive evidence was seen of the efficiencies it has achieved, including automatic reports to clients giving assurance of service delivery as well as helping Avantguard plan and manage processes and understand performance. Data was used by the Senior Management Team to understand what does (and doesn’t) work, leading to a culture of learning and innovation.
We are pleased to say that we had no improvement needs (things that need to be improved quickly) and were provided with a couple of improvement options which are ideas we might want to consider for the future.
It is fair to say we could not achieve this without a great frontline and admin team that are fully supporting in delivering the Avantguard vision. So, a great BIG THANK YOU to you all!
Our Score History
2022 Score = 103/145
2022 Score = 102/145
2021 Score = 98/145
2020 Score = Audit only partially completed due to COVID restrictions
2019 Score = 88/145
ACS Workbook and scoring mechanism changed in 2019
2018 Score = 117/174
2017 Score = 98/174
2016 Score = 86/174
2015 Score = 70/174
2014 Score = 51/174
May 2023 - Worthing Better Business Show
We have booked our stand to exhibit at the Worthing Better Business Show in September 2023.
This year, the event will be held on Thursday 21st September 2023 from 10:00am to 3:00pm and will be at the Worthing Leisure Centre.
https://worthingandadurchamber.co.uk/BBS-2023
It's always an informative and interesting day with a variety of local companies showing what Worthing and Sussex has to offer (and there's usually a few tasty freebies to pick up along the way).
We look forward to exhibiting alongside everyone, including some of our clients and suppliers who we've known for many years:-
Another Successful ACS Audit
Avantguard have just undergone their 9th audit for the SIA Approved Contractor Scheme.
It was another successful audit and over the 2 days the auditors met with the management team in the office and also interviewed a variety of clients and staff at sites in West Sussex.
We are very pleased to have once again increased our score and we are now at 102 points. This is such as fantastic achievement for a small company and keeps us firmly in the top 25% of all ACS companies in the country.
In addition, we are now only 2 points away from achieving a 'Pacesetter' score which would put us in the top 15% of all ACS companies in the country.
The average score for a company of our size is 75 but that's companies employing between 26 and 250 employees so we think we're definitely punching above our weight.
Not bad for a small family run business operating in Sussex.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/choosing-an-sia-approved-contractor
Our Score History
2022 Score = 102/145
2021 Score = 98/145
2020 Score = Audit only partially completed due to COVID restrictions
2019 Score = 88/145
ACS Workbook and scoring mechanism changed in 2019
2018 Score = 117/174
2017 Score = 98/174
2016 Score = 86/174
2015 Score = 70/174
2014 Score = 51/174
Join Avantguard at the West Sussex Business Expo
Come and join Avantguard on stand 32 and see what we have to offer you. The region’s biggest business to business exhibition is taking place at Fontwell Park Racecourse on Thursday 28th April 2022 between 10am - 2pm.
With over 250 businesses attending the show, this is a brilliant event to gather new contacts that could benefit your company in the near future.
Don’t miss the chance to grow your connections by getting involved with workshops and speed networking throughout the day. Listen to keynote speakers and become engaged with ideas and inspiration for your business.
Tickets are free, so there really is no excuse to miss out on this fantastic opportunity.
To register for FREE tickets go to: https://www.b2bexpos.co.uk/event/west-sussex-expo-april-2022
2021 Customer Satisfaction
In May 2021, Avantguard sent out a Customer Satisfaction Survey to approximately 100 of our clients.
The results have now been collated and are available to view by clicking the button below.
We're very pleased with the results with most of our clients either strongly agreeing or agreeing with the various statements about our customer service. Some responses were neutral or N/A, but we received no negative responses so that's great to hear.
We had some lovely testimonials which you can find on our Testimonial Page
It was nice to receive some specific feedback from a range of clients with improvement suggestions so we're working on ideas and plans for how to implement these suggestions.
We also had some general feedback with lovely comments such as:-
"Excellent service - responsive and customer centric, keep up the great work"
"Carry on as you do! A BIG Thank You to Tony W for his constant support"
"Avantguard is providing an excellent service so keep doing what you are doing!"
May 2021 - Approved Contractor Audit
On 10th and 11th May 2021, we were subject to our annual audit under the Approved Contractor Scheme.
Despite the difficult COVID circumstances, the audit was very successful and the auditor was able to visit a number of clients and staff in safe conditions, as well as auditing our procedures and files at the Avantguard Office.
We are please to say that our score has increased again and we were given no improvement needs or improvement options.
We were also commended with 2 Good Practices for our 'Coronavirus Communications' and our 'Occupational Health Programme'.
Our score of +98 is an excellent testatment to the hard work of our team. The average score for a company of our size is +70 and that's for companies employing between 26 and 250 employees (we employ less than 40 so we're at the lower end of this range).
Overall, our score puts us firmly in the top 25% of ALL companies who hold Approved Contractor Status and for a little Sussex based company we think this is a huge achievement.
Our Score History
2021 Score = 98/145
2020 Score = Audit only partially completed due to COVID restrictions
2019 Score = 88/145
ACS Workbook and scoring mechanism changed in 2019
2018 Score = 117/174
2017 Score = 98/174
2016 Score = 86/174
2015 Score = 70/174
2014 Score = 51/174
June 2020 - Customer Satisfaction Survey
In June 2020, Avantguard sent out a Customer Satisfaction Survey to all our clients who have joined us over the last year.
The results have now been collated and are available to view by clicking the link below.
June 2020 - Real Living Wage Employer
Here at Avantguard we are incredibly proud to announce that we are now a Real Living Wage Employer.
The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.
February 2020 - Worthing & Adur Better Business Show
Avantguard are pleased to be exhibiting at the 2020 Better Business Show which will be held on Thursday 13 February 2020 at the Worthing Town Hall.
With over 50 exhibitors its going to be a busy one so come along for a bit of networking and find our stand for a chat about your security arrangements.
There will also be a series of talks by guest speakers:-
Kenny Tutt - Masterchef Champion 2018 and owner of PITCH
Matt Hung - Dragons Den Star from The Great British Porridge Co
Jake Moore - Cyber Security Specialist for ESET
January 2020 - Apprenticeship Trailblazer Scheme
We are pleased to announce that Tony and Kate will be part of a 'trailblazer' group that will be working with the SIA and the Institute for Apprenticeships in order to develop a brand new Apprenticeship scheme for the Security Industry.
We believe that there is a gap in the education system between achieving your SIA licence and the more formal advanced level management or supervision qualifications. We are hoping that Tony and Kate will be able to put forward the case for individuals who are looking for good quality training and education but not necessarily looking for a management qualification at this stage.
"We would like to be part of developing an apprenticeship that helps individuals obtain a wide array of skills that will help them to improve their core security skills but also specialise in more specific security sectors." - says Kate
"It will be a long process with a lot of work and meetings over many months but hopefully by the end of it there will be an Apprenticehip available to all who want to work in security." - says Tony
August 2019 - Gatwick Stars Award
Well done to our team members Dave and Roger who work at Irwin Mitchell in Crawley.
They have been awarded with the Gatwick Stars Award in August having been nominated by an Irwin Mitchell colleauge.
Dave and Roger were nominated because they are 'always really helpful and they sort out awkward, last minute requests calmly and efficiently'.
It's great to get this sort of fantastic feedback about our team so well done to Dave and Roger and keep up this fantastic level of service.
May 2019 - Approved Contractor Audit
On 16th and 17th May 2019, Avantguard underwent our 6th Approved Contractor Audit which was undertaken by the SSAIB.
Once again, we feel that the audit was very successful and on the whole we are meeting the criteria of the Approved Contractor Scheme to a very high standard. We have been given some great feedback from our auditor about areas we can now focus on to continue improving our standards in line with our company values.
From April 2019, the ACS Workbook has been completely overhauled and has been reduced from 9 sections to just 7 sections but the criteria in each section are much tougher with higher expectations to be met.
The base score remains at 'zero' which indicates that you are meeting the basic criteria of the Approved Contractor Scheme. The total score achievable for good practices is now 145, which is a reduction on the previous total of 174.
We are pleased to say that we scored 88 out of 145. Although this might look like a reduction on last year's score of 117, we are assured by our auditor and in our official report that "The decrease is entirely due to the 1 April 2019 changes to the Self-Assessment Workbook" and that "Avantguard Security has implemented many improvements in the last twelve months."
Well done to our whole team for all their efforts, not just for the audit, but always.
2019 Score = 88/145
2018 Score = 117/174
2017 Score = 98/174
2016 Score = 86/174
2015 Score = 70/174
2014 Score = 51/174
May 2019 - Customer Satisfaction Survey
In April 2019, Avantguard sent out a Customer Satisfaction Survey to all of our clients.
The results have now been collated and are available to view by clicking the link below.
March 2019 - ACT Awareness E-Learning
Avantguard have registered with Highfield for the Action Counter Terrorism (ACT) Awareness E-Learning platform.
Over the next month, all of our employees will be working through the 7 modules of the online course to ensure they have up to date and relavent counter terrorism awareness training.
This is something that your own company can do as well, either intergrating the system with your own learning platform, or just signing up for a unique company URL.
January 2019 - We Have Moved to Arundel!
Avantguard have now moved to a lovely new office in Arundel.
We spent 7 years in Littlehampton and enjoyed our time there, but the time was right to make a move to something a little bit bigger and more suited to our growing needs.
Our new address is Unit D1, Arundel Court, Park Bottom, Arundel, BN18 0AA.
We're a little bit outside of the main town and down a short lane so it's a nice quiet working environment but perfect for what we need.
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make our move go smoothly. We would especially like to thank Van & Two Men (there were actually 4 of them). They had us loaded, moved and unloaded in less than half a day which meant that the move was quicker and easier than we could have imagined.
December 2018 - Christmas Donation
This year, our Christmas Donation is going to Turning Tides who aim to end local homeless. They run day centres in Littlehampton, Worthing, Horsham and East Grinstead and provide all sorts of temporary housing schemes and assistance to those in need.
Our donation this year will fund:-
Breakfast for 6 people for 30 days
A hot shower and breakfast for 2 people for 6 days
Telephone advice and support for 2 people
Due to council budget cuts, Turning Tides are potentially going to lose more than £450k of funding so they desperately need help.
May 2018 - General Data Protection Regulations
On 25th May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulations come into force. Everyone has been beavering away over the last few months to get ready for the change which is the biggest shake-up of Data Protection rules for 20 years.
At Avantguard, we have made sure that we are ready by carrying out a full review of our data policies, creating a comprehensive data map and completing a risk assessment of the personal data that we hold.
You can view our Privacy Statement and General Policy by clicking the buttons on the side bar (left). We also have more comprehensive Policy documents aimed specifically at our clients and employees as well. These are available through the Client Log In and Staff Log In areas of our website, or you can request these documents by emailing
May 2018 - SIA Approved Contractor Audit
We've recently undergone our fifth Approved Contractor audit through the SSAIB and once again our score has increased. We are so proud of this demonstration of our commitment to continuous improvement and we are especially proud of our fantastic team. You all deliver a great service and make this possible!
2014 Score = 51 2015 Score = 70
2016 Score = 86 2017 Score = 98
2018 Score = 117
