Prosegur, much more than security: Innovation, sustainability and people
48 years of history, its human capital, its geographical expansion and its unstoppable technological development have made Prosegur a benchmark company in the global market. Its future projection and its new brand image are now based on three pillars: continuous innovation, the people who work in and protect the company, and sustainability.
They are the ones in the yellow vans. These are the security guards we usually see in top-level facilities, establishments and events. They are the ones for alarms in homes and businesses. They are indeed all of these things, and all of them are an indispensable part of their identity. But they are much more.
Prosegur is a multinational company with home bases in 34 countries on five continents, fluency in 18 different languages, an extensive and highly trained family of 175,000 members and operations in five business units, which go far beyond physical security, alarms or cash management.
'When I present Prosegur, I always talk about purpose and our purpose is to make the world a safer place, taking care of people and businesses and always staying at the forefront of innovation'. Says Elías Fullana, the company's global director of corporate marketing. This essential task of protecting people and companies - emphasises Fullana - 'is not only against physical threats, which was the initial reason for Prosegur's existence, but also against digital and virtual threats, because if there is something that identifies us, it is our innate capacity to evolve with our clients and adapt to their needs'.
Prosegur first started in 1976 with cash in transit, ‘those armoured vehicles we've all seen on the streets, and with cash management’, Fullana points out. The following year, 'we moved into physical surveillance, embodied in the security guards that we also see in many of the establishments, facilities and events we attend and in 1980 the group's international expansion began'.
From then on, the company has been laying the foundations for its current international leadership year after year: in 1987, it was floated on the stock exchange; from 1995 it started its activities in Latin America, and in the following decades it expanded to other continents, reaching Asia, Oceania and Africa. In 2019, it reached the milestone of reaching the United States, the most powerful security market in the world.
The transformation of Prosegur
In recent years, Prosegur has made a strong entry into sectors such as cybersecurity (under the CIPHER brand) and has positioned itself as a benchmark firm in the outsourcing of high added value services, thanks to AVOS Tech, the group's leading company in BPO process outsourcing and technological integrations. 'Our clients in the banking and insurance sectors have been increasingly demanding more services from us and, over time, we have been increasing and diversifying our offering to become a unique provider in the comprehensive management of business processes through technology in multiple sectors', says the Corporate Marketing Director.
‘Transformation at Prosegur has not only come from the incorporation of new technologies and services, but there has also been a cultural and talent transformation...’
Furthermore, the use of the latest technologies (video analytics, iSOC, BPaaS services, cash automation solutions and custody of cryptoassets, etc.) has allowed it to develop increasingly innovative and digital products and services.
But the transformation at Prosegur has not only come from the incorporation of new technologies and services, but there has also been a cultural and talent transformation, incorporating more technological and digital profiles (without losing the essence and most in-demand profiles such as security guards, salespeople, installers) and processes (digitalization, data and analytics capabilities, etc.).
Three fundamental pillars
It is precisely the evolution and capacity for adaptation that Fullana spoke of that are the leitmotiv of the new Prosegur, a company that, based on the solid foundation of its experience and its international background, is projecting itself into the future based on three pillars: innovation, people and sustainability. The words ‘working to make the world a safer place’ are inscribed in gold letters in Prosegur's DNA, but the group's long history, its versatility and the expansion of its business lines have diversified this initial horizon. Without ever losing sight of it.
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To provide the best possible security for homes and businesses’, argues Fullana, 'we have to innovate', and that innovation takes many different forms: From incorporating the most advanced technology in cybersecurity, transportation and custody of cash, digital assets or crypto assets to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and video analytics solutions in alarms, to distinguish, without a shadow of a doubt, a pet from a human being. This includes what Fullana calls ‘hybrid security’, which combines the physical guard with technological tools and data analytics that keep him in permanent contact with the operations centre (iSOC), ‘to know exactly where he is, what threats there are and how to react at all times’.
As innovation is a vital factor in a family of 175,000 members, the people who form part of this family are an essential asset, and not only because Prosegur has become a drive for stable and quality employment in the communities in which it operates, but also because of the importance that each of these 175,000 people, taken one by one, have for the company.
'Our purpose is to make the world a safer place, taking care of people and businesses and always staying at the forefront of innovation'
Elías Fullana
Global Director of Corporate Marketing
‘Gradually, we have been incorporating more technological and digital profiles in the processes, with more analytical capabilities. But we also take good care of them’, Fullana emphasises. We are very intensive in continuous training, so that they can give the best of themselves; we promote diversity and equality, with initiatives such as #EmpoweredWomen, which promotes female talent; we listen to their needs, with projects such as Voice of the Employee (VoE), asking them, through regular surveys, about their level of wellbeing at work; and, in addition, our Global Comprehensive Wellbeing Programme, PRO360, promotes initiatives for their physical and mental health’.
The third pillar, sustainability, goes beyond mere words at Prosegur. It is a commitment based on conviction. 'We are not content with meeting the obligations of the organisations to which we belong, such as the UN Global Compact or Forética, but we have designed and implemented policies with quantifiable environmental management commitments and objectives for all the businesses and countries in which we operate'.
In this sense, Fullana affirms that Prosegur is very aware of everything related to mobility: 'We are renewing our heavy and light fleet, selecting vehicles and increasingly pursuing the goal of reducing our footprint and CO2 emissions. In the last year, in fact, we have reduced them by about 4%'. This effort also includes the advanced telemetry that the company has implemented in its fleet, ‘to optimise the management and control of our vehicles’ routes and to be as efficient as possible’.
The ‘added value’ of the brand
The recruitment of talent, the diversification of products and services, the development of technological business units and geographical expansion (with special emphasis on the US market) are a substantial part of the ‘successful future’ that Fullana envisages for the company, and all of this, he assures us, permeates the brand. ‘In the case of Prosegur, the brand is fundamental and represents an added value: for our customers, for our investors and for our employees, those who already work with us and those who may work with us in the future.
'The brand is very attached to the place where we have our headquarters, to the daily life of our employees and to the communities we serve. In this sense, in many markets we are perceived as a local brand.'
The importance Prosegur gives to its brand is clearly demonstrated by the recognition this work receives in the form of national and international awards, from its inclusion in the Interbrand consultancy ranking of ‘Best Spanish Brands’, to its recognition by the US newspaper Newsweek as one of the ‘World's Most Trusted Companies’ in 2023. This year, it has also been recognised as the only Spanish company in the Brand Finance Commercial Services 100 ranking, which assesses the strength and value of brands.
Another key aspect is that, despite the company's multinational nature and its decided international vocation, 'the brand is very attached to the place where we have our headquarters, to the daily life of our employees and to the communities we serve. In this sense, in many markets we are perceived as a local brand ', says Fullana.
A whole communication plan
Lo dice el director global de Marketing Corporativo: “Prosegur es una compañía más de hechos que de palabras” y, como tal, su movimiento lo demuestra andando.
No obstante, a veces, comunicar lo que uno hace también es importante, y eso es lo que va hacer la compañía en los próximos meses: aprovechar la plataforma del diario Expansión para presentar a sus interlocutores habituales (el mercado, sus clientes, los inversores, sus empleados y los candidatos a serlo) la imagen de ese nuevo Prosegur.
A lo largo de las próximas semanas, directivos y responsables de las diferentes unidades de negocio desgranarán los pormenores de esos tres pilares en los que la compañía sustentará su expansión a corto y medio plazo y definirán, negro sobre blanco, qué aporta Prosegur a la sociedad. No se pierdan este apasionante periplo por una empresa de personas que piensan en personas.
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