What's Happening
Message from the CEO Gerry Lambert
This special supplement of CHARTER IN HOUSE shows many stories
and pictures to help remind us of the many hours of dedicated
service given by the staff to the Company in our quest to be among
the best uniform guarding providers in London and the
Southeast.
Charter's People - the mainstay of our organisation
Charter Security was incorporated in 1980 by Gerry and Joyce
Lambert. It has been a long road from our beginnings,
hopefully with some mirth along the way. It is and was
maintained by a group of loyal staff which was housed, in those
days, within our modest rented offices close to the A13 (Riverside)
Barking. That meant cold winters with calor gas heaters and
body warmers being the norm - a far cry from our present centrally
heated offices. It is hard for me to put into words how much
we value the contribution made by many of our long-serving members
of staff, but it is very clear that all Directors, Managers,
Supervisors, Drivers and Guards have dedicated themselves to
working closely as a team, at the 'coalface' or sharp end; however
you would care to describe it! I am pleased to note that many
of our guarding personnel have demonstrated their special loyalty
by accumulating service with the Company in excess of 10 and 20
year periods, quite remarkable for an industry that was known for
regular staff changes.
Steady Growth has brought success
Charter has developed in a sound and progressive manner due, in
part to our policy to respond to all requests for security
assistance from our Clients, no matter what time of the day night
the request was made. It has almost invited the slogan 'Who
can - We can '. Monthly contract hours continue to grow
despite the current and somewhat unpredictable economic climate
faced by all businesses in this Country. The logistical challenge
alone in a 24 hour business; together with the considerable
addition of new legislation, new and variable Codes of Practice,
mean that in many ways that only the best can survive On many
occasions, it has become a logistical nightmare with traffic
situations and many assignments located a considerable distance
from our Head Office in East London.
Over the years we have protected a variety of commercial
premises, prestige buildings and developments including the tragic
Korean air crash site near Stansted Airport during the Official
Enquiry. Whilst gaining this experience, with too many
variations to mention here, the Directors still found time to visit
and engage in voluntary work for the British Executive Service
Overseas, taking assignments and training programmes on behalf of
companies based in the Republic of Armenia and Zimbabwe.
Our Professional Credentials
In our quest for professionalism, we have gained membership of
many Institutions such as the Security Industry Authority (SIA) -
Approved Contractor Scheme, International Professional Security
Association (IPSA), the American Society of Industrial Security
(ASIS), the British Standards Institute (BSI), Investors in People
(IIP) and many more. We also now have Directors who are Members of
The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, and, following
some 20 years security service in the City of London with the
Corporation, our Directors Elfyn Roberts and Claire Lambert are now
Freeman.
Taking the Company Forward into the future. Our new business
strategy, and very much an economic challenge, is to continue the
development of our established Company, and seek even more
opportunities for our staff and Company to achieve personal and
business ambitions throughout 2012 and beyond.
I must also mention that for many years during our past
achievements we have received a considerable amount of help and
direction from our family members, via Stuart Lambert as former M
D, Kenneth Lambert as Training Manager and currently, Claire
Lambert who has taken on a senior role as Commercial Director,
following many years developing our HR department staff and
requirements. Our Company Secretary and former Operations Chief,
Joyce Lambert has also been at the forefront and jointly involved
in our remarkable success. Without Joyce and this family
assistance I doubt if we could have achieved such highs within our
industry.
Today I believe we are identifying the future challenges and I
wholeheartedly believe that we shall be amongst the few medium to
large size privately owned businesses, able to compete with
Nationally established groups. I believe we are able to compete by
our continued commitment to provide a personal hands on approach to
our service, which was established by Charter Security in 1980.
Our aim as always is to serve our clients well, combined with
our genuine desire to provide much more than just a security
officer in a uniform.
My final words go to Mr. Elfyn Roberts, Director of Operations,
a former Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention Officer, who has
stood by the Company for more than 20 years and (has) never been
unable to attend or unravel any particular scenario.
My Final thanks go direct to our current Clients and those
passed.
What can I say… except in simple terms - Thank you to
everyone.
G. Lambert
Chief Executive
And Co. Founder Joyce Lambert