Door supervisors often need to manage crowds and queues. If there is an emergency like a fire, they will be responsible for evacuating the building and helping people to safety.
As a door supervisor, you will sometimes have to deal with people who are drunk or under the influence of drugs. There will also be times when you have to deal with people who are violent, including towards you and your colleagues. Unfortunately, people can sometimes also be unpleasant and rude towards door supervisors. You need to be able to keep calm and have good communication skills so that you can defuse situations and keep the peace.
If a door supervisor cannot defuse a situation, then they may have to use physical intervention. This involves using direct or indirect force to limit another person’s movements. This can be done by holding, directing or restraining them. You would be trained on physical intervention as part of the qualification you must get to apply for an SIA door supervisor licence. To get this qualification you must do a physical demonstration of what you have learned about physical intervention. The training provider has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to do this training, including the demonstration during the test. However, if the training provider feels that it cannot make reasonable adjustments, then you will not be able to get the qualification and so cannot become a door supervisor.
A door supervisor may sometimes need to help people who are vulnerable, like young people or people at risk of sexual exploitation.
Door supervisors will need to know what to do in a situation in which customers might need first aid.
Being a door supervisor may require you to stay at a door for several hours at a time and in all weathers.
A lot of door supervisor work is in the evening and may carry on working into the early hours of the morning. Work is often at weekends and part-time work is common.
You need an SIA licence to work as a door supervisor whether you are employed directly by the venue (in-house security) or if you are working for a business that sends you to guard the venue (contracted security).
