Two weeks ago, COVID-19 was something happening in other places. China. Italy. A cruise ship off the coast of Japan. Washington state. It felt distant, the kind of story you watch on the evening news and shake your head at without really processing what it might mean for your own city.
That distance closed fast. Tennessee confirmed its first case on March 5 in Williamson County. Shelby County confirmed its first case three days later, on March 8. As of this writing, the case count in Tennessee is climbing daily. Schools are closing. Restaurants are shifting to takeout only. The Grizzlies suspended their season along with the rest of the NBA. Beale Street is quiet in a way that Beale Street isn’t supposed to be quiet.
For Memphis businesses, the past two weeks have been a crash course in contingency planning. And for the security industry, the questions are coming faster than anyone has answers.
What’s Happening on the Ground
The most visible change in Memphis right now is the emptying of spaces that are normally full. Downtown offices are sending employees home to work remotely where possible. The medical district is focused on preparing for a potential patient surge, and non-essential appointments are being postponed. Retail foot traffic has dropped noticeably at locations like Wolfchase Galleria and the Shops of Saddle Creek. Restaurants along Overton Square and in Cooper-Young are pivoting to delivery and carryout.
For security companies, this creates an immediate operational question: what happens to guard contracts when the facilities they protect are half-empty or closed entirely?
The answer varies by client. Some property managers have maintained their existing security contracts, reasoning that an empty or partially occupied building still needs protection, possibly more protection than usual. A vacant office building is a target for break-ins, vandalism, and squatting. A parking garage with 20 cars instead of 200 still needs patrol coverage.
Other clients are calling security providers and asking to reduce hours or temporarily suspend service. If a restaurant is closed for dine-in, the owner who was paying for a weekend night guard doesn’t see the point of continuing that expense when revenue has dropped to zero.
Security companies are caught between maintaining their workforce and absorbing the revenue hit from reduced contracts. Guards who lose shifts don’t have savings accounts to float them through an indefinite disruption. The ones who can find work at Amazon or FedEx, both of which are ramping up hiring in Memphis to handle the surge in online ordering, will take those jobs. When the security contracts come back, the guards might not.
The Facilities That Need More Security, Not Less
While some businesses are scaling back, others are scaling up.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities across Memphis are increasing their security presence. Regional One Health Center, the city’s Level 1 trauma center, is preparing for potential COVID-19 patient surges. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and Baptist Memorial are doing the same. Healthcare security in a pandemic context means screening at entrances, managing visitor access, and potentially dealing with stressed or frightened patients and family members.
Grocery stores and pharmacies have become critical infrastructure overnight. The panic-buying wave that hit Memphis in the second week of March put pressure on stores across the metro area. Costco, Walmart, and Kroger locations reported long lines, empty shelves, and occasional confrontations between customers over supplies. Some stores have added security personnel at entrances to manage crowd flow and enforce purchase limits.
Distribution centers and warehouses, already a major security market in Memphis, are increasing their security coverage as supply chain volumes shift. The FedEx hub at Memphis International Airport, the largest cargo operation in the world, is classified as essential infrastructure. The companies that provide security for FedEx and its associated operations are maintaining or expanding their staffing.
Business Continuity and Security Planning
For Memphis businesses that haven’t done formal business continuity planning, this week is an expensive lesson in why it matters. A business continuity plan isn’t just an IT document about backing up your servers. It’s a framework for maintaining operations when normal conditions break down. And normal conditions in Memphis have been breaking down since about March 10.
The security component of a business continuity plan covers questions like: Who has keys and access codes to the facility if the regular staff isn’t coming in? Who monitors the alarm system if the office is empty? What happens if your security guard calls in sick and the provider can’t fill the shift? What are the protocols for allowing essential personnel into a building that’s otherwise closed?
These questions feel basic when everything is running normally. Right now, with half of Memphis figuring out how to work from home and the other half wondering whether their workplace will be open next week, they feel urgent.
If your business doesn’t have a continuity plan, start with the basics. Make sure someone in your organization has a current contact list for your security provider, your alarm company, your property manager, and your insurance carrier. Document who has physical keys and electronic access. Identify which employees are essential for on-site operations and which can work remotely. Communicate your plan to your team before they have to guess.
What About Security Guard Health?
Here’s a question that hasn’t gotten enough attention: what happens when security guards themselves get sick?
Security guards can’t work from home. They stand at posts, walk patrols, interact with the public, and touch doors, gates, and equipment that hundreds of other people touch. They’re in the same category as grocery workers, healthcare staff, and first responders when it comes to exposure risk.
Security companies in Memphis are starting to address this, though the response varies widely. Some companies have issued guidelines to their guards about hygiene practices, social distancing where possible, and reporting symptoms. Others haven’t communicated much of anything to their field staff.
The companies that handle this well will provide PPE (masks and gloves, which are in short supply everywhere right now), adjust post orders to minimize unnecessary contact, and create clear protocols for what a guard should do if they develop symptoms on shift. The companies that handle it poorly will tell their guards to show up and figure it out.
For clients who employ security guards on their properties, this is worth asking about. What is your security company’s pandemic response plan? What happens if a guard assigned to your property gets sick? Do they have backup staffing? Are guards being screened for symptoms before starting their shifts?
The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about whether your security provider is prepared for what might be coming.
The Economic Ripple
The economic impact on Memphis is going to be severe. The city’s tourism and hospitality sector, which supports thousands of jobs along Beale Street, in the hotels downtown, and at attractions like Graceland, is essentially shutting down. Small businesses that operate on thin margins are facing revenue declines that could push them into permanent closure.
When businesses close, security needs change. Vacant storefronts need to be secured to prevent vandalism and break-ins. Construction projects that pause because of supply chain disruptions leave partially completed buildings that are attractive to trespassers. The residential rental market may see an increase in evictions and vacancies as tenants lose income, creating security challenges for apartment complexes and property management companies.
The security industry in Memphis won’t be immune to the economic pain. Contracts will be cut. Revenue will decline for some firms. The companies that survive will be the ones that can adapt quickly, maintain their workforce, and provide value to the clients who still need protection.
What We’re Watching
This situation is changing daily. As I write this on March 19, Memphis and Shelby County haven’t issued formal shelter-in-place orders, though the mayor and county officials have been urging residents to limit non-essential travel. By the time you read this, the situation may have escalated further.
We’ll be covering the security implications of COVID-19 in Memphis as they develop. If you’re a security company owner, a property manager, or a business owner dealing with these challenges, reach out. We want to hear how you’re handling it.
For now, take care of your people. Check on your properties. Talk to your security provider. And wash your hands.