If a pacesetter is someone who leads by
example and becomes a role model for
everyone he or she encounters, then the title
definitely belongs to Dennis Lejeck.
Lejeck has worked from the ground up to
form Black Knight Security Inc. into the successful business that it is today. When Lejeck
began BKS in 2003, he was the sole employee. Determined to make his dream come
true, Lejeck began taking on smaller projects,
such as developing emergency action and
evacuation plans, to earn credibility for his
company.
Now, five years later, BKS employs 70 people and its client list includes the U.S. Steel
Tower, one of the largest buildings between
Pittsburgh and Chicago.
His long career in security and helping others began with the time he spent in the U.S.
Army during operations Desert Shield and
Desert Storm. His service earned him three
Army Achievement Medals and an Army
Commendation Medal. Today, he focuses on
mentoring other young veterans who are
employed at BKS.
Lejeck’s service in the Army provided him
with the necessary background and leadership skills to become a successful business
and community leader. One important lesson
he learned from his experiences is to be prepared. Lejeck uses this rule as the backbone
of his company, and attributes it to his current success.
Lejeck moved BKS from Chicago to
Pittsburgh in 2005 with the intention of taking advantage of the struggling Pittsburgh
job market. He was eager to employ
Pittsburghers in well-paying jobs in order to
help boost the local economy and prevent
them from leaving the area.
Having worked in various positions in the
security industry for 12 years before founding BKS, Lejeck was aware of the implications of being a security guard. Too often, it
meant minimum wage pay, inflexible scheduling, and little or no health benefits. As a
result, there was a lack of client satisfaction
as well as high turnover rates.
Disgusted with these conditions, Lejeck
decided to take a risk and start his own security company. His primary goal was to create
a company that would value its employees
and, in turn, provide outstanding client service. To achieve those goals, Lejeck implemented human resources initiatives that are
otherwise unheard of in the security industry.
BKS provides all full-time employees with
health care benefits, paid time off, flexible
scheduling and YMCA memberships.
Under Lejeck’s leadership, BKS has not only
changed the private security industry’s standards but now also sets the pace. By seeing a
problem and creating a solution, Lejeck’s
innovations have raised the bar on security
firms’ human resource standards nationwide.
Lejeck has worked hard to form a company that follows his vision of bringing a breath
of fresh air into a stagnant industry. His treatment of security as a career rather than a
minimum wage job has set higher standards
for the security guards at the company as
well as the entire industry.
The changes Lejeck has made in the way
people view the security business has had a
direct, positive effect on his company.
The employees at BKS truly feel that they
have rewarding careers. The feeling is represented in BKS’s high employee retention rate
— Lejeck’s proudest professional achievement. BKS maintains an employee retention
rate of 56 percent, which is high in an industry in which turnover rates soar between 100
and 300 percent.
Also important to Lejeck is a sense of community involvement. The spirit has been one
of the driving forces behind BKS. For the past
three years, Lejeck and the BKS team gave a
new kind of security to the community members when BKS sponsored the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society’s Race to Any Place, the
largest stationary bike race in western
Pennsylvania. BKS not only sponsored the
race but also provided the security for the
event and participated in it themselves.
Lejeck also was appointed as a board member of the Downtown Pittsburgh YMCA. In
this capacity, he has taken on a leadership
role in the “Strong Community” campaign,
helping to raise money for local scholarships.
Lejeck raised the most pledges out of all the
board members who participated.
By creating a rewarding career instead of a
minimum wage job for BKS employees,
Lejeck has truly made BKS stand out in a dormant industry. The employee benefits and
community service beliefs instilled within the
company create an atmosphere of job-loving
individuals who are proud to wear the BKS
badge.
HOW TO REACH: Black Knight Security, (412) 831-6993 or
www.blackknightsecurity.com
