Page 42 - Security Today, April 2019

Dealer Strategies
Top Mistakes Companies Make When Managing a Security Workforce
By Mark Folmer
There’s an age-old saying that goes something like this: If you’re going to do it, do it right. With global de- mand for security services forecast to increase 6.9 per- cent annually—and no signs of it slowing any time soon—security companies of all sizes are facing the need to adapt to rapidly changing customer requirements, demo- graphics and technology landscapes. Never has the need to “do it right” been greater.
Gone are the days of paper-based note-taking and incident re- porting, or hiring four guards to cover the role of one. Today’s secu- rity companies need to be more efficient and responsive, including being better at scheduling resources. Not only are they required to dispatch the right guard to the right site at the right time to do the right things, but clients are asking to see data to justify annual secu- rity spends and help with future planning.
Expectations are changing and security companies need to step up. Based on my many years of experience as a security service pro- vider and corporate security manager as well as the experience of my company, TrackTik Software, in helping organizations maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their security personnel around the world, here are what we have found to be the top mistakes security organizations make when it comes to growing and managing their workforce—and how to avoid them:
Neglecting to account for human behavior. There’s a perception in the industry that a security guard is a transitory job, prone to high turnover. To reduce the risk of being short-staffed, companies tend to hire more resources than necessary. A better tactic to avoid over-staff- ing, improve job satisfaction and productivity, and decrease turnover, however, is to get to know the personal preferences and behaviors of each of your guards, and use that information to optimize scheduling.
For example, if employee A is more comfortable working at a con- cierge desk and prefers the day shift, you shouldn’t be calling that person to patrol an empty industrial lot overnight. There are tools that can help with this kind of strategic scheduling, and using this ap- proach, you will find that your employees are happier, better focused and more motivated to do good work—contributing to an overall more efficient operation.
Failing to remove mundane tasks. If you’re managing a security workforce and you’re not already taking advantage of technology to automate repetitive tasks, it’s only a matter of time before your busi- ness stagnates. Your guards will lose interest and your operational costs will be too high to stay competitive. The goal is to identify where and when technology can augment your security processes and then rely on human intervention only for those tasks that require it.
It is impossible for people to pay full attention, 100 percent of the time, but if you let machines do the mundane work while your
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0419 | SECURITY TODAY
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