The Role of Technology in Running a People-First Physical Security Business
Introduction
Many companies aspire to cultivate a people-first approach. This means refocusing the company mindset and attitude to place more importance on the employees who are most directly involved in daily operations. This paradigm reframes employees as individuals to be nurtured by the company, instead of resources that need to be maximised for full value.
A physical security business can benefit from pursuing a people-first culture, as taking better care of their employees can foster loyalty and fulfilment. A people-first culture translates to improved performance from security personnel — people who are responsible for making sure business assets stay safe.
Technology plays a big role in people-first efforts, often by removing the burden of repetitive tasks from employees so they can divert their energies to improving the quality of their work. The article will go into deeper detail about how technology can improve the relationship between the company and its employees.
Bridging Gaps
Security guards have an invaluable on-the-ground perspective that yields insight about security concerns that those who do not work the rounds might miss. These details can get lost in the shuffle of daily routine without an efficient way to report them.
Physical security software provides streamlined communication across multiple channels, allowing guards to provide detailed incident information in different media, such as voice recordings and text. Through a centralised communication hub, guards can forward information immediately to alert their supervisors and have the report stored in the cloud. There is no need to take laborious notes on the scene and then document the report later on. This expedites the incident reporting while minimising the chance of missed details. Additionally, reporting feels more intuitive and streamlined for guards. Through technology, exercising due diligence to make timely and comprehensive reports is faster and easier for guards. In turn, your operation benefits from more accurate information.
Protecting Protectors
Running a physical security business of the future means providing guards with added protection during their duties. As the nature of the profession occasionally puts guards in danger, investing in technology that makes the job as safe as possible is a worthy allocation of company resources.
During emergencies, knowing the exact location of the guard on duty can be crucial to keeping them safe. Location-based tracking informs managers of each guard’s whereabouts in real-time, giving security managers the capability to direct operations accordingly. Security management software can even continue to operate in areas with low bandwidth, providing a better chance to pinpoint the guard’s location at any time.
Security management software also allows security guards to call for support as needed, informing other personnel in the area to converge on a particular location. With the same software, security managers can efficiently send additional support units to a guard during an emergency. This capability to route personnel to key areas promptly improves the guards’ safety during emergencies.
The awareness that their team is capable of such support through physical security software also bolsters the morale of guards as they go about their duties.
Minimise Menial Tasks
Tech-driven automation can assist security personnel with the copious amount of bookkeeping associated with the job, providing a more efficient alternative to pen-and-paper methods.
With physical security software, patrolling guards can create detailed incident reports that can be viewed by managers in real-time instead of physically taking notes on paper. While this frees up considerable time and effort that reduces stress and fatigue during work, the technological solution is also more accurate, as the report information is uploaded to the cloud immediately with limited opportunities for tampering.
Tech assistance ensures security personnel are more motivated to work while also improves the general quality of life while they are on the job.
Remote Advantages
Technology opens the doors to remote security operations, which allow security managers to work off-site and manage multiple sites in different locations. This is especially important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of physical distancing. In this regard, remote operations protect the health and well-being of all personnel.
Adopting remote operations in a security company is a clear message of concern for the guards’ safety. Because the guards need to be physically present to do their jobs, exploring remote options for non-essential personnel is one of the best options to maintain physical distancing while also keeping communication lines clear.
Even outside the context of COVID-19, investing in physical security software truly puts your people first. All employees can enjoy quality-of-life benefits if remote operations are integrated successfully into your company. Remote work capabilities allow your managers to coordinate multiple sites as needed without needing to visit each one. Guards can feel more personally secure by having accessible support via the software. Technology can also improve overall customer service, which benefits employee satisfaction.
Remote operations represent a powerful paradigm shift towards a people-first culture because they address the employees’ needs for better and more fulfilling working conditions.
Conclusion
Technology plays a big role in promoting a company culture of employee empowerment and accountability, but the people-first mindset must be adopted by business owners at a values level. If the people who are making decisions for the company are just going along with the people-first trend, but do not share the values it represents, any efforts are probably doomed to fail.
Nevertheless, one of the strategic reasons for pursuing a people-first culture is improved performance. The movement works under the assumption that happier and more fulfilled employees can be expected to exhibit greater enthusiasm for their work and loyalty towards the company. Investing in physical security management software is only the first step. ‘People-first’ will only really happen with the genuine belief of the value of employees, and a big part of the shift involves finally adopting technology to facilitate employees better.
Keeping people safe is at the heart of Security Risk. Learn more about security automation with Security Risk Manager (SRM).