A security guard management software is always a manager’s best friend. Most managers are having a tough time managing their workforce to make sure they abide by all the rules and the client doesn’t experience any inconvenience. These software programs help automate most of the repetitive and tedious jobs of a manager, allowing them to improve their performance in monitoring the guards. If you are struggling with managing your security guard team, a security guard management system is something you might be looking for. Let’s dig more into this topic in this article.
What Is Security Guard Management Software?
The security guard industry is a service-based business and its success and failure depend entirely on whether your security guards are performing the way your security company promised its clients. Hence monitoring and tracking have become really important for security companies. This is exactly where security guard management software helps.
Security guard management software is a technology that helps in monitoring the actions of your guards in real-time. It also allows for faster and more transparent communication enabling you to take action before it's too late. This software is so user-friendly that anyone can use it without being very tech-savvy. A small tour of the workspace would be enough for anyone to understand how to assign tasks, monitor, and post orders.
There are many features of security guard management software that make it easy to monitor the activity of every guard in your security company.
How Security Guard Management Software Helps In Guard Activity Management
Automated Reports
The task that used to take up the most time for the managers was making reports. These include everything from daily activity reports, time-frame of duty, incidents on the site, complaints from the clients, and much more. Earlier they would use stationary like registers and pens to keep a manual record or make entries in Excel. But there are many disadvantages to manual record keeping, such as:
- There will be a lot of physical or digital files you will need to preserve.
- Analyzing the performance of your guard will be way too difficult to even consider doing it.
- There is a greater chance of data getting misplaced or completely lost.
- It also gives scope for human error. Therefore, there is a lack of accuracy.
- Reporting happens once or twice every day. So incidents will be reported late.
- You have no proof of whether your guard was present at the right spot and at the right time.
While Excel is far better than using registers, it also has a lot of limitations. Security guard management software goes a step ahead by providing convenience, accuracy, and real-time updates.
The system automates the process of reporting and eliminates any chances of human errors. The software will generate reports of all daily operations while also recording the time accurately.
This data can be used to make analytical reports for each security guard or even for your company’s performance.
Security guard companies often come across clients who make false complaints about guards not being present at the right spot. This allows them to seek some compensation if the guard being missing led to something wrong. You can certainly get this matter closed by compensating the client for their loss. However, this implies that you were at fault. Your reputation will be ruined, and you’ll start losing clients.
So when the clients make false accusations, the data recorded by the management software will prove useful to protect your guards and the reputation of your security company. You can give details regarding when, where, and why your guard was appointed and also evidences that prove the guard was there at the said time.
GPS Tracking
Most management software today will use a GPS system to track the whereabouts of the security guards.
If you are not really familiar with GPS, let me brief you. GPS uses satellites to collect information regarding a mobile device. It collects information on location, route, and the time when the mobile device was present at a given location. Based on this information, you can keep track of where your security guards are, at what time, and where they are heading if they are on the move. We all use GPS every day. Ordered some food. Did you track your order on the map? Well, then you certainly used the GPS system.
So how can GPS actually help you with managing guard activity? You’ll be able to see where each of your guards is on the computer screen. If you think there is a mistake you can quickly send a message to that guard.
These software programs are can be used on mobile devices as well, making it easy for the security officers to receive your message.
GPS system goes a step further to develop a system called Geo-fencing. Imagine a scenario where you are managing an event. You want team A to be backstage and team B to be at the front gate doing their regular security checks. You can now utilize geo-fencing to mark each of these regions. If you don't want your security team to leave the area they are protecting, you'll be alerted when a guard crosses this virtually created boundary.
You could also use GPS and geo-fencing when your guards go patrolling. It is not only to keep them from entering a forbidden territory but also to predict any unusual activity. For example, you see the speed at which a security guard is moving has suddenly increased. It might be some malfunction in the vehicle. You can get in touch with your guard to make sure that they are alright. Taking care of your security guards is your responsibility and GPS helps you tremendously with that.
Real-Time Tracking
Forget about calling your security guards every time you want an update on their location. A live dashboard on your screen can give you all the updates in real-time. For example, your guard has not yet reached the spot they were assigned. You can simply use the GPS to see where they are and quickly send an alert on their device to be present where they are supposed to be.
Getting real-time information is so important to make sure the face of your company, your security guard, is doing their job perfectly. These updates will also flash on the client's portal, making it easy for the client to clearly see if the security operations are going as per their need. You can keep an eye on the guards from any corner of the world and monitor them around the clock.
Employee Scheduling With A Few Clicks
If you've been in charge of a security team for many years, you probably had to create a timetable for the whole team on your own and also ensure that they followed it. Manually doing it would have been challenging. Additionally, if someone became sick and couldn't work that day, you had to fill the void by asking each member of your team on leave if they were available or make some other arrangements like a shift extension for a guard.
Things may have been a lot simpler back then if you had guard management software. Thankfully, this generation of managers has access to these technological tools that simplify scheduling. You can create schedules with only a few clicks and without any errors. Even in an emergency, you may easily see who is accessible and adjust the timetable by using your computer. You won't need to manually call everyone and let them know because your staff will be able to see the new schedule on their mobile phones.
You can find out the guard's working hours and whether they are on vacation in a couple of seconds, thanks to the system. You won't ever make a scheduling mistake if you know these things. Moreover, the system warns you after making a mistake so you can immediately rectify it.
Faster Communication
Your security guard company can provide better service to its clients if there is free-flowing communication from both sides and not just from the management. Let's say there was some incident, and the guard required permission from the client and his manager to take a certain action.
In a traditional system, the guards would submit incident reports only when they reach out to their manager after their duty. There are two problems here. One is that the guard might have already taken some action, but the manager later disapproved of such actions. The second is that if there was an emergency, there was no means for the guard to immediately summon help.
Both of these problems can be solved using management software. Your officers can submit reports instantly with just a single click using the software. The management and the client should receive a notification regarding this. If the guard needs assistance, that can be provided immediately, or if the guard needs special permissions, those can be granted as well. Moreover, all the emergency changes made will be recorded by the system.
A fast and two-way communication system like this is very beneficial in maintaining the standard of your service and requesting help when needed. Moreover, if you observe any unusual activity, you can instantly connect with the guard to get information regarding his whereabouts.
Notifications and alerts make your job much easier. You don’t have to keep an eye on the screen around the clock. If there is something you need to look into, the system will send you a notification or an alert if there is an emergency.
For example, your security guard was assigned a patrolling duty today. The system is tracking his activities, and it turns out the security guard missed one checkpoint. An alert will be raised immediately so that you can contact the guard and figure out what the problem was.
Instant access to required data
The software will also help you to make informed decisions. Let's take a scenario. Say a security guard is guarding a facility’s door when a certain person requests an entry. As I mentioned before, the software makes a note of every little thing. So if the system has previously marked this person as a defaulter, the system will alert you, the guard, and the client by recognizing the person. Now that the admission of this individual can be restricted, the security officers may be able to avert an awful situation. If you or the client want this person to enter the facility, you can send a message to the guard, and the guard will take the required action.
The system has the power to store ample data, and it makes accessing this data for registered users a piece of cake. So anyone associated with your security company who has access to this system can view the data and make correct decisions while guarding.
Bottom Line
The security industry is accepting this new technology at a really fast pace. If you own a security firm, you should certainly employ security guard management software if you haven’t already. This software is made specifically to assist managers to stay up to date with all proceedings, keeping an eye on guards, making sure the guards follow the schedule and the code of conduct, and much more. Whether you are a new business or an established one, a tool to help you out with managing the guard will certainly enhance the quality of service you provide to your clients. It gives you better control over your team's actions that also reflect your brand.