This is a question for physical security managers at all levels:
- The client contracting for the service
- The security company providing the service
- The security guards themselves
Clients – Everyone hopes the guards perform all their required actions and observations. Unfortunately the guards are usually fairly low paid, hourly workers. They generally lack direct supervision, and many times work when other employees have gone home. So, is monitoring worthwhile, the answer is YES.
Security Providers – Inevitably, issues will occur. The client will challenge and demand a suitable explanation. “Good will” only goes so far. By having a monitoring program, these provider managers will have a legible record with date, times, and names to respond to the challenge. Again, the answer is YES.
Security Guards – They are at the bottom of the chain. As a result, for them, it is extremely helpful to have a documented record of what they did or observed, even if management did not react to their report. Even for the guards themselves, the answer is YES.
Now, if you accept the idea that performance monitoring is worthwhile, “What functions should such a service provide?”
- First and foremost, there needs to be a way to identify critical anomalies and alert management quickly, e.g., guard No Show, critical action not performed, unexpected critical observation occurred, etc.
- Automatic alerts for normal actions and observations not
- The ability to filter through “tons of data” to get reports that focus specifically on the issue at hand.
- The ability to produce a digital, searchable record such as the Daily Activity Report that satisfies management, insurance companies, regulators, etc.
- The ability to augment reports with pictures and comments.
- It must be easy for the guard to record required actions and observations.
- The reporting should be secure so it cannot be altered, lost, or misplaced until properly stored.
- It must be easy to setup management’s requirements.
There are quite a few monitoring services to consider. One that we recommend is Oversight Inc.’s GuardChecker service. For much more information check out our website, www.guardchecker.net.
