Insights: The SmartTask Blog for Security Matters (Part 2)

Good software and accurate electronic records can reduce the preparation time needed for a Security Industry Authority Approved Contractor Scheme audit to as little as two hours compared with such a process otherwise maybe taking several days. In fact, we’ve heard of some cases where management teams have been tied up for several weeks prior to such an audit.

There comes a point – and it’s usually at around the 20 employees mark – where it’s more cost-effective to look at using technology to run the process (and the business as a whole) more efficiently.

Deliverables with software

Make no mistake. There’s a great deal that today’s software solutions can do and achieve for the host organisation:

*Automatically generate staff rosters – saving huge amounts of time and, perhaps even more importantly, enabling employees to tweak or amend the process ‘on the go’ as circumstances on the ground change

*Electronic run sheets deliver the ability to log the planned versus the actual. They can be sent to security officers such that they have all the details they need on their smart phone, easily to hand

*Generate electronic records of all jobs completed and services provided. This is linked to invoicing so that no job is ever forgotten and payroll is accurate

*Keep track of where keys are held and who had access to them (reports can be generated for audits within minutes)

*Standardised reports provide access to business information at the click of a button.

*Audit trail (electronic records are easily stored and can be swiftly searched, in turn delivering the information necessary to prove compliance)

*Management reports realised via a mobile phone app. Officers can clock in and out using their smart phones. Their location can be viewed and check calls generated – at randomised times if required – to avoid false positives

*Electronic records of who worked when and where mean that there are fewer payroll queries, which saves time for the security company’s administration team as well as keeping employees happy. It also means that there are fewer disputes or complaints from customers

Checking the costs

With this kind of information at their fingertips, security company managers can analyse which customer accounts are most profitable. They can check the costs associated with each shift to ensure that margins are maintained. It’s also possible to determine which security officers have been working the most, so too those who have perhaps had fewer hours (and can then be offered more).

Further, when an opportunity for additional ad hoc work is presented, the extra hours may be offered to staff and the service delivered quickly and easily.

As the security company grows, not only will the efficiencies enabled by a proper underpinning business system pay dividends in terms of the ability to deliver a professional service for the customer base, but it will also provide the detailed information that will enable the company to take informed decisions that will guide it forward successfully.

Paul Ridden is CEO of SmartTask (www.smarttask.co.uk)

Paul Ridden has spent most of his working life in the computer industry. For the last decade, he has focused on software solutions for the security, cleaning, FM and logistics sectors. One key element of Paul’s role as CEO is to use his passion and entrepreneurial approach to build a team that can develop and deliver affordable software solutions that take advantage of the very latest technologies and deliver value for all SmartTask end users

*For more information about professional business systems designed by UK-based SmartTask specifically for security sector businesses, visit the company’s website at www.smarttask.co.uk or send an e-mail to tellmemore@smarttask.co.uk