How to Achieve Better Security Guard Management (7 Tips)

Security guard management is a task that requires planning and attention to detail. Even the most efficient and high-performing teams struggle to ensure the safety of an asset without adequate planning. In this article we’ll tell you the importance of security guard patrol management and give you 7 tips to manage security guards more efficiently.

Why Security Guard Management is Important

The most important part of your security guard company are of course your guards. They’re the ones guarding your clients’ assets and making decisions that impact safety and security. Without strong leadership, or good security guard management, even the best guards in the industry can’t reach their full potential.

But that’s not the only reason why effective guard management is important. It also leads to:

• More satisfied clients: Better security guard management leads to guards that are more professional and proactive. Which results in happier clients with confidence in your service(s).
• Less turnover of guards: When you invest in your security guards by providing them with training to keep their knowledge up-to-date, fostering a positive work environment and having good protection for lone workers, you’ll reduce the turnover rate. Which leads to reduced costs associated with the recruitment of new guards.
• A safer environment: By tracking your guards in real-time, effective reporting and lone worker protection you can ensure a safer environment for your guards. This in turn leads to a safer environment for your clients as well.

1. Track Guards in Real-Time (GPS)

As an operational manager you want to know if your guards follow their patrol routes and if the routes are being carried out as you planned them. With GPS-tracking you can achieve this. Thanks to this tool you can track whether your guards have followed their planned patrol routes. But not only that, you’re also able to get alerts to inform you if a guard has not recorded attendance at a planned location. This increases their safety.

GPS-tracking makes it possible to locate the nearest guard when incidents happen. This results in a faster response time. Real-time tracking the guards you manage also creates transparency for your client. They are able to see time stamps on reports, ensuring that the tasks are being carried out at the right time and in the right place, as specified in the contract.

Tracking your guards in real-time doesn’t have to be difficult. Security guard management software like SequriX makes this easy. Within the tool you can create checkpoints at the patrol routes of guards to ensure that all activities are being carried out according to the contract with your client. When an incident happens, the Smart Dispatch within the tool makes it possible to assign employees based on their GPS location.

2. Provide Training in New Technologies

The security guard industry is rapidly evolving and training security guards on new technologies, trends and guidelines is becoming more and more essential to keep their knowledge up-to-date and provide the highest level of security that your clients are expecting. When managing security guards, it’s important to realize that the training of your guards never ends. New technologies are developed every day, so it’s important to implement regular training so guards can keep their knowledge up-to-date.

Key components of effective training programs include hands-on practical training that replicates actual work situations. These can help guards adapt to new updates and technologies. Another important component is using software and tools that are user-friendly. The easier software is to use, the faster guards can adapt to new technologies, making their training process more efficient. A security guard management system like SequriX helps with this as it doesn’t require a lot of training to use. This way the guards you manage can start working right away.

3. Improving the Reporting Processes

Being able to deliver accurate and well-written reports is crucial for preventing incidents, addressing issues guards faced while patrolling and identifying vulnerabilities. The reporting process can be enhanced by:

• Introducing standardized report forms to make sure that all guards deliver the necessary information and that everything is recorded uniformly.
• Digital reporting instead of handwritten reports on paper. This reduces the risk of unclear reports due to bad handwriting or language barriers. It also makes it easier to find back reports as every report gets saved digitally.
• Automatically creating reports after the work is done. These can then be automatically sent to your clients at a time of their liking. This way your clients always receive their reports on time.

A security guard management software helps you improve the reporting process with automated reports. You save time as there is no longer a need for manual transcription or a risk of losing handwritten notes. The guards you manage can report incidents within the app and have a digital to-do-list of their tour. The customer reports are immediately available and sending them to your client can be automated.

4. Regular Performance Reviews

No security guard is perfect and there is always room for improvement and growth. This is why an important part of good security guard management is identifying the areas where your security guards can improve. This can be done by assessing the performance of guards based on critical indicators. Such performance reviews also create opportunities to recognize your guards’ strengths, pinpointing opportunities for improvement and setting goals for growth.

When managing security guards, you can work on their growth and development by:

• Regular meetings: Schedule individual performance reviews with each guard on a regular basis. Make sure these meetings are a collaborative discussion. Security guards should also be able to discuss their concerns or where they see improvement in the service(s) your company provides.
• Focusing on specifics: Data from patrol logs, incident reports and client feedback can provide specific and constructive feedback on the performance of the guards you manage.
• Performance metrics: When managing security guards, you can objectively assess their performance by looking at Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) such as the number of completed patrols, the quality of reporting, client feedback and the response time to incidents.

5. Give Security Guards the Right Tools

When managing security guards, you may know that their effectiveness depends on the tools they have at their disposal. This is why it’s important to make sure to provide your guards with essential security equipment for:

• Reliable communication: Part of security guard management is making sure your guards are equipped with the right tools for clear communication with supervisors and other team members. This is especially important during patrols and emergencies.
• Enhanced visibility: When the security guards you manage have to work at night it’s important they have the right equipment for these nighttime patrols. Provide flashlights or equipment for hands-free illumination like headlamps.

You can also think about integrating security guard management software like SequriX to streamline your operations and empower your guards with technological equipment to make their patrols easier.

By not only providing the essential equipment, but also strategic technology integration, you can empower your security guards to perform their duties more efficiently and effectively.

6. Analyze Incident Reports and Patrol Data

For better security guard management, it’s important to analyze incident reports and patrol data. By doing this you can identify security gaps and optimize the coverage. This leads to better security that will make your clients more satisfied.

But that’s not the only thing why analyzing incident reports and patrol data is important. It also helps with:

• Decreasing costs through more efficient shift planning.
• Getting more work done with the same team.
• Gain better insights into your operation. Which you can use to optimize your service(s).

You can also think about integrating security guard management software like SequriX to streamline your operations and empower your guards with technological equipment to make their patrols easier.

By not only providing the essential equipment, but also strategic technology integration, you can empower your security guards to perform their duties more efficiently and effectively.

7. Implement Security Guard Management Software

Part of security guard patrol management is making sure that there is coverage at all times. Modern security guard companies use advanced security guard management software to make operations and shift planning more efficient.

With guard management software you’re not only able to plan shifts more efficiently, but you also:

• Decrease costs, thanks to efficient shift planning.
• Get operational results in reports and (un)planned work.
• Achieve easier and more efficient planning of your entire operations.
• Increase the tasks per shift and the shift efficiency.
• Make security guard management easier by being able to quickly set up guard schedules.