industry focus
Keeping your staff safe:
Insider tips for picking the right alarm response provider
The retail security landscape is shifting. A rise in aggression towards staff, tighter budgets and stretched workforces are putting more pressure on retailers. As businesses try to cut costs and navigate these issues, staff are asked to take on additional tasks, sometimes resulting in an unsafe work environment.
One task is for staff to respond to out-of-hours alarm calls. This is a significant burden to put on employees who are already stretched thin with regular duties and can put them at serious risk.
The challenge for retailers is to balance the need to protect their employees with staying profitable. Outsourcing out-of-hours alarm response to an expert provider is a solution, but many retailers are apprehensive about making the switch or nervous about a possible lack of control. Here are 3 tips on selecting the right partner:
1) Can one partner deliver nationwide?
If you operate nationally, it’s crucial that the security partner you choose can deliver no matter where you are.
Choose a nationwide provider that has an established network of security suppliers all over the UK to offer widespread coverage. The benefits of this approach are that you’ll be supporting local businesses and accessing SIA-licensed officers with extensive local knowledge. Remember – the greater the pool of officers you can tap into, the better the response time (and ultimately, the safer your staff and store are).
Using a single alarm response provider for your entire estate is also much easier to manage than lots of separate ones (and causes less admin headaches). You’ll have complete control - one point of contact, standardised reporting for all sites and one invoice to deal with.
2) Can they help you cut costs?
Outsourcing alarm response to a specialist not only keeps your sites secure round-the-clock and protects staff from danger, but also helps you save on costs.
If you choose a partner with a heavy focus on technology, they can offer data insight into why alarms are triggered so you can find the root cause and bring the costs associated with false alarm activations down.
You should also consider the hidden costs of asking your staff to respond to out-of-hours alarms. It may seem like a cost-saving measure at first, but they will need compensation for their time, and you will face additional costs such as travel expenses and loss of productivity due to time off in lieu. Outsourcing eliminates these costs entirely.
3) Do they hold themselves and their supply chain to a high standard?
Being accredited by the NSI to gold standard and holding SIA Approved Contractor Scheme status indicate high standards, effective business practices and qualified staff.
Nationwide providers should ensure these standards permeate through their entire supply chain, working with those who are ACS-accredited and employ SIA-licensed officers.
This stamp of approval gives you peace of mind that your security is always in good hands.
Be smart about how to keep your staff safe
Staff safety should always be a priority but going into deep pockets for security isn’t always the right approach. Aligning staff safety with the right solutions, some of which don’t cost the earth, is a better way forward.
Among the 1 million jobs The Keyholding Company carry out for over 40,000 properties annually, we provide alarm response services for over 300 retailers across nearly 2,000 sites nationwide. This year has seen an influx of retailers coming to us for out-of-hours alarm response with the main objective to keep staff safe. It’s why Next approached us all the way back in 2016.
We’re able to mobilise at scale because of our focus on technology. We have an award-winning platform and highly flexible network of 200 ACS-accredited partners. The network, combined with the platform’s booking, managing and tracking capabilities provide rapid alarm response times and evidence performance with clear, tangible data.
Outsourcing out-of-hours alarm response to one provider is a simple, cost-effective and easily implemented solution that proves you’re making an active investment in staff safety. To find out more about how we can help you make the switch, visit our website.
