Improving security guard services through feedback management

Why do property managers have problems with their security guards? Well, the answer to that question can be complicated or simple. There are many factors that can contribute to the problems a property manager may have with their security guards, including who the security guard company is, laws and regulations related to security guards, budget restrictions, security requirements, security at the property in question, the property manager. clients and the processes and procedures for security guard providers, to name just a few. As a property manager, you can control some of these factors, while others you can only accept. Of these factors, the easiest to control are the processes and procedures you establish for your security guard company. These processes and procedures can alleviate 80-90% of the challenges you encounter.

Many property managers believe that it is the responsibility of the security guard company to ensure that the level of service they provide is maintained at a high level. In truth, many of the problems with security guards start with this mistaken belief. Although no one would dispute the fact that a provider should provide the best service that they are capable of providing, one must realize that security guard companies are an especially unique type of provider. Most providers give you a service that is usually pretty easy to verify when the job is being done right. For example, if you hire a landscaper and see that the grass is cut unevenly, then the landscaper is not doing the job right. But with most surveillance companies, the level of service they provide is often not easily discernible. Are they hiring qualified employees? Do they properly train their guards? What kind of supervision do they provide? Fortunately, most security guard companies do a good job of providing adequate service to the majority of their clients. In fact, with most security guard contracts, the level of service initially meets and sometimes exceeds the property manager’s expectations. Unfortunately, in many of these cases there appears to be a gradual decline in the quality of services over time. Some property managers believe that this drop in quality is to be expected with all surveillance companies, when the truth is that it should not be expected.

There are four (4) main reasons why the quality of service provided by security guard companies tends to decline. In general, those reasons are:

1. Lack of feedback;
2. The guard and the company are not really responsible for the bad performance;
3. The guards are poorly trained;
4. Inadequate supervision of guards.

The easiest of the four (4) to correct is the feedback given to the security guard company. Patchy feedback for your guard company often means missed opportunities for gradual increases in efficiency. If you are a property manager who is on the property every day, the depth of feedback you can provide to your security guard company is probably quite substantial when evaluating the security guards you see while you are there. You can see if the guard is in uniform or not, if the guard knows how to do the job, and the customer service skills of the guard. The question then becomes, how do the guards perform after 5 pm and on weekends, during the hours when you are not there? Are you still getting the same level of service? For property managers who are not on the property every day, this question is even more important.

Property managers typically rely heavily on feedback from their clients regarding security performance during these off hours. The feedback that a property manager’s clients give is probably some of the most meaningful feedback that can be given, sometimes even more important or revealing than that of the property manager. Often this feedback is only captured periodically and is usually part of a larger customer survey. But because this feedback is so important, both the surveillance company and the property manager should establish a formal process for regularly soliciting this type of customer feedback.

Like off-site property managers, guard company supervisory staff are not always on property with the guard, so seeking regular customer feedback should always be a constant part of any service provided. security guard company Typically, with most guard companies, there is a field supervisor or other management level employee who randomly checks on guards during the guard’s shift. While the field supervisor is on the property, she should be speaking with her customers to determine if there are any comments or suggestions to improve the service she is providing. Each guard company should also establish a process for receiving feedback or suggestions from you and/or your clients, when something is going right or, more importantly, when something is wrong. In addition, those comments and suggestions, and any resulting corrections or changes to the service, must be compiled into a report and tracked. This report must be submitted monthly to the property manager as part of the overall security service.

Based on this customer feedback report, property managers will have an actionable report that they and the security guard company can use to make adjustments to staffing or procedures to maintain a high level of service. Property managers should also consider providing an abbreviated version of this report to their clients so they know their concerns are being heard and addressed. If these processes do not exist, then the security guard company is missing opportunities to improve the service it is providing.

In most cases, when the quality of service starts to decline, your customers will notice the change and will definitely offer feedback on the situation. It happens all too often that a security guard begins to display poor performance traits that, if corrected in time, could eliminate future problems. Your clients can, and should be, your eyes and ears when it comes to monitoring your security guard agency, because the more feedback you give, the more you can judge the strengths and weaknesses of the services you are receiving. . Involve your customers and keep them engaged in defining your security service level.