24/7 Software Blog

We owe you an apology.

We made a sizable mistake.

In our article on choosing a guard tour system for your facility, we stated that “your security team is tasked with conducting guard tours covering 100,000+ square feet, multiple entryways, and more restricted areas than Area 51.”

In fact, we were wrong.

Well, sort of.

We missed a zero!

Yes, it’s true, 100,000+ does cover quite a bit of space.

However, 1,000,000+ square feet of property susceptible to incident overload is more like it!

We’re talking a whole lot of responsibility.

We feel for you, which is why we believe this article on finding the right incident management software for your physical security operation will change your life.

Don’t stop here.

Keep reading, because we promise to show you how you can improve your incident reporting with the right type of incident management system (IMS).

You’re driving home from your most recent event.

Thinking.

Pondering.

Analyzing.

How did it go?

There were a few unexpected incidents, and you were not ready for them.

Those poor part-timers looked petrified by the rush of people during the lightning storm.

You should’ve gone over what exactly to do during a severe weather incident.

Tonight’s event was a little too chaotic for your taste.

What to do, what to do?

What do you do?

When was the last time you had similar thoughts running through your mind after an event?

It must be troubling to experience this on a regular basis knowing there’s more to come.

You use analytics to better respond to incidents.

But, how do you train your employees to better respond to all these incidents you’re aware of?

Read between the lines, and you’ll find the solution: role-playing.

Whether you’re a general manager, director of operations, director of security and parking, or event manager at a convention center – your day starts early.

On event day, it’s a super long day.

You start with emails, check phone messages, and respond to them all.

That’s only the beginning, and you’re probably ready for the door by 10 AM.

Does this sound familiar?

Now you must walk the 1,000,000 plus square foot space you oversee looking at room sets, reviewing floor plans, and confirming pre-conference and post-conference meetings.

You’re busy.

Extremely busy.

The last thing you want to be burdened with and stressing over is your staff doing their job.

Agree?

You want peace of mind knowing they’re checking rooms, putting things in the right place, and checking the “stuff” that needs to be checked.

From one end of your property to the other, you need location inspection software that’s going to help you safeguard staff accountability and strengthen operational processes throughout your convention center.

Today, we’re going to show how location inspection software is the solution that can help your staff efficiently and effectively inspect everything, and with superior accountability in place.

Let’s go!

Communication among personnel is always a challenge.

The chaos that results from bad communication is stressful enough.

But the icing is that it probably has caused you to deal with big hits to your budget as well.

The marketing team oversold their sponsorships, and they’ve decided to let you know – this morning.

Sound familiar?

How do you take control of all the chaos?

How do you begin improving communication among all departments, personnel, and your entire organization while getting the details you need on time?

Poor communication can have disastrous consequences.

Agree?

It’s even worse when it accumulates and affects all areas of your operation.

Right?

Painful – we know.

But, don’t worry.

You can fix it.

Let’s first consider why there may be a breakdown.

“Yes, certainly. We can take care of that for you,” you respond to Shari over the phone.

Shari has requested a proposal to host an event on your property.

You have a lot going on during event days like today, but always have time to seed another possible sale.

“Of course,” you continue.

While you and Shari continue your conversation, Jason from your Executive team walks up to the counter with a cell phone.

He puts the cell phone behind the counter.

“Chris found this phone near men’s restroom 103-A,” he whispers to avoid interrupting you.

You nod from habit.

Eight minutes later, you finish your sales call with Shari.

As you reach for the stapler, you see the lost cellphone Jason left behind.

You grab the phone. “Shoot, what was this for,” you exclaim.

Because your department oversees the only lost and found location and you cannot recall who dropped this phone off on your counter, it’s your responsibility now.

Since you were focused on your conversation with Shari, you didn’t even see who brought the item over to you.

It is only one item but imagine the effect on your operation as more lost & found items make their way through your lost and found department.

It gets worse when the item doesn’t have details of where it was found or who found it.

How do you manage this?

How do you ensure all employees and departments are held accountable to get items back to customers?

Who could even be accountable in this scenario – besides you?

You have enough responsibility.

You don’t want poorly managed lost and found as a reason to tick off your customers.

Today, you need to employ lost and found software.

“Does anyone have any last-minute questions?” you say to your team.

Most of the group begin shaking their heads. You get the indication that everyone is on board with the action plan.

Tonight’s event starts in seven minutes.

You make your way to the operations center where your team is waiting for you.

Your Operations Manager, Terry, joins you in the Operations Center. You require all your supervisors to be in there at event start.

They usually get pulled out for other calls.

But, you like to do a quick meeting to kick off each event. This ensures everyone is on the same page.

“Hi, Susan,” you say to your director of customer experience, and you walk through the door. “Hey, Steve!” you shout to one of your operations coordinators.

After a few more greetings and a communications check with the rest of your team, the room gets quiet.

The event starts.

Issue and incident calls come in before most events start. But, the velocity of calls picks up once the customers congregate into the building.

A couple of hours of standard incident calls – wet spills, unruly spectators – go by without a hitch.

Everyone is on top of his or her game. Nothing seems to be slipping through the cracks.

But, in an instant, that all changes. Your team receives an incoming call that causes you to get involved quickly.

A customer reported to one of your employees that they identified two of your staff drinking beer while on duty.

You rush to meet your supervisor at the location.

Unfortunately, because the customer had to search for an employee to report the issue, the two employees are gone.

The customer is only able to identify that they were in uniforms. After checking the surveillance cameras, it is hard to distinguish who the employees are or to prove they were drinking.

How frustrated does this make you? How do you feel knowing that you have unruly, dishonest employees working for your operation?

You can change your process, so you do not have to be frustrated. You can be proactive. You can eliminate this burden and catch them in the act.

Use text communication to find the problem employees creating an unpleasant image of professionalism for your operation.

Keep reading; we are going to share how implementing one of these software solutions outperforms what you are doing now.