December 25, 2015, 4:00 PM
Here's our take on three things every security company wants for Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever holiday your family celebrates.
1) Peace of Mind
I want to know that my guards are at the contracts like they’re supposed to be. It’s tough because most of them are young guys, and they want to be with their families. I certainly hope they’re getting time-and-a-half for being there. I need them to do their jobs, not to be enjoying so much eggnog that they have an accident.
As an owner or manager who has finally earned the holiday off, you don’t want to be getting a call because someone has called in sick. As you’re sitting around the dinner table, you don’t want the phone to ring with a problem. We take responsibility for the property and assets, so our customers can let their guard down and enjoy the holiday with their families. We want to make sure that nothing goes wrong, that officers show up, that everything goes smoothly, so we have happy clients. All owners, operations managers, supervisors out there would definitely take some peace of mind this season.
Your clients appreciate that you are out there working on the holiday and they take care of your officers. Some guards do very well! But if you have all these residents showing up and your guard isn’t there, they’ll really notice.
2) Contract Renewals
The third and fourth quarter, this time of year, there are a lot of vendor and contract reviews. Being able to start 2016 with contracts renewed, another year committed, makes it possible to focus on building the business instead of having to take a couple of steps backward.
3) Guards Who Know They’re Appreciated
The third thing I want for Christmas is for my guards to know they are appreciated for the work and time that’s put in during the holidays. As an owner, I would get the schedule and call certain guards out in the field to wish them a merry Christmas. I thank them for showing up, and ask how they’re doing. You don’t have to take a lot of time, just say hello on Christmas day. You can divide that work up among the supervisors, let them say “the owner wanted me to call to wish you a merry Christmas.” A really good practice is to have supervisors take coffee and a muffin around to your guards. It can go a long way and it’s not going to break the bank.
That’s what I want for Christmas this year in the security business. How about you?
