How Field Service Management Enable Security Providers Improve Customer Experience

The security business is almost 100% field oriented. Guarding premises and establishments, providing escort, offering access control and other solutions, and more require deploying an army of personnel on the field, and managing them from afar.  

Can Field Service Management (FSM) Enable Security Providers to Improve Customer Experience?

 
As it is with any other field service operations, a state-of-the-art field service management suite would enable security providers to improve their customer experience manifold.

1. Effective Contract Management

Contract management is integral to any worthy field service management suite (FSM).
Contract management is a critical component of the security business. All security operations for clients are based on contracts, and without extensive visibility into such contracts, the provider may struggle to find answers for key questions such as the level of service the contract covers, whether the contract covers variables such as security equipment cost, fire fighting, or other components, when the contract due for renewal, and more. Without a proper service level agreement (SLA), and more importantly visibility into it for the relevant stakeholders who have to implement it, the provider runs the risk of slipping up on delivering what they have agreed to, or conversely, uninformed on-field technicians may end up giving services free. There is also the added risk of legal action and heavy fines on failure to following proper security laws or implement the agreed-upon safeguards.
A good FSM keeps tracks of the contract, offering stakeholders, including managers, supervisors, on-field employees, clients, and other stakeholders access to critical information such as the key ingredients of the contact, a checklist of statutory obligations, reminders of when the contract is due for renewal, and several other facets. All these otherwise vexatious tasks are done automatically, sparring the security company the administrative burden and also ensuring some critical piece of data or to-do thing does not slip through the crack.

2. Effective, Centralized Scheduling

Security is often a 24×7 job. This entails shift work, and shifts involve rejigging duty rosters. While manually arranging duty roasters is the norm and works fine, field service management software takes scheduling to the next level.

• An FSM suite automates duty roasters, delivering 100% accuracy.
• The system calculates breaks and rest hours automatically, ensuring there is no overwork, and the security personnel deployed remains at the best of their faculties when on duty.
• The system scours data related to on-field personnel, such as skills, local language knowledge, and more, allocating the best resource for each client.
• Managers and other stakeholders get a real-time view, enabling efficient coordination between service calls, staff assignment, impromptu requests, and other nitty-gritty.

Needless to say, the improved efficiency enhances customer satisfaction manifold.

3. Seamless, Effective Collaboration

A field service management suite delivers effective collaboration, improving operations in a big way.  Collaboration becomes both easier and effective.
Consider the case of a security guard on site duty. He can always report an incident through the smartphone easily, but by doing so through an FSM suite, the matter is automatically reported to all stakeholders in the loop, and tagged with the level of urgency it requires. The incident is also logged automatically for future reference.
On-site security guards and other professionals can also connect with other professionals, or to their office, to get clarifications or instructions, to resolve pressing issues, or seek clarifications, in a timely and reliable way. This, in turn, leads to the resolution of issues in the bud, and even preempt several issues which can become vexatious for the customer.
Consider a case where a client raises a complaint and the employee who receives the complaint ignoring it, being clueless as to how to solve it. The business suffers a double-whammy, with the disgruntled client taking his business elsewhere, and the employee ends up frustrated and low on morale.
An FSM with a strong collaborative component enables customers to contact the security agency and get fast, hassle-free service. Clients get a single point of contact, without wondering whom to contact or be routed through as clueless customer support agent. The FSM suite assigns the best person to the best query or task automatically, keeps track of the issue, and even prompts resolution reminders.

4. Smart Tracking and Monitoring

An FSM suite linked to the security personnel’s smartphone tracks the physical location of the guard. The suite linked to the CCTV camera offers a real-time view of the premises, at any time of the day or night.
Not just customers, but even managers can access such real-time information to remain in control of the situation better, and deliver effective supervision.
When the FSM suite is enhanced with analytics and fed with big data, it makes explicit valuable trends and predictions. For instance, the analytic engine may conjure up a correlation on the most vulnerable time of the night when a property is susceptible to vandalism, prompting a heightened state of alert and real-time monitoring. Likewise, correlating data may indicate more threats during specific events such as a football match, warranting a case of deploying more security personnel at such times.

5. Boost to Employee Self Service

Empirical evidence suggests employees having an option for self-service for their routine HR, leave, payroll, and other administrative tasks are happy, and happier employees lead to happier customers.
Field Service Management solution promotes employee self-service in a big way. Security guards and other employees in field work often have no direct access to the office, and would have to go out of their way, with gross disturbance to their habitual routine, to get to the office, even for things as mundane as getting a physical pay slip, sign some forms, or other easily avoidable matters. With a seamless FSM suite, employees can get the required information online, or make requests by themselves. Such self-service options improve job satisfaction is a big way, leading to improved job effectiveness and better job retention rates.
Related Reading: Find why it is beneficial to use Field Service Management Software
In today’s era of heightened competition, field service organizations recognize the need to offer the highest levels of service. An FSM suite, delivered to all stakeholders in the form of convenient anytime anywhere accessible mobile apps are increasingly becoming the way to go. The best FSM leverages the latest in technology to deliver a seamless experience that enhances customer satisfaction manifold.
The best FSM vendors go a step beyond, delivering not just solutions to improve service experience, but also enhances the labor strategy and overall business strategy. This has a spiraling effect on customer satisfaction.