Our top tips to keep your security firm lean
The security industry has faced plenty of challenges over the years.
Recently, the global pandemic, and the subsequent closure of many in-person events, reduced the need for physical security.
But as the world has reopened, fresh obstacles have emerged.
Now, a cost of living crisis and rising inflation have sent costs for businesses skyrocketing.
This article will look at some ways that security businesses can keep costs down while still providing a high level of service to their customers.
Make the right hires—and keep them!
Hiring employees is expensive. Having to do so again a few months later when a hire you made doesn’t work out? Disastrously more so.
By putting in place a rigorous hiring process that helps you identify the best candidates, you save yourself money and headaches in the long run.
Just be sure to find the right balance, since a process that’s too long, difficult, or complex may put people off applying altogether!
Once you do have the right people in the door, it’s worth investing in them. Weighed up against the costs of hiring another new face, keeping your existing employees happy can be incredibly cost effective.
When you consider that the average UK employee costs £12,000 to replace, it’s easy to see that for significantly less than that sum, you can find ways to retain the ones you’ve got.
Check out our tips for retaining staff through inflation for plenty of ideas.
Upskill employees
Security guards can be called upon to perform several different functions, some of which require particular training and skill sets. The jobs your business takes on may dictate what roles your employees are most likely to fill.
By increasing the flexibility of the personnel at your disposal, you allow yourself to handle more jobs with fewer people.
Consider whether all your employees can cover patrols, remote monitoring, access, reporting, alarm response, securing premises, and any other relevant tasks. If you identify any gaps, perhaps there are cost-effective ways to build those skill sets.
This will also save you from having to outsource when you need to fill specialist roles.
Embrace digital timekeeping
There are multiple reasons why switching to a digital solution for tracking time can save you money. Your employees are more productive if they don’t need to spend time writing down and then logging their hours.
And you pay more accurately based on the actual times they clock in and out, rather than just assuming they’re present for their scheduled hours. You can also get notified when they don’t show up, allowing you to source replacements more quickly.
Try smart scheduling to reduce overtime
Overtime can have a serious impact on your staffing costs, since just a few hours of overtime can make a similar dent in your bottom line to a whole day of normal wages.
As such, it’s important that your security business accurately forecasts demand and schedules the right number of employees to meet it.
Scheduling digitally, rather than using complex spreadsheets or even a pen and paper (seriously? It’s the 21st century!), makes it far easier to spot when you’ll need cover and where.
This avoids you having to draft employees in for last-minute overtime, saving you money and spreading calm throughout your workforce.
Setting limits for allowable overtime and publishing this policy among your employees will ensure this isn’t a shock, and help you to stay disciplined with scheduling early to avoid issues.
Regularly review reports
Even if you do all of the above, there may be other factors that are increasing the labour costs in your security business.
By analysing reports generated from your schedule and payroll data, you put yourself in a position to make changes and improvements.
Whether it is the last week’s costs or even by seeing the forecasted costs for a week as you schedule, you can get on top of problems quickly.
With simple yet detailed visualisations to help you get to the bottom of your payroll data, Findmyshift is perfectly positioned to help you track and reduce your costs.