As a security guard manager, a large portion of your time is spent monitoring remote teams while managing back-end operations. Of course, any tools that can help you with your jobs are a worthwhile investment, right? In fact, more often than not these tools can generate a large return on investment. The time that you can save with automated tools and systems that can improve your efficiency ultimately save you money. One of those tools in the physical security space is a security guard tracking system.
Security guards on the front line of your client businesses have many responsibilities. Security guard tracking systems can help them perform their duties in the safest, most efficient way possible. They offer far more functionality and value than paper based methods, which a lot of companies still rely on.
What is a Security Guard Tracking System? 
A security guard tracking system helps security professionals manage their security activities in real-time, digitally. These activities include guard tours, checkpoints, real-time incident reporting, post orders and of course, communication.
While these security guard tracking systems help guards by helping them stay on top of tasks, they ultimately benefit management. Security guard tracking systems provide insights that assure managers that their team are meeting contract requirements for their clients. It improves guard accountability, which is often a pain point for security guard managers and supervisors. Effective guard tracking systems can help them see, and organize the tasks they must complete during a shift on client sites.
Do you need a Security Guard Tracking System?
Of course, it’s important for security guard business owners to ensure they get a return on their investment. So, when deciding if you need a security guard tracking system, it can help to evaluate your operational needs.
Evaluate Operational Needs
Knowing your team and company needs is essential when it comes to investing in any type of software. There are many things that you might want to evaluate to see if you need a security guard tracking system. 
- Size of Team: While we think that teams of any size can benefit from a security guard tracking system, it’s fair to say that the larger the team, the larger the benefit. A fairly small team of less than 10 security guards could likely make do with a manual system. However, even team this small can still reap the rewards of automation and task tracking.
- Tour Status: a major part of your duties as a manager or supervisor is to ensure that your guards are checking off their checkpoints. Those that rely on paper tracking systems may have to call their guards every hour to check in! If this alone is a pain point that is costing you time and money, you probably do need a security guard tracking system.
- Supervisor duties: Supervisors simply don’t have the time or bandwidth to visit every site to check on solitary guards during every shift. Giving your supervisors the tools to remotely manage and communicate with their guards can save huge amounts of time and effort.
- Managing multiple locations: Every location your business is responsible for has unique needs. Some are remote, some have huge footfall, and many other factors such as parking structures or high value goods. A security guard tracking system can help you manage all of these unique needs with one single tool.
- Critical Incidents: As a manager or supervisor, it’s essential for you to know about critical incidents as quickly as possible. From there, you can take the necessary steps to resolve the incident and keep everyone safe. The communication tools that are built into some security guard tracking systems can provide secure, instant communication between guards and supervisors.
- Reporting: Tied to the point above, incident reporting is a huge factor for security guards and their managers. If an incident happens on a client site, clients can hold you liable depending on the incident. Your security guard tracking system should have fool-proof reporting functionality that would hold up in a legal setting, if necessary.
- Client Satisfaction: Finally, a good guard tracking system can actually aid client satisfaction and attraction. Clients love transparency, and of course, updates on their property. With the right tools, you can use this as a differentiator to stand out from the competition.
How do Security Guard Tracking Systems work?
So, you’ve decided that you want a guard tracking system. Great! We’re going to use our own system as an example of how these systems typically work, and how you can utilise them. Celayix has worked with countless security guard companies to ensure that our system solves their problems.
Field Reporting and Shift Tasks
Managing workforces that are out in the field can be difficult as a manager or supervisor. That’s why Celayix has developed Shift tasks and Field reporting. These work with the employee mobile app which is a part of the Celayix ecosystem. Managers can assign tasks to each shift, which employees can view and mark as completed within the app. This can be useful for repetitive tasks as well as once off, ad hoc tasks at the request of the customer. This reassures clients that their sites are being well looked after, while reassuring managers that guards are being productive.
Field reporting is a part of the Celayix workforce management system that allows guards in the field to report directly and safely to their manager. This can include incident reports as well as photos and videos if necessary. Giving employees the ability to create and send incident reports directly from their smartphone means that reports are sent instantly and managers are made aware of incidents within minutes. Our system generates a timestamp and collects other vital information which can be useful when relaying information to the client, or in legal situations where necessary.
Guard Touring
As most security guard companies know, guard touring is the process of recording and verifying the activities of their employees. This ensures that guards are monitoring the correct areas of the site at the right times, that pre-defined routes are being followed, and of course that the client’s location is secure. Ultimately, guard touring fosters a culture of accountability for your guards. As far as we’re concerned as a guard tracking system, Celayix integrates with Mobileo to provide this functionality. Having guard touring functionality that integrates with your workforce management system creates an ecosystem that covers all aspects of security guard tracking.
GPS Geofencing
Another benefit of having a security guard tracking system is proving that guards are on site, and on time. This is important to keep clients happy as well as keeping sites secure. Celayix has developed a great GPS geofencing feature that ensures that security guards are on site before allowing them to check in for their shift through their smartphone app. Managers can create a zone around the client site, and guards can only check in (or out) of their shift once within that zone. Celayix uses GPS geolocation tracking through the guard’s smartphone, that only tracks them at the time of check in/out. And the best part? This check in/out information is collected and automatically recorded on your hours worked report, improving payroll accuracy and efficiency.
This feature can also be used with our Safety check feature. Supervisors can request regular check ins from guards to ensure that they are safe, and on site at pre-defined intervals. Whether it’s hourly or twice per shift, guards must prove they are safe through a mechanism in the employee app that again, only works if the guard is on site and within the geofence.
Real-Time Notifications
Arguably one of the most important features of a security guard tracking system is real time notifications. The whole reason that managers want these systems is to remotely manage their teams across many locations. With real-time notifications, supervisors are alerted instantly if a guard doesn’t show up, if their late, or if they miss a safety check. With these real-time alerts, managers can take whatever steps necessary to resolve the situation.
In the event of a missed shift or late clock in, Celayix has developed a Find Replacement feature which can generate a list of qualified and available guards that can be notified automatically to take the shift. This saves a huge amount of time and effort calling around to guards that aren’t available.
Ultimately, a Security Guard Tracking System can save you time, effort and money while keeping your customers happy. If you’re looking to take your security business to the next level, this is a worthwhile investment.
As a security guard tracking system, Celayix has a wide range of other features that can help security guard managers track and manage their guards. If you’d like to see our system in action, request a free demo today!
