3 Reasons Guard Companies Should Provide Security Reports

In most cases, security services are viewed as a cost center. In the struggling economy, existing and new customers are more cost sensitive than ever.

In this highly competitive market, the process of securing new contracts without being the lowest bid is key. For security companies competing on quality of service (rather than price), it's essential to communicate value both in the sales process and on a monthly basis after the account is secured.

Enter the security summary report.

What is a Security Summary Report?

A security summary report helps the buyer understand all that goes into providing quality security services. It's a summary of your weekly guard tour's daily activity reports including issues, incidents and checkpoints punched. When done correctly, the summary should provide data and insight into your operation.

A security report summary can look different for every company and post.

A quality report will include these 3 items:

• Routine, preventative measures taken.
  • This includes all the property tours, positive contacts, supervisor visits, on-site training, and anything else your team does to add value at the property.
• Any of the cautionary items that were discovered.
  • Open doors found, slip/trip/fall hazards, broken lights or sprinklers, after-hours facility use, etc. These aren’t the items you call your client about overnight, but they’re valuable discoveries that should be noted in the summary.
• Account for all incidents.
  • Pretty straight forward here. Any security incidents that happened on site should be included in the summary as well.

Here is a security report summary created using Silvertrac's incident reporting software:

Silvertrac’s security summary report includes all 3 items. You can clearly see every type of issue that was reported and how many times it was reported. Silvertrac also breaks down issues into 3 levels based on seriousness.

Now that you know what a summary report is, let’s talk about why you should make these reports a part of your standard client communication.

#1 Proof of Value & Quality

Providing a security report summary is essential to proving the quality of security services your company is providing.

When there is a decrease in reported incidents, the last thing you want is for clients to reduce the budget or service hours. So it’s important to show the correlation between the service you provide and a decrease in incidents.

See how this security company used reporting data to justify an increase in bill rates!

It also helps justify the budget. If a competitor walks into your client’s office and offers $2 less per hour on the guard rate, you want them feeling confident in the service you provide.

The summary report is a critical part of winning the confidence of your clients. It shows the attention to detail you bring to every property as well as the sheer amount of work you do to keep their business safe.

#2 The 10,000ft View

The security report summary provides your clients with a big-picture view of your security services as a valuable resource.

Look at your summary reports as an opportunity to showcase your service by providing not only the day-to-day guard management details but also an overview of the long-term results.

A security summary report that is sent on a monthly basis gives the customer a window into the day-to-day operation of the security team. That level of transparency is a simple way to stand out and boost retention.

#3 Fueling Referrals and New Business

Quality summary reports will develop trust and strengthen your client relationships.

As you demonstrate reliability and effectiveness over time with these reports, your clients will more than likely refer you to their colleagues and serve as a reference in future bid processes.

For example, a quarterly summary report is a powerful way for a local property manager to share the benefits of your service with the regional manager or property owner.

It takes reviews and referrals from being subjective to objective.

In Summary

Don’t just say that you’re the best security option, show it with your security summary reports. A security summary report is essential. It sets your security firm apart from the competition by:

• Prove the value and quality of your service (and justify a higher hourly rate)
• Provide a 10,000 foot view of all that your team does
• Give your client quantifiable data that’s easy to share with managers and colleagues

Silvertrac delivers security summary reports in two easy clicks and displays not only the incidents but also measures that are taken to prevent new incidents from occurring.

Our guard management software makes it simple to compile a comprehensive security summary report that will stun your clients without all of the back-office work that is typically involved.