A physical security management system has the ability to enhance security effectiveness while minimizing costs. The system allows multiple users to view events from multiple sites simultaneously so they have more information and are more prepared to deal with a security breach.

A physical security management system like KOVA Corp’s Nextiva Physical Security Information Management can help organizations address and identify upcoming security needs, reduce costs, improve security operations, and enforce standard policies and procedures.

Physical security management systems work with your existing IT infrastructure to create a fully integrated and responsive system. In addition, here are 3 often-overlooked benefits of a physical security management system.

1. Better Preparedness

When there is more than one security breach going on at a time, things can be extremely stressful for security personnel, who may not have the experience to know which event to attend to first.

A physical security management system takes the guesswork out of priority management. The system receives a steady flow of data from all security systems then analyzes and prioritizes the data so the more important alarm is placed above the others. This allows staff to get a more fully developed picture of the situation and they can attend to it better equipped.

If you want to improve emergency situational awareness in your organization, you need to get a physical security management system.

2. Better Organization

With a traditional security system, after an event has occurred, it is up to staff to piece together information to try and figure out what happened. This can be very time consuming as it often involves hunting through video footage for dates and times. The organization is also relying on employees coming forward to share what they know in a timely manner.

When a physical security management system is in place, videos are automatically catalogued by date, time, and GPS location so the system automatically recognizes it as being part of the security breach. Through a physical security management system app, employees can take pictures of events as they are happening and these will be automatically catalogued as well.

3. Automation

Protocols within a physical security management system can be automated so exactly the same thing will happen in response to an event no matter who is attending to the event. Data is easily shared and communicated between event participants so everyone has the necessary information right when they need it.

Physical security management systems are groundbreaking because they can collect, sort, and analyze data from multiple unconnected security systems. The system works by focusing on six key factors: data collection, analysis, verification, resolution, reporting, and audit trail. These systems also make it easy for employees who notice suspicious behavior to take a picture and add it to the system in case it’s needed later.

Are you in need of a more comprehensive physical security management system? For more information, read our post “How Cities Are Using Physical Security Management and Situational Awareness Technology.”

Providing excellent customer service is a key component to any business regardless of the time of year, but during the holidays, customers seem to expect an even higher level of customer service. It’s a good idea to be prepared for the holiday season even if your contact center is used to providing optimal customer service throughout the rest of the year. The best way to prepare for the holiday rush is with best practices throughout the year.

Practice proactive customer service during the holidays and throughout the year.

Whether it’s the holidays or not, a proactive customer service contact center is a far better idea than a reactive customer service contact center. Proactive customer service gives you the opportunity to identify problems before your customers do. The benefits to this type of customer service approach include fewer support tickets and happier customers who are impressed that someone reached out to them to fix a problem before they noticed it even existed.

Proactive customer service should be your approach throughout the year, not just during the holidays. If your employees are used to a proactive approach to customer service, then when things get insanely busy during the holidays, it will be easy for your staff to maintain business as usual.

Make exceptional customer service a regular habit.

Having a customer service plan in place throughout the year will make it easier to stick to the plan when it comes time for the holidays. Optimizing your customers’ experiences year round provides great training for your staff in preparation for the busy holiday season. Then when the holidays roll around, a few simple reminders for your staff will help them stay on task and be able to continue to provide great customer service.

Be sure to document customer service goals, such as being able to close the majority of calls in a certain time frame. Make sure your goals are as specific as possible. For example, you want three out of four calls closed in under three minutes. Documentation should also include the steps necessary to achieve your goals.

Create a system for handling customer inquiries.

It’s easy to get bogged down with customer service requests, especially during the holidays. A system for handling customer requests can help employees deal with them in a timely manner. Requests should be prioritized based on how quickly a customer needs a response or how upset they are. Inquiries can also be categorized into the type of request such as complaints, product questions, or returns.

Once you know the type of inquiry and its priority, you can assign it to the most appropriate customer service agent. Assigning only certain types of calls to each agent helps with call center efficiency too. It makes sense for more experienced agents to handle the more complicated calls. Newer agents may not be prepared to deal with angry customers so it would be more appropriate for them to handle calls regarding product questions instead of dealing with complaints.

Make customer service a priority all year long with workforce optimization software such as Audiolog for Contact Centers by Verint Systems Inc. Audiolog can help you evaluate agent performance using recorded calls and view various quality management reports to see how well your contact center employees are meeting your customer service expectations. KOVA Corp’s enterprise workforce optimization solutions can help you boost employee performance and customer service in your call center. Contact us today to learn more.

The holidays are a stressful time of year regardless of your occupation but they can be especially stressful for 911 employees. Emergency communication centers generally require shift work, overtime, holiday, and weekend work. Working during the holiday season can often lead to burnout. You’ll notice your employees are starting to get burnt out by the presence of indicators such as anger, anxiety, stress, and exhaustion.

A 911 dispatcher’s job is very different today than it was years ago. A 911 dispatcher must be the ultimate multi-tasker. This becomes even more apparent during the holiday season when 911 calls are at an annual high. Help your 911 employees avoid holiday burnout by recognizing the signs of burnout and providing the necessary resources to help them avoid burnout before it starts.

Keep Spirits High

Employee turnover is high during the holiday season when there’s an abundance of seasonal jobs available. When turnover is high, it often affects the morale of employees when they realize they are going to have to work more to pick up the slack left behind by employees who are no longer with your call center. Help retain staff and improve employee productivity by being a positive role model.

The attitude of an organization starts at the top. Try to remain positive in the face of employee turnover to help keep your remaining employees’ spirits high. Remind employees that the short-staffing situation is only temporary. Try offering incentives like increased pay or bonuses over and above the regular overtime rates for employees who are able to take on additional shifts to help out. Communicating with staff on a regular basis is also key to keeping spirits high. Employees don’t like to be kept in the dark so letting them know about the current situation and what’s being done to improve it will go a long way to keeping employees’ spirits high.

Offer Encouragement

This is another example of how you can stay positive to keep employees in a good frame of mind during the holiday season. Nobody likes to hear about the negative all the time. Make sure you offer positive reinforcement to your employees for a job well done. Letting them know that you see how hard they are working and that you appreciate it will go a long way to helping you retain those employees. It will help your employees feel good about what they are accomplishing rather than focusing on all the long hours they’ve been working.

Other ways for 911 employees to avoid holiday burnout include holiday de-stressing activities like performing random acts of kindness, going out with a friend or spouse, or spending some time outside in the sunlight. At KOVA Corp we understand the value of enabling 911 call centers to function as efficiently as possible in order to remove some of the burden that is inevitably placed on staff. Our Verint Media Recorder Public Safety Software integrates multi-channel recording with critical functionality to improve the performance and efficiency of your 911 call center. Contact us today to learn more.

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