Open Book

If there is one word that accurately describes Securiplan’s future course of action in terms of customer services, it’s visibility. The privately-owned company, which currently turns over £26 million, is altering the handling of its management information to give on-line, real-time, 24-hour access for both its internal and external customers.

At the same time, it will enter into service level agreements (SLAs) which it believes could take it from the middle ranks of security to the premier league. The idea, says Phillip Ullmann, finance and IT director, is to get there by adopting an open-book management philosophy — a trend that is not so new in other industries but is something of an innovation in security.

Changing of the guard

The company transformation has been underway for the last three years, ever since Securiplan moved to its current headquarters in Hillingdon.

Changes in management personnel and heavy investments in new systems to control the service level between its clients and staff followed.

Having thrown out all its old systems, new technology is enabling Securiplan to restructure its service into two areas. Using automated interfaces between systems and internet-style navigation packages — or browsers — clients will be able to view all the information relating to the management of their contracts, including budgets, rostering and guards’ duties on sites nationwide. This will occur via an extranet. And Securiplan’s 1,500 strong staff (guards and office personnel) will be able to access and deal with personal information from payslips, to holidays, uniforms and training on an intranet.

The new strategy is being driven by Ullmann and his colleagues — managing director, John Malcolm who has a police background, Mike Gordon, operations director, and Paul Collis, sales director, who bring experience from other industries. Together they see their mission to be “the best in the security industry”. According to Ullmann: “We see information technology as the key to delivering service. In the past, things would have been swept under the carpet. Our philosophy is if it’s visible it will be resolved.”

In practice, what this means for Securiplan’s clients is that they will be able to view any queries they have raised as they are assigned, actioned and resolved on a computerised help-desk. On a daily basis, clients will also be able to check the status of the agreed contract, comparing budgeted figures against actual costs, as well as site-specific information on nationwide sites.

Securiplan is also entering SLAs which will disclose the profit margins — a so-called “open book” approach — a traditional bugbear in the industry. Having displayed all its costs regarding pay rates, National Insurance, uniforms and training — and given the customer a price for delivering the service — the company would then add a management fee, or profit, typically set at 5-6% of contract value.

Openness and transparency makes commercial sense. All this information can be provided on paper, we are just giving it electronically...It will enable us to keep very tight control over queries

Phillip Ullmann, Securiplan

In a radical move Securiplan is also including a price-pledge to its clients. If the costs end up being less than the original estimate, the client becomes eligible for a rebate which can be ploughed back to improve site security or can be given to guards as a bonus. If the contract goes the other way, with Securiplan spending more than the original estimate, the client won’t be charged the extra amount. Of course, admits Ullmann, steps would be put in place to ensure it did not recur the following year.

Business sense

Such an open-book philosophy will mean better service for its clients, which include Nortel, Thames Water and Cable & Wireless among others. These clients will eventually be able to tap into a data warehouse which will give drill-down capability to all the information relating to nationwide sites.

Securiplan envisages that clients will probably spend an hour every morning looking at what happened the previous day. The service is ideally suited to national contracts and will become the key to controlling sites throughout the country. Says Ullmann: “Openness and transparency makes commercial sense. All this information can be provided on paper, we are just giving it electronically.”

At the same time, guards may also go on-line during the night shifts to do some training, or to check over all their duties. All of which will be visible to clients. Says Ullmann: “We are building a system that will enable us to keep very tight control over queries.”

On a corporate level, guards will also be able to tap into information they need to access, from queries on payslips, uniform requests and training. Pay claims in particular can be resolved on-line much quicker, and Ullmann envisages it will help reduce staff turnover.

Competition

All of which will take Securiplan neatly up-scale in terms of company size, the company says. According to Ullmann, the company’s long-term strategy is to evolve and continue to grow: “We are innovators and want to change the way the industry works. The guarding industry has to use the technology and continue to provide top quality service with optimised systems. We aim to grow organically, and through strategic acquisitions, with the objective of becoming a market leader.”

With less than a quarter of the guarding force of a company such as Group 4 or Securicor, Securiplan wouldn’t even qualify in the top ten in the industry right now. So is this a case of a minnow leading the whales of the industry?

The whole industry is going through major structural changes and there is room for some good innovative companies. The trick is to provide a good service and remain innovative

David Dickinson - Group 4 Total Security

According to Richard Jemson, a director of Reliance Security Services, the industry has been steadily moving towards providing on-line management information to clients. He said: “There is an industry-wide move to use systems for planning, training qualifications, availability of labour, compliance with the Working Time Directive and so on.”

Indeed computer-based rostering has been around for a number of years on customised systems provided by the top players, including Group 4, Securicor, and Reliance.

Says Jemson: “It is not revolutionary. It is possibly being packaged in a new way. Some of our customers do have access to site-specific information, although it is not on-line. Some also have direct access to their invoicing. In the majority of national contracts, prior to set-up, there would be SLAs with all these features being reviewed, so we produce an audit trail either electronically or in writing.”

Securicor has also incorporated technological improvements in customer service. Having introduced its Signet (Securicor integrated guarding network) in 1982, it has continued to develop the system to give on-line information which is networked to all its branches. In the last six months, it issued 140 laptops to its front-line contract managers enabling them to dial-in to get real time operational information. It also launched the service to clients via a secure extranet server in 1998 and is planning to launch a similar intranet service to its 9,000-strong guard force in the next few months.

Group 4’s David Dickinson also commented that it has been working towards giving clients on-line access to management information. The company has been planning the restructuring of its technological infrastructure for the past two years.

Said Dickinson: “We are absolutely delighted that other companies are recognising the importance of customers needing to access real-time management information. It is not difficult technologically to translate chunks of information into a single user-friendly source. But it does need technological direction, focus, investments and resources. You’ve also got to ensure the IT capability to link systems and turn the information into user-friendly data for customers to understand.”

Tony O’Neill, managing director of Initial Security, also confirmed its commitment to IT: “System development will play an increasing role in shaping client-driven relationships. We have a number of on-going projects which will use the power of IT both to improve communication between ourselves and our clients, and to enhance overall cost-effectiveness in the future.

Between the on-lines

Nevertheless, with such focus on technology and service, the market is opening up for smaller players to challenge the ground held by the Big Five. While new technology will enable smaller companies to leapfrog their larger competitors, much will depend on how much work has already been done. Securiplan, for one, believes that it would take its competitors at least two years to catch up with its systems development.

Few companies are likely to follow suit and discard their systems entirely and start anew. Securiplan managing director John Malcolm admits it was a painful step but worth it. The strategy is paying dividends, and the company is competing successfully against its bigger rivals. Its ambitious growth plans for the next five years (targeted at over £100m) would make it a serious contender for a future top spot.