Solving Security Scheduling and Retention Challenges

In an industry known for high staff turnover and tight margins, what can be done to tackle security scheduling problems such as no-call no-shows and to fill vacant shifts before there’s an impact on your customers?

With many security firms battling low personnel retention and engagement, the knock-on effect is no-call no-shows, vacant shifts, and other scheduling problems. But what can security service providers do to a) tackle immediate problems with scheduling and b) work to resolve the underlying challenges that cause scheduling issues in the first place?

Unchecked, scheduling problems can lead to a great deal of manual work to fill vacant shifts and no-shows, distracting you from value-adding tasks. Worse still, it may lead to errors such as a mismatch between resource allocation and customer requirements, unnecessary overtime spending, or undermine SLA performance if shifts can’t be filled. From a compliance point of view, you may also find yourself in breach of collective bargaining agreement clauses around shift replacement priority, further increasing exposure to liability.

Regular no-call no-shows may also be a symptom of a wider malaise among your personnel or a structural problem in your operations.

Dealing with scheduling challenges

As we’ve discussed in the past, the right security workforce management software can help you manage scheduling more efficiently.

With technology driving your scheduling, you can view personnel availability and vacant shifts in real time. You can enforce minimum training or skills requirements per site, and also view when overtime, or other premiums are going to be incurred. With a view over vacant shifts, you can trigger shift offering for open shifts where available personnel are contacted en masse by SMS about open shifts and awarded the work on a first-come-first-served basis, or send SMS sequentially. You can further tailor your automated shift offering to cascade the alerts sequentially to different batches of security personnel, as well as offering premium rates to help fill tricky shifts.

With access to real-time operational data, you’ll soon be able to spot any recurring trends in your scheduling that may prompt a rethink of your staffing operations.

Attracting and retaining talent

As mentioned, no-call no-shows may also be an indicator of security personnel sentiment. The security industry is notorious for high turnover and recruitment is a perennial problem. As a security manager, it’s traditionally been difficult to walk the line between tight margins and keeping your best resources. But with today’s technology, it has become easier to create an environment that favors retention.

With actual scheduling data driving your payroll preparation, you can use this payroll-ready data to run accurate, regular payroll that gains you a reputation as a responsible and reliable employer. Equally, by limiting overtime, you can make progress on distributing your shifts more evenly, therefore keeping more of your people happy.

Finally, tracking and analyzing operational data can help you recognize and reward high-performing individuals on your books and incentivize fidelity in ways that make sense for your business model.

Common scheduling problems and their root causes

Treat each scheduling problem as a signal. Here is what usually sits behind the most common ones, and where to start fixing them:

Symptom	Likely root cause	Where to start
Frequent no-call no-shows	Disengagement or unpredictable schedules	Stabilize schedules and spot early warning signs in attendance data
Last-minute call-offs	Fatigue from too much overtime	Cap overtime and spread shifts more evenly
The same post keeps going unfilled	A difficult site, schedule or commute	Review the post, rotate officers or add a premium
Overtime spikes	Understaffing or poor visibility into hours	Track labor costs live and flag overtime before it happens
The wrong officer on post	Missing skills or certification data	Match officers to assignments by skills and certifications
Payroll disputes	Hours re-keyed from timesheets	Run payroll from verified, scheduled hours

How automated shift offering fills open shifts

Automated shift offering replaces the supervisor’s phone tree with a simple, repeatable process:

1. The open shift is flagged. A call-off, no-show or new requirement creates a vacancy in the schedule.
2. Eligible officers are identified. Only officers with the right skills, certifications and availability, and without unwanted overtime, are considered.
3. The offer goes out by SMS. Broadcast to everyone eligible at once, or cascade it through batches in priority order.
4. Hard shifts get an incentive. A premium rate can be attached to overnight, holiday or short-notice shifts.
5. The first qualified officer to accept gets the shift. The schedule updates automatically.
6. Payroll and billing stay accurate. Verified hours from the shift flow into payroll and invoicing without re-entry.

Scheduling metrics to track

You cannot fix what you do not measure. Review these numbers by site and by supervisor every month:

• Shift fill rate. The share of scheduled shifts covered as planned.
• Time to fill. How long open shifts stay open before someone accepts them.
• Call-off and no-show rate. Unplanned absences as a share of scheduled shifts.
• Overtime share. Overtime hours as a share of total hours worked.
• Late schedule changes. Shifts changed within 24 to 48 hours of the start time.
• Repeat offenders and hot spots. Officers, sites or shifts that generate a pattern of problems.

These numbers are early warning signs for turnover, too. Our guide to the data-driven approach to security guard retention shows how to turn them into a retention plan.

Taking a holistic approach to security

It’s tempting to try and tackle scheduling in isolation, given how business critical it is. But it’s only when you pursue a joined-up approach to your security operations that you can really resolve the underlying issues that drive scheduling problems, and deal with any unavoidable challenges effectively.

Technology allows you to make the necessary connections between your frontline and back office to make strategic decisions around resource allocation, and make sure you keep both your people and your customers happy.

Want to see automated shift offering and live labor-cost tracking on your own schedule? Book a TrackTik demo.