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CONTRACT SERVICE SUPERVISION AND INSPECTIONS
A well-run security agency will normally provide several inspections of the officers on the job at various hours each week. Most contract services' daily report forms to the client have a section to indicate inspections by field officers, supervisors, managers, or owners of the service.
The better services insure that inspections always occur on holidays, when assigned officers might envy those not required to work on these days. The purpose here is not so much quality control as morale. Officers seem to appreciate the fact that when they are working these undesirable shifts, "the boss" is out there working too.
It should also be noted here that some contract services can be quite creative in attempting to accommodate officers by being flexible on their scheduling on holidays. For instance, at one account, all officers were able to join their families for Thanksgiving dinners, after the contract service worked with them on creative scheduling. In this case, some officers ate somewhat earlier in the day than usual, while others ate later. In another case, officers without younger children agreed to switch shifts to allow those with youngsters to be with their families on Christmas Eve. Security contractors willing to work with flexible scheduling such as this often enjoy low turnover.
On a weekly basis, at the least, the contract service representative handling the client account should contact the client to discuss the past week's service. The client should be prepared to comment on any problem, no matter how minor. A professional security supervisor knows that little things build up into major problems and sincerely appreciates a client who is willing to pass on even the most trivial complaints.
These weekly discussions, although they often take only a couple minutes, tend to keep the operation running smoothly and insure that the management of the contract service knows exactly what is expected. Misunderstandings concerning exactly what the guards are supposed to be doing are eliminated when this weekly communication exists.
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