The ever-increasing pace of technology advancement that consumers welcome into their daily lives is rapidly raising the stakes of how quickly the security industry needs to adapt to meet these rising expectations. One of the most important areas in which the industry is falling behind is ensuring that technical staff receive the proper training on an ongoing basis.
Video, access control and even intrusion-based systems now leverage the capabilities of the Internet and are fully integrated so that systems can talk to each other — supporting remote system upgrades and enabling customers to remotely view or manage their system. Video systems are smarter, with surveillance cameras that can analyze behaviors, and access control systems that can send an alert to anyone to note an event, such as a propped open door or a data breach.
But with these smarter, technology driven devices sometimes come more complicated systems, greater installation requirements and the need for technicians to better understand how to troubleshoot problems and solve the maintenance issues of each device and system. How does a systems integrator ensure that customers receive service from a knowledgeable and properly trained technical staff?
Hire Right
Hiring employees with the right background is often the first step to put in place a capable and educated technical staff. Today, it is important that technicians understand IT networks, IP addresses, wireless networks, VLANs and software programming, to name a few.
This basic understanding can come from prior work experience within the physical security industry, or a post-secondary education or associates degree in IT, computer networks or electronics.
While it is not often necessary to have prior expertise specifically within the physical security field, individuals who already have certifications on specific products from a manufacturer have an advantage and can quickly take on lead positions.
The security industry continues to benefit from the entrance of former law enforcement and military professionals into the industry. These individuals often have a higher knowledge base on security and safety issues and are known for being hard workers. Former military people are often ideal for technical positions.
Mentor Programs
Creating a mentor program is another way to develop and educate the technical staff. Mentor programs do not necessarily need to be just for the younger employee, but can be designed to get any new employee accustomed to the company’s processes, procedures and general company culture.
A new technician may be paired with a journeyman technician or foreman, for example, to enable them to closely work together over a set period of time on one or more projects on a regular basis. This should be central to your on-boarding, taking this approach at the very beginning of the employment process to provide each new employee with hands-on, in-the-field experience.
Once that new employee is fully up to speed on the systems they install and the proper procedures to follow, the mentoring program can evolve to include weekly or monthly check-ins between the newer employee and the mentor. This enables the new employee to have a go-to person to troubleshoot issues or to share best practices, thereby maintaining a continuing dialogue between the staff and reinforcing your corporate culture
Invest in Certifications
For some integrators, Microsoft Certification is an important credential for technicians to possess. This program has grown in popularity in recent years, with some systems integration companies requiring that all of its technicians on staff become Microsoft Certified.
A Microsoft Certification demonstrates that an individual is trained on Microsoft .NET and SQL Servers, which often serves as the foundation for many security solutions being deployed today. While there are various levels of certifications and areas of expertise, the premise is that the individual holding the certification has an understanding about IT and networks.
In addition, industry standards for the physical part of the installation — including structured cabling — require training. BICSI, NEC and manufacturer-based standards are a critical part of getting jobs completed professionally.
These certification programs are often classroom-based, where the technician will spend a period of time — from several hours to several days — engaged in hands on training about a particular product. The end-result is the employee becomes extremely familiar with a particular product line and its capabilities.
With Training, Everyone Wins
Whether you are trying to educate an employee on how to operate a new software program on a computer or how to install the latest IP camera, providing technology training is an important investment. Some businesses require their security technicians spend about 10 percent of their work week in training classes. Others spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to send employees company-wide to off-site training programs.
When a security company invests in training its employees, it is not just the security business that wins because it has knowledgeable staff on hand. The customer benefits as well, because that customer receives a system that meets high standards and is installed and maintained for the long run.
Bill Hogan is the President of D/A Central in Oak Park, Mich., and is a member of Security-Net, a network of independent security systems integrators with locations worldwide.
