Steve Natton and Gordon Swallow, Strategic Business Development Managers for Gallagher in the UK, discuss how organisations can harness the innovation that lies within their security system for a truly hybrid workplace and protected workforce.
Amongst the disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are now presented with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to switch the mindset around how they work.
The latest workplace survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 85% of the UK’s workforce who are currently working from home would like to use a hybrid approach, balancing their work time between the home and office. Now, with many UK companies considering the best way forward for their teams, one thing is for certain, a hybrid model of working is here to stay for many of them.
Through all of this change, the question being asked by many business owners is, how might we institutionalise these new ways of working and where does security fit into it all?
Innovating for a safer, smarter future
The value of a physical security system has always gone beyond just opening and closing doors, however, through the acceleration of technology, the wider benefits are becoming more apparent to organisations.
“From operational efficiency and health and safety compliance to facility management and cyber risk mitigation, the benefits a physical security system can provide are extensive. For us at Gallagher, it’s about leading the way to innovate solutions that allow businesses to feel confident to get on and do what they do best,” says Steve Natton, Strategic Business Development Manager for Gallagher.
“This unique perspective sees us deliver our users real value beyond traditional access control – creating solutions that are smart, cost-effective and scalable.”
The past 12 months has seen innovation take the spotlight with the accelerated development of customer-centric security solutions that support a safe, flexible and frictionless future for employees returning to the office. This has been particularly apparent with the rise of interest in smart buildings and touchless biometric technologies, which have leapt ahead amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has shown us that people are now expecting more from both their employers and their workplaces. Access control technology plays a key role in enabling people to work the way they want to through seamless automation and intelligence within their working environment. The best part is, this functionality is already often available within their existing security system,” says Gordon Swallow, Strategic Business Development Manager for Gallagher.
For many organisations, their security system and access control technology has long been considered a vital component for the protection of their staff and visitors. However, now is the time for organisations to re-examine how they work and consider how they can do more with their current security system to enable different ways of working.
Optimising facility use
When adopting a hybrid model of working, organisations can no longer make assumptions around the number of people who will be in the office on any given day. The June 2021 ONS survey showed that although a majority of people wanted to use a hybrid approach of working in the future, there was some uncertainty among businesses, with 32% stating they were not sure what proportion of the workforce will be working from the office.
Through utilising the data from their access control system, organisations can get an accurate picture of employee movement and resource use, enabling them to reduce unnecessary overheads and support staff productivity through improved facility management.
“By simply pulling the data from their access control system, business executives are able to make informed decisions about their facility use. This can include comparing how many employees are coming into the office across different days of the week or identifying peak times across different floors or areas,” says Steve.
“Interfacing your access control with building management systems allows services such as air conditioning, lighting and heating to respond to the presence of people within the area. During a transitional period of remote working or across days with lower employee attendance, this can ensure energy use is managed effectively and costs are minimised,” Steve adds.
For the better use of meeting spaces or shared zones, Gallagher’s Booking Interface makes it possible for doors to lock and unlock in response to a scheduled booking, while simultaneously managing room services such as lighting and air conditioning to activate only when in use to ensure efficient energy consumption.
“For many businesses, flexible working has forced a reconsideration of their overall workplace design; with many opting for agile working spaces, hot desking, or bookable office resources to optimise space, reduce office footprint costs and encourage cross collaboration,” says Gordon.
“Locker management systems are a popular option for these environments to provide teams with a secure place to store their belongings in lieu of being attached to a single desk space.”
Gallagher’s fully integrated Locker Management Solution allows a site to manage locker access, automate allocation and ensure the best utilisation of locker resources all natively from within the Command Centre security software platform. Flexible allocation times and a dynamic locker viewer combine to make agile locker use a reality for the modern business.
Creating a frictionless environment
Frictionless journeys are fast becoming an expectation for many people, as workplaces look to support a more efficient and dynamic working environment. Imagine this, you arrive at the office, your phone provides you with access to your building, the system now knows you are here, the lift is automated to take you directly to your floor and your regular coffee order is already being dispensed from the machine as you step out of the lift – the possibilities are endless.
“We’re seeing strong demand among organisations for frictionless journeys that support greater efficiency, showcase an employer’s innovation and reduce the interference with a user’s experience. A frictionless security solution should allow people to go about their day, while still providing comfort that they are as protected as possible,” says Steve.
Touchpoints for a frictionless workplace environment can happen the moment staff and visitors drive into the car park. The Gallagher Car Park Management Solution provides the ability for sites to send a mobile credential directly to a user’s phone where the user can then request access at the terminal reader without the need to wind down the car’s window. Intuitive user interface on the terminal provides confirmation of car park access, car park space and date and time of expiry. If the parking lot is full, a configurable grace period allows for car park exit for a specified number of users, preventing queues forming at the entrance.
For a seamless elevator experience, the TK Elevator System integration with Gallagher’s Command Centreis an intelligent enhancement that gives sites the ability to tailor elevator access to the specific needs of passengers for a customised journey. By setting passenger default floors for automated floor selection, cardholders can simply arrive at their office elevator and it takes them to their usual floor without needing to lift a finger.
Protecting employee and visitor health
The protection of staff and visitor health remains the number one priority for businesses, whether managing a hybrid environment or not. It is safe to assume that both businesses and employees would like to have protective measures in place when they return to the office, with social distancing, vaccination certification and increased cleaning procedures being essential.
“Consider how your security system can support you to keep track of employee COVID-19 testing status and actively allow or deny access to site as a result,” says Steve.
Businesses can minimise the risk of a potential virus spread through using the Random Selection integration in Gallagher’s Command Centre platform, to manage employee medical checks upon entry to the site.
“To protect staff and visitor health and safeguard business continuity, contact tracing is an inevitable aspect of the return to the workplace. By leveraging your existing security software, you can quickly obtain the information you need from your access control data to get a picture of who has been where and when,” says Steve.
Gallagher’s now six-time award-winning Proximity and Contact Tracing Report was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide organisations with a way to quickly and accurately identify areas where a specified cardholder has been on site through fast and effective contact tracing. Its smart functionality helps organisations to act rapidly and inform affected employees of the risk of infection, allowing them to take action, seek testing and minimise spread of the virus. It also aids in the identification of those who did not share an area with the infected person, therefore ruling out exposure concerns and allowing those employees to continue to operate in a safe environment.
Prioritising cybersecurity
The pandemic has cast a light on the cybersecurity risks facing organisations and with a sharp increase of cyber-threats against physical security systems already this year, it is now more important than ever to ensure organisations are partnering with a responsible cyber vendor.
The recent Cyber Security Breaches Survey noted that 47% of UK medium-sized businesses have staff using personal devices for work, posing a considerable concern towards cyber-threats that could impact their physical security system. Remote working has widened the net in terms of vulnerabilities across business networks – what exactly is being plugged in? Can employees access corporate data? Is sensitive information being shared across unstable networks? How much do employees understand about their smart listening device?
“A company’s security is only as strong as the weakest part of its network and so it’s important that organisations are ensuring they are working with a security manufacturer who has a proven track record of developing security solutions that mitigate the risk of cyber threats,” says Gordon.
“Companies need to be robust in their cybersecurity as well as their physical security and think about the safety of both their data and staff.”
Embracing change
“Many elements of our new workplace world are here to stay, new behaviours, intentional or otherwise, are shaping our future. It is time to really harness the power of technology and make your workplace and your security solution do more for you,” says Gordon.
