With a spike in crime in the Table View area, the Fidelity Security Group is reorganising to put more and better security resources into the community.
The group says that advancements in technology and evolving crime patterns have changed the face of the security industry, introducing a highly systems-driven approach to provide communities with the necessary support and tech innovation.
“In this kind of environment it is sometimes easy to downplay the human connection, but security is personal and communities are not all the same. Automated services definitely have a place, but research shows that when it comes to complex or sensitive interaction, the majority of people still prefer to talk to a human being and when it comes to their own community safety, they want someone who is locally based.”
“In our urban areas specifically, we have also seen the value of hyper-localised solutions that are customised for those specific areas. This approach impacts significantly on agility and improved service delivery,” says Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group.
Residents in the area say that security companies play a huge role to curb crime and are first on the scene while waiting for the police.
“Police sometimes take so long to respond to a scene. The security companies are always first and make us feel safe in the area,” says Gloria Oelofse.
Bartmann says it has necessitated a rethink of how the Fidelity residential business is structured. It has led to the launch of new branches across the country, including Table View.
“It’s the age-old adage, ‘the bigger you get the smaller you must become’ and that’s where the customisation really comes to the fore,” he says.
He says a locally-based business centre is key in ensuring top-quality customer service and in delivering a more personalised service. Smaller competitors have got it right in many areas, but they lack the backing and robustness of a larger player.
“You have to be able to grow with the area and offer a more mature structure as needs evolve,” he says.
Bartmann says in the new structure there will be a much smaller customer to management ratio and each of the new branches will be headed up by a Branch Manager who has full ownership and responsibility for the performance of the branch.
Bartmann says the solutions will also be tailored to address specific problems in each of these urban areas.
The new branch won’t have a dedicated monitoring centre. Calls will go through to the company’s auto dispatch system and be managed accordingly. “With this system, you get emergency assistance at a fraction of the time it takes human-operated radio networks to react. Calls are prioritised by type and customers and vehicles are clustered into segments so the closest vehicle can be dispatched,” explains Bartmann.
With regard to staffing, Bartmann says the business has been through a rigorous redeployment exercise as well as bringing in new talent with the correct experience.
“It is key that we develop the correct culture in each of these branches. The branches need to immerse themselves in the suburbs and really develop an in-depth understanding of the issues so the correct solutions can be introduced and rolled out, either on land via our armed response teams or via our air support crews,” he concludes.
The Table View Fidelity ADT branch is located at Office 202, 3 Marine Circle, Blaauwberg Road and can be contacted on 086 12 12 310.
