SECURITY
Effectively Leveraging Security and Technology By: Joe Murphy
Another request to increase building costs for a labor-based service provider? What is this, the third, or fourth, in under two years’ time? How can I possibly support this and maintain my property’s budget? In past years, a request for a 3 percent rate increase was fairly common, some properties simply planned on it in their budgets each year. In more challenging years, maybe the property was asked to approve a 5 percent increase in order to keep pace with market norms and to ensure their security service provider had the financial resources needed to attract, and retain, the most appropriate talent for the property.
security staff does not necessarily mean that is what your property needs today. Your occupancy has perhaps changed, how the asset is being used has perhaps changed, the risks your security program needs to address have perhaps evolved as well. Time for a Security Program Check-Up.
But the pandemic changed all that, dramatically. Labor resources dwindled due to market and governmental influences, and the pressure on hourly labor, basic supply and demand economics, drove wages up – way up! Over the past two years, security officer wages in Georgia have increased by 15 to 20 percent, or more. By comparison, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, the Consumer Price Index increased by an average of just 4.65 percent during the past two years. But that is deceptive as the average CPI increase for 2020 was just 0.6 percent, while the average CPI increase since July 2021 has been 10.3 percent (bls.gov).
A Security Program Check-Up should include a fact-based review of incidents and risks experienced by the asset for the past three to five years. A careful evaluation of existing security technology, access control systems, CCTV systems, building and parking facility usage and actual tenant needs, and expectations, should be undertaken. A review of mandated lease provisions stipulating security levels should be completed and fully understood. Can you do more with less and still achieve the Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) objectives for your property, or for your portfolio of properties?
So, how is a Commercial Real Estate asset supposed to respond to this? How can operating budgets continue to increase while occupancy dwindles or remains uncertain? That is not a sustainable equation. The solution is to revisit how your property is using security officer services and the technology you have in place today. Just because you have always operated with a certain level of on-site
12
Insight • Issue 2, 2022
Program Check-Up
According to some, we are in the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”; where ‘data is oil’ and the connectivity created by the Internet of Things (IoT) is leading to rapid enhancements in security technology, analytics and AI. Just over a decade ago, building security staff were using VHS tape cassettes in building video recording systems, today, a property manager can view all the cameras on their property from their smartphone at home or while on vacation. It’s time to see what
