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Retrofitting Access Control Part 10: Relief for Your Workforce

Written by Cody Horchak | Jan 15, 2022 12:23:21 AM

This is the final part of a daily series on challenging conventions in the access control world and retrofitting our perspective on what’s best for people, businesses, buildings, and the world. Click here to start the series from the beginning.  

 

The amount of change the world has gone through in the last few years is hard to overstate. Everything is in a state of transformation, leaving organizations of all kinds scrambling to adapt to everything from a strained global supply chain to a widespread shift to remote work. 

Real estate firms and property owners and managers have felt the effects in a variety of ways. One of the starkest is the near-omnipresent labor shortage. It’s hard to go anywhere these days without seeing ‘We’re Hiring!’ signs strung everywhere. In the U.S., there are about 0.67 unemployed workers for every 1.5 job opening, according to Glassdoor Economic Research

Hiring new talent is taking longer, staff turnover is higher, and the current staff is under greater pressure and strain to pick up the slack while important positions stay open.

The forces at play generating this environment are broad and complex. However, relief for your real estate organization and the team can be found in a surprisingly simple place: your choice of access control systems. 

Automatic for the People 

During periods of labor shortages, innovation and automation in the workplace become more important than ever. An upgraded access control process opens up a lot of room to streamline your processes and free up your team to focus on mission-critical operations. Just a few examples: 

  • Better coverage and faster data reporting make it easier to smartly reallocate security personnel to high-priority areas. 
  • Eliminating or reducing physical credentials like fobs and access badges in favor of a consolidated mobile credential means less time spent ordering, issuing, and maintaining them. 
  • On-demand remote access makes it easier for internal or third-party maintenance staff to move throughout your portfolio quickly and without needing another person on-site to let them in. 

This sort of incremental efficiency adds up fast and keeps your busy team available for the important stuff (and not waiting around or wasting time on tedious paperwork). 

The Easy Way to Lighten the Load 

Unfortunately, onboarding a brand new access control system and obtaining all these perks are never as easy as it sounds.  

Something that you would think would be routine and straightforward is can be labor-intensive and time-consuming at a time when you’re trying to be as lean and efficient as possible. This is especially true now—providers in the access control and security industries are experiencing shipping backlogs and labor shortages, too. 

There’s only one way to tap into the time-saving efficiency of a modernized access system without the pain of a standard rip-and-replace: retrofit. A minimally disruptive procedure transforms all that aging infrastructure sitting in your walls into a light, flexible new system and completely opens up your portfolio to new possibilities.  

Want to discuss how a cost-effective renovation of your systems could lighten the load on your workforce and help you make the most of the existing headcount? I’d love to discuss how Zerv is doing that right now in some of the world’s most recognizable and respected buildings. 

Connect with me on LinkedIn, or contact us to start a conversation.