Secure premises. Patrol corridors. Conduct safety checks.
These daily responsibilities and many others appear in post orders. What are post orders in the physical security industry?
Post orders are a continually updated resource that includes written instructions to clearly outline the duties and expectations of today’s security officers. Security post orders are critical because they include environment-specific details that help keep everyone safe.
What are Post Orders in Security?
A security post order is a ‘living document’ that evolves alongside security risks. Post orders for security lay the foundation for a robust security program because they provide clear and accurate instructions, methods, and procedures for handling a multitude of potential security incidents. Security officer post orders also clarify ongoing duties and provide important information about fire alarms, smoke detectors, fire alarm control panel locations, locations of fire-fighting equipment, location of ‘master keys,’ and more.
Think of post orders for security as ‘go-to guides’ for security professionals. Consider this security officer post order example. When a security officer is tasked with monitoring a property, their security post order should specify the location to cover, shift hours, who to notify in case of suspicious activity, and more.
Here’s another security guard post orders example. When a security officer is tasked with patrolling access to a parking lot, their security patrol post orders should include information about how to ask for registration and what specific data to collect (e.g., license plate number, vehicle, make, and vehicle color).
When a security officer is tasked with monitoring and operating a metal detector, their security post order should specify which items are considered contraband and what they should do in the event they spot something.
In each security post order example above, it’s about clearly spelling out expectations and requirements. This ensures everyone is on the same page with no blurred lines. It also gives security officers the confidence they need to make smart, informed decisions in everyone’s best interest and to promote overall safety.
How to Properly Write Security Post Orders
Security officer post orders require conciseness, readability, and dependability. A security officer’s success is mainly measured by how well they understand their post orders and complete the tasks assigned to them. Good security post orders are those that are clearly understood.
Consider these three tips to write effective post orders for security:
- Think comprehensively. In addition to emergency procedures and facility maps, security post orders should include operation statements, the ethics code, security officer duties and responsibilities, security access control, information about how to contact law enforcement, information on how to write daily reports, and more. Be sure to engage all relevant stakeholders for input on what else to include in the security post order.
- Keep it simple. Security post orders should be clear, concise, and void of any ambiguity.
- Review and update frequently. A great best practice? At least twice a year and after any security incident.
The Benefits of Digital Security Post Orders Over Pencil and Paper
In today’s dynamic security business environment, drafting comprehensive, clear, and concise security guard post orders is no easy task. Businesses must make changes and disseminate information quickly to avoid miscommunication and hold security officers accountable. That’s why switching from written security post orders to digital ones makes sense. In addition, when businesses ‘go digital,’ they’re also able to digitally track security guard location and activity as well as monitor what’s in progress, when it’s complete, and whether security officers have missed any checkpoints.
Consider the following additional benefits of digital post orders for security:
- Easily Adjustable
Instead of relying on written instructions, businesses can easily update digital security post orders and distribute them to security officers. Those officers can then provide immediate feedback and ask questions.
- Adaptability
Digital security post orders enable instant modification (e.g., distributing different security officer instructions during a shift, relaying temporary post order updates due to seasonality), allowing for increased safety and accountability.
- Fast Communication
Digital security post orders and a professional security workforce management system mitigate misinterpretation and miscommunication between supervisors and security officers. In real-time, it’s easier to see whether a security officer has acknowledged receipt of a post order and understands their responsibilities.
- Customizable
Creating a set of site-specific digital security post orders helps standardize a security officer’s duties and responsibilities so that shifts are completed as intended. In the long run, standardized tasks, duties, and responsibilities managed digitally avoid complicated issues and hearsay because they establish a documented track record. This establishes trust and reliability between the client and the security company.
- Task Organization
Businesses can organize digital security post orders by category so it’s easy for security officers to understand what’s expected of them. Digital security post orders ensure security professionals follow all security procedures, as they’re required to recognize and accept those procedures. Digital post orders help streamline the creation of concise security officer duties and tasks, enabling businesses to easily assign those tasks.
- Compliance
Customized digital security post orders ensure that security guard duties include any necessary regulatory inspections per site. This means everyone remembers and conducts annual or other routine inspections. Digital post orders for safety checks (e.g., orders for a building’s fire extinguishers) help businesses maintain compliance with mandated regulations and ensure that contract requirements are satisfactorily met.
Streamline All Officer Duties & Responsibilities with Security Post Orders
Security post orders only further responsibility and accountability. Top security companies know that concise and informative post orders promote:
- Effective officer management
- Employee understanding and compliance
- Safe sites
- Streamlined security guard communication
- Risk mitigation
What do you have to lose? The time to let go of paper-based processes and embrace digital technology is now. Learn how you can enhance your post orders, and physical security operations in general, by downloading The Trackforce Guide to Guard Activity Management.
