The Keyholding Company wins ‘Best Application of Tech – Security’ award

The Keyholding Company (TKC) are tech-enabled mobile security specialists who keep 38,000 properties safe across the UK. Mobile security refers to officers moving from property to property to deliver physical security services such as alarm response, locks and unlocks, guarding, vacant property checks and everything in between.

We conduct over 1 million jobs every year across a variety of sectors thanks to our nationwide network of 200 local, ACS-accredited security companies (we call them Service Partners) we’ve built up over 25 years.

What sets us apart in an industry traditionally slow to embrace change is our technology. Clients manage their security through our platform where they can book and track all their security jobs. Industry-leading data analytics provide a bird’s-eye view of their estate so they can mitigate risk and flex services to where need is greatest.

We are thrilled that our laser focus on technology has been recognised by the UK Business Tech Awards, winning Best Application of Tech – Security for the work we’ve done to supercharge our Emergency and Temporary Guarding service.

“Winning this award is a huge achievement for everyone here at TKC, and it is a recognition of the hard work of our fantastic guarding and tech teams in continuously delivering successful solutions for our clients. We will continue to raise the bar on technological innovation to drive the security industry forwards.”

– Lucas Gundry, Chief Technology Officer, TKC

Tech-enabled guarding is an award-winning hit!

Finding last-minute guarding cover for when staff go on annual leave or are sick is a big challenge for our clients. Couple that with an industry-wide shortage of guards (the BSIA set a target of recruiting and licensing 62,000 guards this year) and you get one massive guarding headache.

Through our trusted network of Service Partners, we have a subs bench of 11,000 SIA-licensed officers ready to stand in at short notice to help with this shortfall, but we needed to evolve our platform and processes to leverage the network’s power and successfully connect clients with last-minute guarding cover, fast.

An extensive digital transformation revolutionised our emergency and temporary guarding service to make it quicker and easier than ever to book cover. This is how we did it:

1. Instant online booking – clients can tap into the subs bench and book cover directly through our platform, specifying requirements such as uniform or specific tasks that officer needs to do during the shift. The moment a shift is requested, our system gets to work, finding the right partner for the job.
2. Confirmation in under an hour – within 60 minutes of requesting a shift, the most suitable local partner is found and allocated through our algorithm. Before the shift starts, clients receive the officer’s full name and SIA credentials, so they know exactly who’s due to turn up to shift.
3. Seamless shift management – our new calendar view simplifies shift scheduling and management. Clients can effortlessly make repeat bookings, amend current ones and cancel any no longer needed in one place.

Our approach is working – we’re successfully fulfilling shifts at an exceptional rate of 97.3%, while 84% of our guarding customers are repeat clients, highlighting the value of our developments.

“The Keyholding Company have provided us with last-minute guarding services as far south as the Isle of Wight and as far north as Arbroath, and they have never let us down.” – Andy Miller, National Maintenance Manager, Cats Protection

We believe our winning combination of people power and technology will continue to disrupt the security sector and drive better, more efficient services for our clients.

Find out more about how our technology is solving our clients’ last-minute guarding headaches by reading this article.

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