In a nutshell, key holding security is a professional service whereby the servicers are contracted to hold a set of keys to your property. Keyholding is usually coupled with an alarm response so that in the event of an alarm activation, the keyholder will be alerted.
Then, the keyholder will be able to dispatch a team of security to investigate the alarm activation and respond appropriately; whether that be calling the emergency services or securing the property. Afterwards, a report will be sent your way of the call out.
Let’s explore deeper into what a key holder does and how it can benefit your business.
What is a keyholder?
The keyholder is the assigned person that holds the keys to a property in case of emergencies. An example of an emergency could be a burglar alarm being activated, meaning that the keyholder must investigate the trigger.
Keyholders are necessary because in many industries it is a requirement that one person must be able to access the premises at any given time.
There are two types of people who can become your keyholder, either a security professional or an individual in your company.
Please be aware that if you choose to assign someone from your company as the keyholder, then you have a legal duty of care to them. If anything bad were to happen to them whilst in the role of the keyholder, your company could be fined or imprisoned under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act of 2007, which came into force on 6th April 2008.
With this in mind, we recommend that you hire a professional keyholding service. If your alarm was to sound then a professional key-holding security member would be sent out to your property immediately to investigate and resolve the issue.
The perks of letting a professional key holding service take care of things for you is that the security partner will be SIA accredited with vast experience on their back, being specifically trained in dealing with serious or threatening incidents which may occur.
If the emergency services need to get involved they will call them out. But most importantly, they will ensure that your property is secured and safe.
Why do you need a keyholding service?
Using a key holding service will keep your business, your property and your people safe and secure. Various advantages of using a keyholding service include:
- Prevents false alarms
- Quick response time
- No stressing
- Accurate investigations
- Appropriate action taken
Which industries can benefit from a key holding service?
The majority of industries would benefit from a key holding service, these include but are not limited to:
- Hospitality
- Retail
- Warehouses
- Healthcare
- Education
- Offices
- Construction
- Factories
Whether you own a DIY store, run a nursery or healthcare clinic, you will vastly benefit from a key holding service. Key holding security is beneficial for the majority of industries.
What is keyholding and how does the keyholding process work?
When hiring a key holding service, the key holding company will first come out to your business for a premises inspection. During this inspection, they will get familiar with the property, which includes looking at the functionality of any alarms and getting an understanding of the potential protocol which might take place in an emergency scenario.
Next, as the business owner you will hand over a set of keys to the security partner. It is the responsibility of the new key holder to store these keys in a secure location, and they are only to be used in the case of an emergency.
In the emergency event of a burglar, fire or another type of intruder and your property’s emergency alarm is raised, the key holder will come to the premises with the keys, and enter the property, where they would then conduct a full investigation.
If it is a false alarm, the key holder will reset your alarm, and secure the property safely. After this, they would simply restore the keys to their original secure location.
In the case of a real emergency, such as an intruder or a fire, the key-holding security professional will follow the protocol established upon their initial visit. Usually, this involves ringing emergency services as well as the business owner, to gain control of the situation.
Regardless of whether the incident was an emergency or a false alarm, the security partner would always follow up with a report on the incident which you would receive by email within 24 hours of the incident occurring.
Advantages of a key holding service
We believe that key holding is an absolutely vital service for your business, with many advantages.
What are the advantages?
- Save money on on-site security
On-site security can be expensive, so by making use of a key holding service you can increase the protection of your business without spending a fortune on a security team who works outside of office hours.
- Peace of mind
Gone will be the days whereby you worry about potential intruders, or something going wrong on the premises whilst you are not there. Your key holder will be available immediately for any issues which may occur.
- Less stress for your employees
With a lot of businesses designating the key holding role to one of their employees, by putting this responsibility in the hands of the key holding service instead, you can take this burden away from your staff.
- Well-trained security
By utilising a professional key holding service, you are placing the best possible individual to deal with an emergency situation because they have been accredited by the SIA and therefore have the appropriate training to deal with the emergency.
- Your own safety
When your alarm goes off, there is a chance that your property is under threat from someone who may be unsafe to approach. If you were to attend this scenario, you could be putting yourself at risk. However, by utilising a professional key holder, as a trained professional they can take on this risk for you; Get in touch with us today to enquire about how we can enhance the security of your premises.
