Security guards have many roles to play in a given time and situation. Like other professionals, they know when it is time to go home and when it is time to stay for a couple of hours more in order to deal with an urgent problem. Property owners must have that same perspective when it comes to security. The sense of urgency must be practiced according to the matters at hand. It is very important then to be able to learn more about which security matters are important and which ones are urgent.
Important versus urgent defined
Important tasks are those tasks that can contribute to your company’s long-term vision with the intention to improve your business. Urgent tasks, on the other hand, are those tasks that require immediate action. An example of an important task is implementing a new security rule while an example of an urgent task is making a phone call to report a security matter. Segregating important from urgent tasks can be classified further.
Important and urgent tasks
These are tasks that have to be finished as soon as possible. These tasks have to be prioritised because once you put them off, you have to be ready for the consequences they can seriously bring to your business. Among those tasks categorised as both important and urgent are: meeting tax deadlines whether federally, state-wide, or locally; hiring people to occupy vacant positions to avoid being undermanned; and making sure that payroll is prepared and submitted accordingly.
Important but not urgent tasks
These are tasks that take too much time to accomplish but are often ignored because there are more urgent tasks that need your attention. Admit that because we are just human beings, we want to make sure we respond to activities whose immediate consequences are known. It may be a sort of bias to do so but we can do something about the situation. The best way to do that is to recognize tasks that are important but are not urgent.
One of the tasks included in this category is streamlining company operational processes. Another is working on a way to improve marketing by looking into options that will help increase sales and referrals. Keeping in touch with avid or loyal customers as well as knowing your key clients and improving relationships with them is also included in this list.
Tasks that are urgent but are not important
These are tasks that can take so much of your time because they need immediate attention even if they will not be part of fulfilling the company’s long term vision. An example of such tasks includes taking calls even when you have a lot of other things to do because no one is willing to take the call. Many times, security guards are prone to taking calls even when they are on post because nobody is there to help them answer the phone. Reading unimportant emails and replying to them is also another. Doing jobs that are not part of your job description or those which have already been delegated to others is another.
Tasks that are not important and are not urgent at all
Focusing your thoughts on these things will definitely be a waste of time. They do not require immediate action and will never be fruitful for your business. You need to cut back on these tasks so you will become progressive. Examples are checking who is posting on social media, reading the newspaper, spending time watching more YouTube videos.
In the world of security, all these tasks can affect the way with which the business goes. It is important to educate your people about these tasks. If you work with well trained security guards in Montreal, you can certainly expect them to excel when it comes to separating important from urgent security tasks.
