Holidays get booked. People call in sick. Industry-wide staff shortages persist. Security can change with little to no warning. All of these challenges put guarding rosters under constant pressure.
Gaps in coverage aren’t just inconvenient; they can be a serious risk.
Having a trusted, reliable guarding provider that can step in at short notice is vital. We’ve designed our Emergency and Temporary Guarding service to be fast, flexible and reliable, making it easy to get high-quality, SIA-licensed officers on site – wherever and whenever you need them.
Book, track, report and analyse jobs – all in one place
The moment you realise there’s a gap in your roster, our technology and expert Guarding Operations Team equip you with everything you need to take action – quickly and confidently.
1. Book shift: Submit and Confirm
You can book a guarding shift in just a few clicks. Log in to our platform from any device, enter your shift requirements – the time, location, uniform needs, type of officer and duties – and submit.
Our network of over 200 local, ACS-accredited security companies covers 99.8% of the UK’s postcodes and gives you access to 11,000 SIA licensed officers, so you know you’re covered no matter where you are.
Within 60 minutes, you’ll receive a booking confirmation and before the shift, you’ll receive the officer’s name, photo, and SIA license details.
We have a zero tolerance policy on partner subcontracting, so you can rest assured that the officer doing the job is directly employed by an ACS-accredited provider, fully qualified with an SIA license, vetted to BSI 7858 and paid through PAYE.
You stay in control throughout: if your needs change, shifts can be rebooked, amended or cancelled in seconds.
The platform to book jobs is seamless and simple to use. It’s been a massive asset in our security operation.
Head of Loss Prevention, CeX WeBuy.com
2. Pre-shift: Prepare and Verify
Before every shift, we make sure everything is in place to deliver a professional, quality service. Officers receive a briefing via our guarding app, with clear assignment instructions, health and safety guidance, and site-specific notes, so they’re fully prepared before arriving on site.
They’re sent automated SMS reminders to help ensure punctuality, and once they arrive on site, they upload photos of their SIA license and uniform, which are AI verified and checked by the Guarding team.
3. During shift: Track and Monitor
When the shift starts, the officer books on (and off once the shift ends) via our app within the geo-fenced site boundaries for that job. If the officer starts or ends a job outside the geo-fence they receive a warning notification via our app, which is key for compliance, prevents false book-ons and gives reassurance that expectations are being met. Live officer tracking throughout gives proof of presence too.
Duties are completed through in-app workflows, with photos and incidents recorded as they happen. AI reviews photos for Quality Assurance and Compliance Accuracy, and performance is continually monitored by Guarding team via dashboards.
In short, you’ll always know who’s on site, what’s being done, and that someone is keeping an expert eye on things.
4. Post-shift: Analyse and Improve
As soon as a shift finishes, the platform is your go-to for comprehensive job reports, analytics and your eDOB (Electronic Daily Occurrence Book).
You can dig in to understand how the shift went, if there were any incidents and access a digital timeline with photo backed, auditable event logs. Analytics help you assess performance and guarding spend so you can refine your guarding strategy or switch up the workflows for next time.
This transparency is key for accountability and gives you peace of mind your job has been carried out as expected and to expected standards.
Quality at every step: Supported by experts. Delivered nationwide.
Behind the tech is a nationwide network and specialist teams ensuring everything runs smoothly.
With greater reach than any other supplier in the UK, we are ideally placed to respond to last-minute requests, as we have such a large – and reliable – pool of talent at our fingertips.
That’s why we’re trusted by the likes of Next, who we provide flexible cover for in over 60 nationwide locations.
Our in-house specialist Guarding Operations and Partner Network Management teams are the essential human connection between our clients, our network and technology, ensuring a seamless process and 24/7 escalation and customer support.
Regular partner audits take place alongside monthly performance reviews and all partners are onboarded in depth through procurement platform DeepStream. Their performance is constantly analysed, and if underperformance is flagged an alternative partner can be put in place if needed.
The Keyholding Company have provided expert last-minute guarding services for our centres and shops, 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
Need help filling your guarding roster gaps?
Filling your guarding roster gaps should be easy, transparent and dependable – and with The Keyholding Company, it is. We fulfil 99.3% of shifts and conducted over 80,000 jobs last year.
Whether you’re plugging a last-minute gap or preparing for seasonal uplift, you can book trusted officers in just a few clicks – and monitor every step of the journey in real-time.
Need help with cover for guarding shifts?
Need help with cover for guarding shifts?
Get in touch today and get a free quote – our guarding experts are here to help.
Get in touch