Security Sales & Integration August 2021 - 29

we often create an incubator team and/or work
with trusted partners. The technology will be
tested to make sure it is reliable, secure, that
we can use it to offer a service, and that there
is a business model that works, " adds Nakatani.
" Technologies like PERS, video monitoring,
smart home and managed access control have
been around awhile but are getting new life
breathed into them by technology advancements
that make them more affordable to everyone. "
Monitoring Needs Helping Hands
Where it comes to monitoring operations and
response, the latest technology only takes one
so far. The center of effective, efficient and potentially
lifesaving signal receiving and routing
remains the domain of central station agents or
operators. This is absolutely not lost on or underestimated
by ADT.
" We first train people on our purpose of
helping save lives. We stress the importance of
helping customers with their technology and
use in-person and computer-based simulations
to teach agents about our new equipment and
technology offerings, " says ADT Vice President,
Customer Care Mike Picciola. " We have
dedicated mentors and support programs to
ensure new hires have proper experience and
are confident helping customers prior to taking
calls on their own. "
ADT holds weekly team meetings to introduce
and train associates on the latest products
and to practice troubleshooting various
customer scenarios. According to Picciola, the
firm's training process has been streamlined
over time by more effectively combining collaboration,
teaching and on-demand resources
to help agents and customers alike.
" In recruiting team members, we look for people
with a service heart that aligns to our purpose
of helping save lives, " he adds. " We target and
actively recruit military veterans and their families,
healthcare workers and security professionals
to be part of the ADT family. We have a job fit
assessment to ensure all candidates have the technical
aptitude and attitude to help customers. "
Carrying COVID Lessons Forward
From operations to response to general stress
and emotional strife, the human element was
never more crucial than during the pandemic.
Early during the COVID-19 lockdowns,
ADT shifted some 90% of its customer care
agents (approximately 4,300 people) to resecuritysales.com
AUGUST
2021 Security Sales & Integration 29
mote working.
Like many in the security monitoring industry,
the initially daunting challenge of scrambling
to maintain high level functioning has
given way to discovering improved processes
moving forward.
" The ability to apply the technology to allow
them to work from home is quite an innovative
accomplishment and has been working very
well for us, " asserts Nakatani. " The future of
this ability will be heavily contingent on what
UL allows beyond the crisis as they work to update
the permanent standard. "
Not surprisingly given its massive stake in
the outcomes, ADT has also long assumed a
leadership role where it comes to industry causes
such as legislation and standards. That also
includes being at the forefront of technologies
and best practices related to alarm management
and mitigating false alarms.
According to Nakatani, unlike some solutions
that displace the intermediary, ADT has
kept the monitoring agent central to the experience.
The company is focused on leveraging
technology to make it easier and faster for users
to request help and equipping 911 centers with
information they need to help locate users faster.
" ADT performs Enhanced Call Verification,
alarm permit review,
user
training and follow-ups
for accounts with frequent false alarms
as well as other best practices like acclimation
testing, " says Nakatani. " We are implementing
end-to-end verification technologies, such as requiring
panels to be compliant with SIA's CP01
standard and following best operational practices
like CS-V-01. Further implementation of our
alarm verification tool, Signal Chat, will continue
to decrease our false alarm/dispatch rates. " SSI
ADT'S TOP
3 ARGUMENTS
Leading differentiators, as
told by Vice President, IT, Customer
Monitoring Technology,
Tom Nakatani:
1. Market Position: " ADT is
the No. 1 smart home security
provider, helping to protect
more than six million customers
with industry-leading
smart home technology and
the largest network of trained
security professionals who
come to work every day with
the intent to help save lives. "
2. Monitoring Coverage:
" We operate nine U.S.-based,
owned and operated professional
monitoring centers and
our customer care team is
second to none. "
3. History & Experience:
" At ADT, we believe everyone
deserves to feel safe, and safety
and peace of mind is why
more customers have been
choosing ADT to help protect
their families, businesses and
valuables for 147 years. "
ADT holds weekly team
meetings to introduce and
train associates on the latest
products.
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Security Sales & Integration August 2021

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