Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Overview
The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Council employs almost 2000 people, from social workers and office-based staff to park rangers and housing teams. Many council workers worked alone or out of sight of others, but with so many workers in different roles facing unique risks, they needed a lone worker solution that would work for employees across departments.
- Nearly 20% of Council workers now have a lone worker device
- Specialist features ensure devices are tailor-made for the needs of employees
- Streamlined processes have encouraged uptake
- Training from Peoplesafe supported a positive culture and adoption
The challenge
Some workers were already equipped with lone worker devices, but a range of different devices were being used across the Council. With different devices having different capabilities and costs, the Health & Safety team were concerned that some of their employees might not be as well protected as others. Managers also lacked confidence in purchasing lone worker devices as there was no central provider or pricing, and no standard process in place for obtaining and returning devices.
There was also a misconception among some teams that devices were being used to “check up” on workers, and low awareness among workers in general that lone worker solutions were available and supported by the Council.
The solution
Following a formal tender process, the Council chose Peoplesafe as their central provider of lone worker devices because Peoplesafe could provide a range of safety devices to suit the needs of all of their employees.
The Council chose a combination of mobile safety app and MySOS devices fitted with roaming SIMs (to counteract mobile blackspots). This protects their employees wherever they are by providing maximum coverage in the event of an emergency. The device itself is discreet and able to attach to a lanyard, keyring or belt holster. Choosing a device that was small and a service that provided flexibility was important to ensure it catered to all users’ needs.
Peoplesafe’s lone worker safety experts also fully trained Council employees in how to use the device, so that they knew how to access support in the event of an incident. Using external trainers also helped the Council to shift mindsets from “my manager is checking up on me” to “my manager is keeping me safe”. In addition to training, Peoplesafe also offered to show employees around the Alarm Receiving Centre, so they could see first-hand how calls would be dealt with.
The results
With a central contract in place, it’s much more straightforward for managers to access the right lone-worker solutions to protect their employees, as they can now make purchases with confidence. The Council now has a subscription of over 370 devices to protect employees across the organisation – a number that continues to grow.
Peoplesafe’s support in both of these areas has been invaluable. Having Peoplesafe deliver the training made a big difference, reinforcing the benefits of the technology to the teams that use it. They’re really easy to work with too – our contact there is very responsive to new requests for devices and their support in establishing a straightforward onboarding and returns process makes life easier for everyone.”
