When a business is founded on a passion for service, an entrepreneurial spirit and the drive to solve a problem, you just know there’s a great story behind it. We couldn’t be more excited to be along for the ride with Guardian Tracking as they transform employee performance measurement – one industry at a time.
Guardian Tracking began solely as a tool for law enforcement professionals, then naturally branched out to include all of public safety (Fire, EMS and 911 communications centers).
The company’s business model — and its proprietary software — are built on the premise that timely and relevant information, delivered in a consistent format, is key to helping organizations streamline personnel management. Ultimately, this leads to higher employee satisfaction, lower turnover, increased retention, increased productivity and lower costs as a result.
Recently, Guardian Tracking saw the need to automate their marketing efforts. That’s where we come in! Guardian Tracking reached out to Webolutions in Denver, CO for strategic guidance and support on creating engaging lead nurturing and customer journeys with Infusionsoft.
At Webolutions, we couldn’t be more thrilled to team up with Guardian Tracking. We saw this partnership as an organic fit, especially since both companies place high value on brand experience at every touch point. The proof was in the pudding when we found out that co-founder Mike Reed makes time to personally call every single one of their 1,000 clients each year to check in!
Where It All Began…
After decades on the Indiana police force, two officers and friends decided they’d spend their retirement helping to solve a problem they encountered nearly every day as police officers.
In the early 90s, colleagues and friends Leon Wasilewski and Mike Reed saw first-hand the ineffectiveness of employee performance evaluations that did not include timely feedback, formal training and proper counseling and guidance. They also noticed the inconsistency with documentation and processes among departments.
Yet, the problem wasn’t unique to their agency – almost all precincts encountered these issues. Leon and Mike served as assessors for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and noted the commonalities that existed at nearly all agencies in the U.S.
Soon after they identified the need for improvement, they tried several approaches to fix this problem while at the Anderson Police Department. However, both costly commercial platforms and homegrown software weren’t making the cut when it came to employing an all-inclusive, reliable, transparent and objective tool. Additionally, it wasn’t being adopted like they’d hoped.
Without wavering to defeat, the two lieutenants kept at it for years. And in early 2007, as luck would have it, Leon connected with talented software developer Nick Riggs to propose the build out of a platform that would record and maintain employee performance documentation. He also shared his vision of a smart software that would flag potential behavior patterns during evaluation and intervention. While Leon shared his and Mike’s grand dreams with Nick, he had one other requirement for the software: To be affordable.
One week later, Guardian Tracking was born.
Breaking New Ground
Earlier this year, the company was contacted by a champion user of the software, Emily Abshire, who was inspired by the positive impact Guardian Tracking has on organizations and their relationships with employees. Coincidentally, GT was already eyeing the healthcare industry as a growth target. Naturally, she was brought on as new sales associate to manage healthcare segment.
Within a couple of months of the new program launching, Guardian Tracking has brought on a hospital and has plans to focus on smaller, privately owned facilities, including assisted living, nursing homes, stand-alone urgent care facilities and more.
How GT Moves Organizations Forward
One of the things that sets Guardian Tracking apart from competitors is the ability to record positive events and interactions so that reviews don’t only focus on the negative. When organizations experience the shift to a positive mindset, they discover how to detect issues proactively and see a constructive improvement in conflict resolution processes for all parties involved.
Additionally, here are some other reasons we think Guardian Tracking stands out:
- Implements positive reinforcement techniques
- Utilizes early intervention practices
- Promotes a respectful and accountable working environment
- Improves company culture
- Increases employee performance
- Recognizes both high and low performing employees
- Improves timely resolutions of employee misconduct
- Aids in professional development tracking
Power Users
Not only does Guardian Tracking create and implement employee performance management software for police departments and other agencies across the United States, they use it themselves!
As a remote workforce, using their own platform upholds a positive culture comprised of accountability balanced with flexibility. Communication is also key in the business’ success, as video conferencing and Slacking keep everyone focused and aligned on goals, projects and, above all, customer satisfaction. The company has bi-annually meetings planned at the two to trade shows they travel to each year, with team building events and company excursions planned, too.
Let The Good Times Roll
As an Infusionsoft Certified Partner, it’s an exciting time to support Guardian Tracking and bring their marketing automation strategy to life by way of lead nurturing, client retention and referral marketing. And while this story has been a good one so far, it still feels like the journey has only just begun.
