Sheffield estate agent protects staff with Identicom®
Sheffield estate agent, Butlers, is leading the way in protecting staff from physical and verbal attack by becoming the first estate agent in the UK to use the revolutionary lone worker protection device Identicom®.
Independently owned by David and Leanne Butler, the estate agency specialises in residential sales and lettings from its two sites in Mosborough and Killamarsh in Sheffield.Employing a team of five, Leanne carries out all valuations whilst David looks after the day-to-day running of the business.
Conscious of the disappearance of 25 year old estate agent Suzy Lamplugh, in 1986, after going to meet an unknown client, David wanted to be certain that Leanne could raise the alarm if threatened or if her movements changed from those diarised.David was particularly concerned as carrying out valuations took Leanne well over an hour, which often meant that she was out of contact for long periods of time.
The solution has come with Identicom, which has been developed by South Yorkshire based Connexion2.Identicom looks like a normal identity card holder but has mobile phone technology incorporated, enabling lone workers to covertly raise an alarm if threatened. The specific technology used in Identicom, not only allows a third party to listen to what is happening and record events, but has the capacity to pinpoint a worker’s location should immediate assistance by required.
“We are delighted that Butlers is taking personal safety seriously,” says Julie Bentley, Chief Executive of The Suzy Lamplugh Trust.“Although the Trust was founded nearly 20 years ago, following the disappearance of an estate agent, the property industry has been slow to respond to the potential risks to staff when out meeting clients.We fully support an initiative such as this, which assists in safeguarding staff.We would like to see this industry more widely taking seriously the risks faced by employees.”
Now, whenever Leanne leaves the office to carry out a valuation, she wears her Identicom device.Should Leanne feel apprehensive at any time she knows that by pressing a covert amber button on her Identicom unit a text message will be sent to David’s mobile and if she feels threatened, by pressing the red button, the voice activator will be triggered so that he can overhear what is happening and send assistance.
“Most estate agents believe that their staff are safe during working hours, but this is not necessarily the case”, says David Butler.“Estate agents can just as easily be attacked during the day as out of office hours and giving staff a mobile phone is no safeguard as it can easily be knocked out of a person’s hand”, concluded David Butler.“If other members of staff are required to carry out valuations we will definitely purchase more units for their well-being and our peace of mind”.
