Alliance Security looks to sustain record growth

CRANSTON, R.I.—Alliance Security, a national security company based here, is in the process of building up its infrastructure following a year of record growth in 2015 that saw the company's revenue nearly double to more than $100 million, and its employee numbers climb from 300 to 500—all while transitioning into a new headquarters.

“The move [to a new HQ] has been great and it was the best thing that we needed to bring everyone together under one roof, as we had people at multiple locations due to the fact that we grew so fast,” Jay Gotra, Alliance's founder and CEO, told Security Systems News. “Coming into a 60,000-square-foot building and having the space to grow, it really just brought the team together, so that is exciting for us because we can now strategize better, meet weekly like we used to do, and get back to the basics of what made us successful.”

Alliance is currently transitioning from a volume-and-selling model to a retaining model. “2016 is to be the year of process improvement,” Gotra said. “The challenge we have faced is that we have grown so significantly so fast that our technology could no longer keep up with our needs.”

To sustain growth Gotra wants to get the right technology and tools into the hands of employees, and put proper systems in place, including the latest CRM tools, upgraded phone systems, and new equipment such as new iPads out in the field, he said.

“We are still going through a huge overhaul with all of that,” said Gotra. “The vision is to build these systems so we can take the people that we have now on staff and do twice as much volume as we did in the past. We really do see ourselves in the next three- to four years doubling still, but this time around our growth is going to be more strategic and smarter.”

Gotra said the key is being selective in how the company grows and not just growing volume at any cost. “Our vision now is to retain our volume, but we had to refocus on creating quality accounts by making sure they are profitable accounts and making sure that the technology could sustain it coming into the new building. So we are building up our customer service teams, our sales teams, our retention teams.”

Alliance is investing heavily in its employees, as Gotra says, “Our biggest strength is our people and our processes. I think we have great people here, and our team is getting better educated to really take this business to the next level. And with the new employees going in, we now have better policies and procedures in place than we did in the past, and better teachers training our staff.”

Alliance Security also values giving back to its local community, and was awarded the Mission 500 Corporate Social Responsibility Award for 2015. This national distinction from Mission 500—a nonprofit that engages security professionals to sponsor children in need throughout the world—honors a company in the security industry each year that has made a significant contribution in the community.

“It is important to us to do the right thing here in our community and give back, and empower our employees to want to give back as well, as it is not about just being successful,” said Gotra.