Originally founded in 1919 by General Motors to provide automobile dealerships with the necessary financing and customers with car loans, GMAC Financial Services is a company that has changed dramatically with the times.
Today, it provides global financial services to consumers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. GMAC specializes in automotive finance, real estate finance, insurance, commercial finance and online banking. Like many financial service companies, GMAC has kept an eye on costs and business channels in order to stay competitive in the current business environment.
“As a financial services company, we are very conscious of our operating footprint, and Securitas has helped us with that” says Marcella Garwood, a GMAC Senior Facilities Manager. “They’ve grown with us where we need to grow and shrink where we need to shrink. Securitas knows our business very well and has been adaptable and accommodating to our special needs. There’s been a lot of turmoil, but Securitas has been providing the support and stability we need.”
In the past, each business line within GMAC operated as a separate entity, with separate contracts for services such as human resources and security, explains Garwood. Now, the company is looking to grow operating efficiencies by centralizing their support functions and leveraging their resources by negotiating contracts that will support the company on a national and even global level. “We’re not there yet, but that’s where we’re headed,” she says.
As a global company, Securitas is especially suited to help GMAC bridge these changes. The company just renewed a five-year contract and Securitas was instrumental in helping GMAC develop a national security protocol. Currently, Securitas covers sixteen GMAC (or GMAC subsidiary) sites across the country. As previous contracts with other vendors expire, Garwood plans to replace the security in those buildings with Securitas staff.
While the new contract instituted a master service agreement, each facility has site-specific statement of work (SOW) to cover the site’s individual security needs. As a result, GMAC relies on Securitas to provide a broad range of site-specific duties. Officers at Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania, for example, run the identification badging system while officers in Lewisville, Texas maintain and protect the integrity of GMAC’s data center. As Garwood notes, “It’s like trying to get into Ft. Knox there at the Data Center.”
Garwood calls her account manager her “Johnny-on-the-spot,” and appreciates his understanding of GMAC’s company culture and his responsiveness. “He’s been able to respond in the middle of the night when we’ve had situations like a fire or a hole in our building and have sensitive information at risk.”
Garwood reports that this attitude is shared by the officers as well. “The caliber of people at Securitas is very high and they hire good people who use good judgment. Some have been faced with situations that require common sense and that has been very adequately displayed. There is an eagerness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”