A security systems dispatcher assigns service calls, installs and inspections to alarm and low-voltage techs, builds each tech's route, and tells customers when to expect them. Each job goes to someone trained for the system, carrying the parts and cleared for the site, and the day gets reworked when an urgent call lands.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, security systems companies · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the operational hub for field technicians by assigning calls, managing routes, and communicating real-time job status within our Security & Low Voltage division. Ensure seamless coordination between the office and field, contributing directly to enhanced customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assign incoming field calls to the appropriate technicians based on location, skill set, and job urgency.
Manage daily route planning and scheduling to optimize technician efficiency and minimize response times.
Act as the primary communication link between field teams and senior management.
Monitor job statuses and provide timely updates to both customers and internal stakeholders.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and distribute daily field call details and travel routes to technicians.
Update systems with job status and technician availability throughout the day.
Respond to incoming inquiries from customers regarding service statuses and technician ETAs.
Coordinate with the security & low voltage team to resolve scheduling conflicts and ensure timely dispatch.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Job Response Time: Achieve an average dispatch-to-arrival time of <30 minutes.
Route Efficiency: Maintain route optimization with a minimum capacity efficiency of 90%.
Customer Callback Rate: Keep customer callbacks due to scheduling errors at <5%.
Technician Downtime: Ensure technician idle time remains below 10%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a dispatcher or field coordination role within the home services industry.
Proficient in using dispatching software and routing systems.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the security, low voltage, or similar service industries.
Familiarity with mobile workforce management tools and CRM systems.
7. Physical Requirements
Primarily a desk-based role with minimal physical exertion.
Occasional need to lift or move light office equipment up to 15 pounds.
Ability to work in a standard office environment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours with a potential requirement for shift work during peak periods.
Occasional on-call duties during high-demand times or emergencies.
Minimal travel required to visit other company offices or attend industry meetings.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate between $18.00 and $25.00 per hour, based on experience.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401k retirement plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a collaborative and inclusive environment where every team member is valued and empowered to grow.
Our commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction drives innovation and continuous improvement.
Join us to advance your career in a company that values work-life balance and professional development.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Dispatchers everywhere match calls to techs and keep customers informed. In this trade, the job's height, any digging, site access and the monitoring center all change who goes and when.
Lift jobs need an authorized operator
Cameras on warehouse walls, parking lot poles and high ceilings are often hung from a boom lift. On install work, OSHA's construction rule for aerial lifts says only authorized persons may operate one. Keep a list of which techs your company has trained and authorized, book the rental for the day the crew needs it, and put at least one of those techs on every lift job. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.453, aerial lifts.
Digging waits for the utility locate
Running conduit to a gate operator, a camera pole or a parking lot reader means a trench. OSHA's excavation rule says the estimated location of underground utilities must be determined before the excavation is opened, with utility owners contacted within the usual local response times. Request the locate through 811 when the job is booked, and don't schedule the trench until the marks are in. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.651, specific excavation requirements.
Test mode before the tech touches anything
Before a tech works on a monitored system, the account goes on test with the monitoring center so signals don't send police or the fire department. The board should show which sites are on test and until when. Before the office closes, confirm every one came off test, since a forgotten account sits unwatched overnight.
Fire alarm tests bring other trades
A fire alarm test, or a new system's acceptance test, can need the sprinkler contractor, the elevator company, the HVAC tech for duct detectors and the fire inspector there at once. Confirm each of them and the building contact before the date is locked. If one drops out, move the whole visit rather than send a crew that can't finish.
Access is part of the booking
Office towers, schools and data rooms may want badges, escorts, after-hours windows or a work permit from building management, and some won't let a tech in without them. Note each site's rules on the job, check that the tech's name is on the approved list, and send the access details with the route the night before.
How much security systems dispatchers make
Dispatchers who work for security systems companies earned a median of $19.98 an hour ($41,550 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $50,340 median for dispatchers in all industries. About 5,040 of the 202,810 dispatchers in that survey work for security systems companies.
Hourly; some companies pay a bonus when return trips drop. The template's hourly range starts under the BLS median for dispatchers at security systems companies and tops out above it.
Security systems companies
$41,550$41,550 median Middle half $35,670–$49,900 10th–90th $31,090–$59,410
All industries
$50,340$50,340 median Middle half $42,750–$62,450 10th–90th $36,030–$78,140
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Security systems companies
$31,090
$35,670
$41,550
$49,900
$59,410
All industries
$36,030
$42,750
$50,340
$62,450
$78,140
BLS doesn’t publish pay for low-voltage contractors on their own. These figures cover security systems services, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Calm reshuffling of a full board when a business loses its alarm
Exact notes on site access, parts and system type
Comfort with dispatch software, maps and the monitoring center's portal
Plain, honest updates to customers when a tech runs late
A working knowledge of the service area's drive times
Teach these on the job
System types and which techs are trained on each
Test-mode steps with your monitoring center
Booking lifts and utility locates
Your inspection and service agreement terms
Common trouble signals and what each one usually needs
Expect field service software with a map view, the monitoring center's dealer portal for test mode and signal history, and often a project tool that holds install dates. Naming them in the posting shows applicants how many screens they'll juggle.
Security systems dispatcher interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Prioritizing service calls
You have a store whose front door won't lock, a fire alarm panel in trouble at an office, a home with one camera offline and [two] installs. You have [three] technicians. Walk me through your plan.
A strong answer: Sends qualified techs to the fire alarm and the unsecured door first, adjusts installs, puts the camera call later, and calls each customer with an honest time.
Behavioral · Reworking the schedule
Tell me about a day you had to rework the whole schedule by mid-morning. What did you do first?
A strong answer: Took stock, ranked by urgency, called affected customers early and kept techs informed.
Treat the template's goals as placeholders. Track how your own board runs for a month, and settle per-job-type goals with the operations manager.
Job Response Time
Pull the time from dispatch to the tech's arrival from the software's time stamps. Report urgent service calls apart from booked installs and inspections.
Route Efficiency
Compare booked work hours with paid hours on the road for each tech each week, and look at drive time between stops on the map.
Customer Callback Rate
Tag every customer call caused by a missed window, wrong address or wrong tech, and count them against the jobs dispatched.
Technician Downtime
Count paid hours with no job assigned, from the software's status log. Note the cause, such as a waiting part, a site that wasn't ready or a gap on the board.
Who should put an account on test, the dispatcher or the tech?
Either can work if the rule is written down. Many companies have the tech call from the site, so the monitoring center hears the tech's own ID and the exact zones being worked. The dispatcher then watches the clock and checks that the account was restored before the job closes. Pick one way and train everyone on it.
How much does a security systems dispatcher make?
Dispatchers who work for security systems companies earned a median of $19.98 an hour ($41,550 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $35,670 and $49,900 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How does after-hours dispatch work at a security company?
The template lists occasional on-call duty during busy times and emergencies. After hours, the dispatcher on call takes calls from businesses whose doors won't lock, panels that show trouble or systems that stopped reporting. They follow the written priority list, reach the on-call tech and give the customer a realistic arrival time. Calls that can wait get booked for the morning with full notes.
Why is there a 15-pound lifting line in a desk job's template?
The dispatcher works at a desk, and the template says as much. The lifting covers light office equipment: moving a monitor when desks get rearranged, carrying a printer, or bringing in a box of paper tickets and maps. Spell that out in the posting. If a person asks for another way to handle one of these, talk through an accommodation.
Is a former alarm tech a good fit for dispatch?
Often, yes. A former tech knows how long a panel swap or a camera add really takes, reads trouble signals well and earns the field's trust fast. Test the parts the field didn't teach: a calm phone manner with upset customers, typing while talking and keeping a whole board in mind. A CSR who knows your systems is the other common source.
