Key takeaways
- Separate the operational site group from the board group; they need different detail.
- Guards post shift notes, visitor issues and incidents with photos in the site group.
- With CGuard Pro, only on-duty guards can read the site group and fired guards are removed instantly.
- The 🚨 alert notifies the whole group at once; residents still call the local emergency number.
- Owners and admins can audit and export group conversations; direct messages stay private.
A condominium has more people involved in security than most sites: guards who rotate, a front desk or concierge, a property manager, a board elected by residents and often a security company with its own office. Each group sees part of the picture. When they coordinate through radio, a paper logbook and a personal chat the previous manager set up, things fall through the gaps between them.
Why condo security communication breaks down without a system
- The logbook stays at the desk. The property manager and the board learn about incidents days later, if at all.
- Personal chats outlast people. Guards who no longer work the building remain in groups that share gate codes and resident names.
- Too many people in one chat. When the board, residents and guards share a group, sensitive details leak and real alerts get lost in complaints.
- No clear escalation path. A guard doesn’t know whether to call the manager, the board president or the security company first.
For a sector overview, see communication for condos and HOAs.
The workflow in C Chat
- Shift start. The incoming guard reads the pinned standing orders and the last shift note in the site group.
- During the shift. Visitor problems, deliveries that need attention, alarms and patrol findings go into the site group, with photos when useful.
- Incidents. The guard posts a structured incident message (template below). The property manager replies with next steps.
- Emergencies. The guard uses the one-tap 🚨 alert to notify the whole group, after or while calling the local emergency number.
- Daily summary. The property manager posts a short summary in the board group: incidents, open issues, decisions needed.
The structure follows the same idea as site groups: one chat per location.
Group setup and message template
| Group | Members |
|---|---|
| [Building] – Security site | Guards on duty, front desk, property manager, security company office |
| [Building] – Board | Board members, property manager |
| [Building] – Vendors | Manager, front desk, maintenance vendors as guests |
If the security company runs CGuard Pro, the site group is created through the CGuard Pro integration with the on-duty guards, the office and the client. Guards off duty cannot read the site group, and a guard who is fired is removed instantly — the workflow in removing former guards shows why that matters in residential buildings. The step-by-step setup is in how to set up site groups for security teams.
Pin this incident template in the site group:
INCIDENT – [time] – [location: tower, floor, gate, parking level] What happened: … People involved: [unit numbers, not names, where possible] Action taken: … Photos: attached Follow-up needed by: [manager / security company / maintenance]
Roles, oversight and records
Make the property manager an admin of the team. Depending on your management agreement, a board officer can be an owner. The security company’s supervisor should be in the site group so problems reach the company that employs the guard.
C Chat encrypts messages in transit with TLS and at rest with AES-256 using per-organization keys. With auditable encryption, team owners and admins can audit and export group conversations. Security companies that use CGuard Pro can audit groups and security-related chats with their guards and office. Direct messages between people remain private. The platform itself only accesses content to moderate reported messages or for legal requirements, and that access is logged.
Guards who work alone overnight can add a regular check-in routine; see lone guard check-ins. Buildings with a garage often share patterns with parking operators, and cleaning crews can follow cleaning crews at client sites.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Adding every resident to the security group. Keep operations with the people who act on them.
- Using full names and unit numbers together in incident posts. Use the minimum needed.
- No board summary. Without it, board members start messaging guards directly.
- Treating the chat as an emergency line. Residents and guards should always call the local emergency number first.
Getting started
Create a team for the property or ask your security company whether it uses CGuard Pro, which sets up the site group for you. Add the board and vendor groups, pin the standing orders and the incident template, and invite people by QR code at the front desk. Start free at getcchat.com/c, and see the security companies page for the provider side.
Frequently asked questions
Who should be in the condo security group?
The guards working the property, the front desk or concierge, the property manager and, if your contract allows it, a supervisor from the security company. Board members usually do better in a separate summary group than in the hour-by-hour operational chat.
Can residents join the security chat?
They can be invited as guests to a group, but most buildings should not add residents to the operational site group. Use a separate group for building announcements and keep guard-level detail with the people who act on it.
What happens when the security company changes guards?
If the security company uses CGuard Pro, site groups follow the schedule: guards on duty can read, guards off duty can't, and guards who are let go are removed instantly. Without CGuard Pro, an admin adds and removes guards manually.
Does the board get a record of incidents?
Team owners and admins can audit and export the team's group conversations, so incidents posted in the site group can be reviewed later. Decide in advance who on the board or management side holds that role.