Behind the scenes, we’ve worked extensively with Envysion’s product management and technology teams to create as seamless an integration as possible, and the results are spectacular. We commend our counterparts at Envysion for creating a platform that makes it easy and painless to integrate, and thereby add exponential value to surveillance.

Initially, we’ll be offering our advanced ConstantAudit operations auditing service. With ConstantAudit, we’ll deliver interactive, data-based analytic reports on a variety of operational performance indicators, including speed of service and store cleanliness.

ReTel’s analytic reporting services are immediately available through Insight Marketplace to Envysion customers. To learn more about how to trial or purchase, please contact us now or contact our partners at Envysion.

About ReTel Technologies
ReTel Technologies’ hybrid video auditing solutions transform raw surveillance video into interactive, at-a-glance reports that let retailers, convenience stores and restaurants rapidly increase profitability, customer satisfaction and employee performance. ReTel’s solutions deliver key data on operations, merchandising, and loss prevention, with direct links to events for instant access to only the video that matters. ReTel’s solutions are deployed across the globe, with customers ranging from small franchisees to Fortune 50 retailers. For more information, visit www.reteltechnologies.com or call 877-777-0407.

About Envysion
Envysion puts the power of video into the hands of a multi-unit operator’s entire organization, reaching across departments to 1000s of users, to provide unique business insight that delivers 10-15% profitability improvement. The company created the Managed Video as a Service (MVaaS) model, which brings the Software as a Service (SaaS) approach to video. Envysion enables multi-unit operators to leverage remote live and recorded video and provides insight to improve performance in every location, every day. Envysion’s services leverage its scalable, easy to manage, MVaaS platform to eliminate strain on customers’ IT department and network. Today, Envysion’s solutions are driving bottom line profitability improvements with leading restaurant, retail, hospitality and convenience store operators throughout North America. For more information, visit www.envysion.com or call 877.258.9441.

# # #

Envysion Press Contact:
Hayley Coxon
Envysion, Inc.
303.590.2374

XBR Exception #1: Theft that occurs outside the POS. Smarter dishonest employees have come to recognize that certain transaction keys – voids, cancellations and refunds, for instance – are now used by XBR to identify events that should be flagged and reviewed for shrink. Therefore, if they can perform transactions entirely outside of the POS, there is no opportunity for an event to be flagged in the POS. Examples of this include sweethearting (giving product away for free to friends and family), leaving the cash drawer open between transactions, and selling hard-to-inventory items (such as drinks) without using the POS.

XBR Exception #2: Too many false positives. Much like that car alarm down the block, or the boy who cried wolf, too many false positives in any XBR system renders it useless as the personnel assigned to monitor the system either lose the capability to effectively find actual events, or simply lose interest in using the system altogether. While thresholds and triggers can be adjusted to account for false positives, this often comes at the expense of reducing the system’s capability to find actual events – a classic Catch 22 situation. This problem can be exacerbated significantly if multiple locations are using XBR simultaneously, thereby flooding the loss prevention or asset protection department with volumes of events that are too numerous to review.

While these problems are serious, they aren’t impossible to solve. ReTel’s new CashAudit service is designed specifically to both discover shrink events that occur outside of the POS, and also work directly with XBR systems to act as a second filter on captured events to deliver only those that need added LP review to internal auditors. The result? XBR as it should be, and true deterrents to employee theft no matter how many locations need to be monitored. To learn more about CashAudit, please click here.

At a glance, the most significant changes to the new reporting system are as follows:

• Fully customizable HTML format for delivery by email, embedded in 3rd party DVR and VMS viewers, and sharing in any web browser
• Flexible structure allows for rapid customization to tailor information and reports to specific client needs
• Integrated style sheets for re-skinning to match corporate brand and style guidelines
• Full interactivity for added context via video clips linked to report data
• Intuitive and clear design language for simple, at-a-glance reports that make it easy to manage and optimize business performance

In addition to our updated reporting engine, we have also recently updated our online video viewer with a new design and clearer, more intuitive controls.

To learn more about how ReTel can turn your raw surveillance into powerful information you can use to optimize your business, contact us now.

If you are attending, you can hear George speak at 9:15am on Friday, July 23rd on the “Technology Perspectives” panel. You can hear Adam speak at 11:00am on Friday, July 23rd on the “Extending Video Beyond The Enterprise” panel.

We look forward to meeting you at the summit.

There are two things that typically occur when a business installs surveillance for the first time. The first is an immediate jump in employee and business performance, as the Hawthorne Effect takes hold (more on this in a later post). The second thing that happens is either an explicit or implicit rejection of the practice by the business’ employees. We’ll focus on the latter for this post.

The primary reasons for employee rejection of surveillance are two-fold. First, dishonest employees will recognize that the presence of surveillance can potentially reveal this behavior if they continue it, which can lead to negative consequences for them. Second, the general perception of business surveillance is that it is only used negatively for punitive measures. Unfortunately, this second reason for rejection is often untrue.

The best business owners truly use surveillance as a management tool – and that means using it both to discover opportunities for improvement, as well as best practices and great performance that should be rewarded and encouraged. As we’ve spoken to numerous quick serve restaurant (QSR) and convenience store owners, managers and employees, we’ve discovered an interesting problem that faced almost all of them: the best employees would leave because they felt unrecognized. Not only that, but they felt that their opportunities to shine were often sullied by the behavior of other employees who were less inclined to perform.

For owners and managers who actively used surveillance to identify their best employees and reward them, good employee retention became a breeze – and it had an impact on the rest of the employees as well, driving performance higher thoughout the organization. Of course, adding ReTel’s ConstantAudit service has helped many of these owners and managers discover these star employees even sooner, and track better performance more often.

So if you have unsung heroes, use every tool that works to discover them and recognize them. If you don’t have the tools to do this, then get them. The impact on that individual, as well as your entire organization, is well worth the effort.

TechStars startup ReTel Technologies just raised $1 million in seed funding from SoftTech VC, Hyde Park Angels, FF Angel, Maples Investments, eonBusiness and Zelkova Ventures.The funds will be used for product development and to expand ReTel’s engineering and sales teams.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Amazon.com’s AWS Challenge features “the most promising start-ups that can grow into significant, meaningful, and lasting companies that leverage AWS to build its infrastructure and business,” according to Amazon.com

Visit the AWS Challenge website to learn more.

Most large retail stores have surveillance cameras to spot shoplifters. Why not use that video to zoom in on what your customers are drawn to and how much time they spend mulling their options before deciding to buy?

Read the rest of the article here.