7 Steps You Can Take Today To Make Your Business Safer.
There are situations where a one-time security breach or issue creates a loss for a business. However, most challenges with theft, security breaches, and inventory loss is not a result of a single incident, but rather a factor of an ineffective security program throughout the business.
Don’t wait for another security incident to happen; be proactive in significantly enhancing security levels and helping to prevent security threats by taking the following steps.
1. Hire Security Officers
Hiring a security company to provide security officers for a business is a highly effective deterrent for both internal and external threats to the business.Security officers are trained to spot specific types of behaviors by employees, customers, vendors, and other people on the premises, helping to prevent physical loss and theft as well as monitor access to sensitive areas, computers, or other systems.
Security officers can be placed in strategic positions, such as entry points, loading docks, and at key areas within the business. Officers are available 24/7, or can be scheduled to meet your specific security needs.
2. CPTED Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
Crime prevention through environmental design or CPTED is an effective way to prevent both theft and loss. Carefully setting up offices, warehouses, and retail spaces to have clear visibility is critical, as is the positioning of areas where access is provided.
CPTED also includes increasing traffic to the area and making the business visible from the outside. Effective lighting inside and outside the building also makes it easy to see into and out of the space, increasing the risk for anyone attempting illegal or unauthorized activities.
3. Inventory devices (phone, keys, access cards, laptops)
Keeping accurate records and control over who has access to your facilities and records is key to the security of your facility and data.
Complete records of who has keys and access cards is crucial to maintaining safety in your building. You should always replace the locks when you find keys that have been lost.
Laptops should be password protected and have tracking devices. Protect your cell phones just like your computers because they contain the same sensitive data.
4. Put together and document security policies
Create a set of company policies for your business. Detailed policies outlining who can have access to certain areas and when they are allowed access makes for a safer place of business. Ensure that all employees are aware of the policies and following them. Sticking to your implemented policies for safety and security creates an environment that is less likely to encounter a security threat
5. Training on the dangers of piggybacking and tailgatingControlling access to your property or your business is only as good as the implementation of the security plan by employees.
Piggybacking, or employees allowing others to enter on their security pass or login, creates an increased risk of a loss of assets to the business and a potential safety hazard to the employees.
Tailgating, which occurs when people sneak in after an employee, is an even bigger risk to the facility and people inside. Training employees on secure entry and exit processes can eliminate these issues.
6. Review your lighting and camera needs
As in the discussion of CPTED, lighting and cameras are both a deterrent as well as an essential part of overall security. Cameras and lighting have to be strategically placed to provide both a record of people in and out of critical areas, as well as to ensure clear visibility. Make a plan to check cameras and lighting regularly for damage and working condition as well as reassessing the need for them in other areas of your building.
7. Train staff on a security plan
Make routine training on security and safety in the business a priority. By keeping security front and center in the minds of employees, it becomes a natural part of the daily routine rather than just a temporary focus.
