Workplace Security has been a chief concern for professional businesses for generations – but has attained new importance in recent years. Indeed, the crime rate in America is higher now than it was before the coronavirus pandemic.
Businesses are also at their most precarious, as the pandemic routed profits and increased the cost of logistics across the board. As such, suffering a single instance of fraud or burglary could be the difference between success and bankruptcy for businesses on the brink. But what approaches can you take to protect your business premises from would-be criminals?
Tips for Securing Your Workplace:
Install Security Lighting:
As far as physical location security is concerned, deterrence is the best form of protection. Once a crime has occurred, the risk of that crime going unsolved is introduced. Prevention of criminal activity is the only effective way to mitigate the impact on your business.
One of the more effective deterrents for physical security is that of security lighting. High-powered lights will illuminate your perimeter and render routes of entry visible to others. Using photocontrols to trigger the lighting when activity is sensed will startle any criminal attempting entry.
Install Alarm Systems:
This same principle is what drives the success of internal alarm systems. While alarms are useful in alerting police and security to crimes in progress, they are designed more as a deterrent – to alert passers-by as well as workplace security staff to potential ingress, and to drive trespassers to leave before being discovered. As such, a simple alarm system can further deter would-be trespassers, where security lighting has failed.
RFID Entry:
Of course, not all trespasses are forced. Criminals, whether thieves or fraudsters, can make their way into your workplace in broad daylight. They might do so by pretending to be a courier or visitor from another business, before gaining access to restricted areas in your complex.
Properly addressing secure entry to your premises can help you better control who gains access to confidential or valuable materials. One modern solution can be found in the form of RFID, the technology behind contactless card payments. RFID-enabled locks can allow you to attribute individual employees with individual permissions; logistical personnel might be granted keycard or fob access to warehouse areas but not executive offices.
Staff Training:
Workplace security has come to take on a whole new meaning in the 21st century, with cybercrime just as much a threat to businesses as physical breaking-and-entering – and in some cases, with the former aiding the latter.
With this in mind, perhaps the most important safety-related intervention you can make is to properly train your employees. Training is king in a variety of circumstances, from proper approaches to locking up premises to vetting calls and emails. Criminals might attempt to extract information such as key codes and locations of valuables via phishing scams, which can be caught with the proper training.
