You’ve poured everything—heart, soul, blood sweat and tears—into your small business, and the last thing you want is for someone to barge in and take it all away.
Therefore, it’s essential you prioritize security and follow the recommended steps to keep your small business safe.
To decrease your chances of becoming someone’s next target, here are seven essential security tips small businesses use to safeguard their workplace.
1. Hire Private Security
This step has the biggest impact on security, hands down. When criminals see security guards onsite more often than not, they tend to leave the business alone.
There are other perks that private security provide as well. If there’s an emergency, they’re trained to take control of the scene and know what to do to keep people safe until the authorities arrive.
Private security professionals have a positive impact on customers as well. Upon seeing them onsite, most people get the sense that the business values their safety, and wants them to let down their guard and enjoy their shopping experience.
Depending on the type of business you have, you may need round the clock security or perhaps part-time patrol is enough.
Whatever you choose, just know that hiring private security is one of the best ways to keep your business, your employees and your customers safe.
2. Limit Access Control
By limiting access to back-office spaces and only allowing key-card holding employees to enter, it’s a lot harder for criminals to break through.
If your small business is part of a larger compound, implement visitor management protocols, and maintain a detailed log of who enters and exits the premises.
3. Secure the Perimeter
Regardless of the type of small business you have, securing the perimeter is a must. The more you put in place to boost perimeter security, the better.
Here are some of the best ways to accomplish this:
- Install security cameras with recording capabilities that you can access remotely
- Install a burglary alarm
- Set up motion-sensor lighting around all exterior areas
- Make sure all potential entry points are doubly secure, including windows
- If your business has a yard or compound, consider erecting a fence around the entire space or vulnerable areas
- Maintain clear sightlines around the building’s exterior, and remove debris that could act as a potential hiding spot
When burglars are looking for an easy target, they’ll be put off when they see multiple barriers in place, and will move on somewhere else.
4. Establish Employee Security Practices
In order for security to be effective, employees need to know what the security protocols are. Your security training program should cover everything from how to properly handle cash and what to do in an emergency to what the visitor protocol is.
If after-hours work is required, staff two employees so no one is alone.
If there are any panic buttons or alarm systems, brief employees on their whereabouts and when they should use them.
If relevant, employees may also need to understand cybersecurity best practices, and should undergo regular training to ensure they’re aware of the latest threats.
5. Install Surveillance with 24/7 Monitoring Abilities
Position high resolution security cameras with night vision features in critical areas, such as entries, exits, and assets.
Ensure that you’re able to remote in and view what’s happening on premises at all times. Additionally, you’ll want to record the camera footage and store the recorded footage for at least 30-days.
6. Secure All Assets
Valuable assets include the obvious, like merchandise, but data stored on computers, personnel related paperwork, and other info is incredibly valuable too.
Ensure that all cash is locked away in a safe, and cabinets that house sensitive documents are securely locked.
Servers or hard drives with access to sensitive information should be password protected, and secured in a locked metal cage.
Create a system to keep track of inventory, and check it regularly.
7. Be Ready for an Emergency
The effect an emergency has on operations often depends on how prepared you are.
By creating a comprehensive emergency response plan and making sure all employees are aware of what it entails, you’re less likely to be knocked down should an emergency occur.
Your emergency plan should cover it all: what employees are expected to do should a smash-and-grab occur, how to evacuate in case of fire, and more.
Install the proper technology to help: fire alarms, emergency alarm systems, and a detailed plan for evacuation or lockdown procedures.
In order to keep this top of mind, conduct semi-annual security training for all employees.
Conclusion:
Security is a dynamic game of cat and mouse. Those who pay attention and adapt usually do better than those who don’t.
Be ready to reassess and update your strategies as necessary. Remember, when criminals see evidence that business owners take security seriously, they’ll usually move along.
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