With cyber threats on the rise, most companies pay more attention to their digital security rather than their physical security. However, whether you’re running an office, store, or bar, chances are your SME has some valuable items within the premises. It’s up to you to make sure no-one can get their hands on them, and the only way to do this is to invest in security measures.
If you’re running a small business, you may not have a huge budget to play with when it comes to security. To make the most of what you do have, you’ll need to complete a risk assessment and decide on the issues that need your immediate attention. Then you can determine whether new locks, grilles or cameras are at the top of your list.
Take a look around your premises and pick out weak spots. If you aren’t sure what they are, it might be helpful to know that weak spots are often windows, doorways and any other parts of the building that aren’t fixed, including windows on the roof. If you run a bar, you may want to consider screens that can be pulled down around the bar to protect your stock.
Other than the obvious (such as locks and alarms), have you considered security grilles to protect your business? If you don’t have them already, investing in high-quality regulatory security grilles could be one of the best decisions you make towards protecting your company.
These will help you to eliminate the possibility of a forced entry, which means it should be at the top of your agenda when it comes to protecting your business.
However, you ought to get security cameras installed too. This will allow you to capture evidence for police, giving you and the authorities an idea of what has happened. Cameras are also a great deterrent to criminals even attempting a break in.
The best locations to install cameras are over entrances and exits, customer transaction points, any possible target areas and secluded areas within your business.
This will help you capture useful investigative images, and could even prevent crime if they’re visible to criminals who might be having second thoughts about targeting your business.
Security measures such as cameras and security grilles are great, but they’re mostly intended for use when the building is empty. For an easy security measure during the day, you could incorporate a visitor management policy whereby visitors are asked to sign in and out at the reception.
If possible, steer all visitors into a controlled entry point where they can sign in and make themselves known. It’s important that you communicate this policy to employees so that they can participate in getting visitors signed in, keeping their eyes open for suspicious behaviour.
As your small business grows, it’s really important that you train employees and keep them up to date with security policies; otherwise they represent quite a big risk to your business.
Start with a security program that is clear and concise, with policies and procedures that are communicated to employees everybody else with access to business data and information.
Teach your employees to be discreet with information about the security you have installed, as well as where you store your sensitive information.
Developing good password management skills is critical in today’s connected world. Failure to properly secure and protect confidential business information can lead to loss of important business data.