10 Ways You Can Improve Business Security
10 Ways You Can Improve Business Security
Are you concerned about the safety of your business? If so, follow these helpful methods in order to improve your business security once and for all.
Keyword(s): business security
There are over 27 million shoplifters in the United States. That's one out of every 11 people.
Even if your business doesn't sell material products, making sure your business is secure is still important. Someone could come in and steal expensive equipment.
They could also steal company secrets and access to financial information if you store your information on a backup drive. No matter what type of business you run, you have something worth protecting.
You need to know how to ensure your business is secure. Here are 10 ways you can improve your business security.
1. Get and Use Security Cameras
Security cameras are a great idea for any type of business. But if you own a shop that sells products, cameras should be installed.
But it's not just the customers you have to worry about. One in three employees admits they've committed some degree of employee theft. That's a $40 billion dollar issue that businesses then have to pay for.
Sure, some of them might just be stealing a few pens or pads of paper. Unfortunately, others are all too happy to steal money or high-end products. Especially since 75% of all employee crimes go unnoticed.
When security cameras are installed, it puts a halt to both customer and employee theft. That's peace of mind you can afford to invest in.
2. Install Door Chimes
Any business selling products would do well to install door chimes for added business security. Not only do they sound lovely, it's a great way to alert your staff that a new customer has arrived.
This is helpful because if an employee is in the back, they may not be aware someone is in the store. It promotes better customer service by allowing your employees to know exactly when someone left or arrived in your store.
But door chimes also prevent theft. Thieves know you're now aware of their presence in your store. Thieves don't like calling attention to themselves, which means door chimes put them at a great disadvantage.
3. Invest in an Alarm System
If you sell high-end items or have a business where theft is common, an alarm system is a great idea.
Businesses like dental practices and doctors offices get broken into a lot. That's because the thieves are looking for drugs. Whether you keep drugs on the premises or not, their act of breaking in causes damage.
For people who sell high-end items like jewelry, an alarm system will go a long way towards preventing theft. Unlike the movies, most thieves want to pull off the easiest and safest job they can. Investing in an alarm system tells them it's better to go somewhere else.
4. Use Strong Passwords
Don't forget that thieves don't actually have to enter your store to steal from you. That's why using strong passwords is an essential part of your business security plans.
Don't use words as your password. Instead, use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols to ensure your passwords are hard to crack.
Use both capital and lower case letters. Make your passwords long and don't use familiar phrases. Also, don't use the same passwords for several of your accounts.
Otherwise, hackers will have a field day if they figure it out. The best way to get a password that neither a computer nor a human can crack is to use an app like KeePass to help you develop and remember your passwords.
5. Change Your Passwords
While it would be great to simply create a password and use it forever, it doesn't really work like that in the real world. It's better and safer for you to change your passwords periodically. Changing them periodically should be part of your business security system.
Try changing them every three to six months to ensure computers can't hack it. Also, if you have a lot of employee turnover, it makes more sense to change your passwords so that any past employees can't hack into your accounts.
6. Create Systems for Locking Up the Office
Creating a system for locking up the office at the end of the day is important to business security. If there is no system, it's easy for an employee to forget to lock up.
They might also forget and leave something important out in the open, leaving your store more vulnerable to thieves. A system ensures that everyone will follow the same procedures in exactly the same way each night.
If possible, try to have the same person be responsible for locking up at the end of each day. If that's not possible, just make sure there is a checklist for the responsible party to follow.
7. Create an Emergency Disaster Plan
Emergencies don't happen often, but they do happen. A threat can happen as a result of the weather or at the hands of another human. It's best to be prepared.
Create a communication plan for your employees. Discuss with them what their responsibilities are should something happen. Have a spot where everyone meets up if the building needs to be evacuated.
Practice your plan so that should something horrible happens, everyone knows what to do. Make sure you have survival kits available for every employee.
Items to include are clean drinking water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, and a first-aid kit. Have each employee bring in and keep a comfortable pair of walking shoes.
8. Train Your Staff to Increase Business Security
The better trained your staff is on business security, the less likely you are to become a victim. Employees will know you take theft seriously and will be less likely to steal from you.
They'll also be more in a position to know exactly how to handle a situation should a theft or something else occur while they're working. Your employees will be more likely to take proper precautions to keep them and your store safe.
9. Educate Employees About Potential Scams
What you don't know can hurt you. Especially when it comes to scams. There are new ones coming out practically every day.
Whether it's a web-based security scam or a customer claiming they paid with a $20 bill rather than the $5 bill they actually gave you, the more educated your staff is, the less likely you'll become a victim.
10. Hire the Experts
When it comes to business security, only the experts can help you ensure you're completely covered.
We can recommend and install the perfect security solutions for your company. Don't wait to become a victim. View our products now.