No matter the nature of your business or the industry you are in – if you have a shop, office, warehouse or commercial premises then you likely have valuable equipment, stock, property or cash that resides within it.
Be taking the necessary steps to safeguard your property from intruders you will not only be protecting your investment but your staff and employees as well as helping to prevent potential financial loss and disruption to your business and customers.
Here are 10 things that can help you to protect your business from intruders;
Risk Assessments
By identifying where your business and premises are most vulnerable you will be better equipped to put in place the correct processes and strategies to help prevent your business from being targeted. These risk assessments should take into account both internal and external safety measures as well as access and personnel. They should be carried out every 6 months and involve a minimum of 2 people in order to better identify gaps in security measures or alternatively you can hire an external professional risk assessment service to carry it out for you.
Security Solutions
This can cover a wide range of security measures designed to help fortify, strengthen and protect your business premises. The type and amount you need will depend on the type of business and the property but can include;
- Reinforced doors
- CCTV Systems
- Intruder alarms
- Security lighting
- Shutters or grilles
- Security mirrors
- Motion sensors
- Security gates
- Access control
- Door entry systems
If you are based in Essex then Colne Valley Security provide affordable, high quality commercial intruder alarms Chelmsford.
Protect Employees
Ensure that staff are properly trained so they know what to do in the unfortunate event that they are threatened or in danger from someone gaining access to or attempting to steal from your business. Displaying warning signs that inform people you do not keep cash on site overnight and that there is CCTV as this can act as a good deterrent.
Equipment
This will be fully dependant on your business but where relevant be sure to secure valuable items or equipment to the floor, walls or in a secure space out back – especially when the premises are empty. Assign a responsible team member to carry out regular equipment audits and tag things like computers and keep records of serial numbers.
Employee Theft
It’s hard to think of your staff or employees in this way but it is important to take the necessary steps to ensure that stealing from your business isn’t even possible. When hiring new workers take the time to verify previous employment history and check references – even if it’s for short term or part-time staff. Inform all team member of your clear theft policies and exercise caution when trusting others with valuable access or information.
Make sure more than one person is responsible for things like stock checks, financial books, till money and petty cash so that one person alone does not have sole access and therefore the opportunity to steal unnoticed.
Protect Your Stock
Ensure that you stay on top of all paperwork and don’t rely on your staff alone to keep things in line. Checking all documentation, admin, bookkeeping and accounts yourself allows you to be better organised and identify any discrepancies in your stock count or things like excessive amounts of voids, credits or damage claims. This also works as a warning to those who may try to sneak things past you and staff will be much less likely to consider taking advantage if they know you run a tight ship.
Fitting anti-theft tags and labels or exploding ink devices will prevent theft or make stock unusable if stolen and lead thieves to look elsewhere for goods to steal.
Prevent Information Theft
It is essential to protect any sensitive information your business may hold including things like client information, financial records and employee details. Be sure to use access controls on computers to restrict entry where relevant and regularly change passwords.
It’s important to ensure that your IT systems are up to scratch, adequately protected from external threats and properly maintained with up to date firewalls and anti-virus software.