It can be a dangerous world, and businesses are just as likely to face break-ins and robberies as the average home. If you feel your office space could use an extra level of protection, you can use several methods to make things safer without inconveniencing your employees or clients. Here are five ways to improve security around the office. Implement them today and give yourself a greater sense of ease.
Educate Your Employees
Your first point of defense is always your employees. They’re the ones out there every day, conducting business, interacting with clients, and keeping things running smoothly. Begin by teaching them how to recognize issues and threats, whether in-person or online. Teach them to watch for suspicious individuals and situations. Let them know how to recognize cyberattacks via emails, texts, links, and the like. Remind them to lock down doors and laptops, and to protect their ID cards, key cards, passwords, and so on.
Protect the Mail
Every day, you receive documents, packages, and other things that might compromise your office’s security. Recognize your mailbox or mail room’s vulnerabilities. Get a mailbox with a lock, especially if it’s outside the facility. Train mail room personnel to screen letters and packages, watching for suspicious things like illegible writing and excessive postage, strange smells, leaks, and other peculiarities.
Add Alarms
Every door and window in your facility should have an alarm that goes off if there’s a breach. But don’t neglect inside doors, especially ones for storerooms, your computer mainframe room, and any other place where you store sensitive info. Educate employees about following protocols to avoid false alarms and prevent outsiders from accessing these areas under false pretenses.
Buy a Safe
Whether you have a safe attached to the underside of your desk or have a large walk-in vault, it’ll protect documents, devices, computer systems, prototypes, and more. Choose one according to your budget and needs, and remember to limit the number of people who have the combination or key. Don’t write the combination on a Post-It and stick it in your desk drawer or attach it to the back of the safe. If possible, periodically change the combination as well.
Be Continually Vigilant
Here’s the fifth of our five ways to improve security around the office. It’s easy to set up a security system and leave it at that, but thieves and hackers rely on that complacency. Regularly review security practices. Screen new personnel before hiring them. Continue to train employees in protecting themselves and the facility. Finally, conduct regular updates to the security of your computer systems. You won’t be sorry.
