security tips for your business

GENERAL security tips

Have your employees keep their personal effects in a secure location, such as a locked desk or filing cabinet.

Have a key management system and limit the number of employees having keys or install an access control system to monitor who comes in and out of your facility and when.

Make security a company benefit by promoting the value of vigilance and providing training for all employees, including cleaning staff, so that they are familiar with security procedures and know your expectations.

Establish security teams that have specific duties.

Communicate routine practices for deliveries and shipments so personnel can recognize unusual behavior.

Discuss protocols for greeting visitors and exposing imposters. Challenge any strangers who enter your work area. Ask for identification. Call a supervisor or security for help.

Establish identification and badging procedures.

Make sure that all outside entrances and inside security doors have deadbolt locks. If you use padlocks, they should be made of steel and kept locked at all times.

Windows should have secure locks and burglar-resistant glass. Consider installing metal grates on all your windows except the display window.

Move all valuable merchandise away from doors and windows to prevent "smash and grab" thefts.

Make sure you can see easily into your business after closing.

Light the inside and outside of your business, especially around doors, windows, skylights, or other entry points. Consider installing covers over exterior lights and power sources to deter tampering.

If you have a retail store, make sure that your entire sales floor can be easily viewed. Eliminate any blind spots that may hide a robbery in progress. Keep displays neat and place small and valuable objects in cabinets. Ensure that your staff is familiar with all of the merchandise in the store.

Do not tag your keys with the name of your business.

Change locks if the keys are lost or not returned by a former employee or get an access control system with programmable keyfobs.

Install an annunciator on entrances to alert you that someone has entered your store or office.

Keep detailed, up-to-date records. Store back-up copies off the premises. If you are ever victimized, you can access losses more easily and provide useful information for law enforcement investigations.

Make bank deposits often and during business hours. Do not establish a regular pattern. Take different routes at different times during the day.

Don't write down safe combinations.

Mark all equipment, including computers and cash registers, with an identification number (tax ID or license). Keep a record of all identification numbers off the premises with other important records.

Realize that if you have business products, inventory, equipment, or money you have what someone else wants and you need to protect your assets.

Think about what is on a piece of paper before you toss it into the trash. If it is sensitive information, tear it up or use a shredder.

Think before talking about the details of your job or working on sensitive projects in public places such as restaurants, airplanes, classrooms, and gyms.

Organize a business watch, patterned after the Neighborhood Watch concept. Get to know the people who operate the businesses in your area. Watch for suspicious activity and report it to the police immediately. 

When it is dark out create a buddy system for walking to parking lots or public transportation or ask security to escort you to your car.

If a thief confronts you or your employees, cooperate because merchandise and cash can always be replaced but people can't!

Be cautious around elevators, if you are uncomfortable stepping into an elevator because the someone looks suspicious wait for the next elevator. Stand next to the controls when you ride incase you feel threatened you can push the emergency buttons.

OUTSIDE your place of business

Light the entryways of your facility to make hiding or entering undetected more difficult.

Avoid landscaping that provides hiding places.

Put away ladders or other objects that would assist a burglar in reaching an upper window.

Do you have privacy fencing? If someone gets into your facility, would the fence provide cover for the burglar while he breaks in?

Keep doors and gates locked, an obvious step that most victims have ignored.

Check the parking lot for good lighting and unobstructed views.

Install locking gates, and eliminate possible hiding places, such as trees, shrubbery, stairwells, and alleys.

PREVENT employee theft

Employee theft may be the most critical threat to your operation. Provide access to assets on a need-only basis.

Establish layers of security: Secure portable items with locks and lock the rooms in which they are stored.

Have eyes and ears when you're not there. Depending on your business, something as simple as a closed circuit television system may serve both as a deterrent and as a way of recording information.

For a list of security and safety tips for your home see our Residential Security Tips Section.

Sources:

The National Crime Prevention Council

The National Security Institute

The Security Resource Center

Minnesota Crime Watch

Burglary Prevention Council