How Secure is Your Business? Top 5 Physical Security Risks and How to Mitigate Them

Security for your business premises can seem like an overwhelming concept, but with these 10 top tips, you’ll be able to protect your staff and property like a pro. To find out the top threats we see on the job that are often ignored, keep reading!

1. Unaccounted Visitors

Not keeping track of who is in your premises at one time could have varying consequences on businesses. Whether your office, warehouse, or business premises contains valuable assets, sensitive data, or dangerous machinery, admitting unrecognized personnel could be a serious security breach and a threat to your staff’s safety.

Whether you run a bustling business or have a smaller premises, you should always be aware of the risk of an intruder breaching your premises. Access control using either codes or ID cards is vital for businesses to secure both internal and external areas of your building.

2. Document Theft

Legal papers, financial information and personal details are often printed in offices, whether these are filed away securely or left on a desk to be read later. These sensitive documents can go missing and fall into the wrong hands even within your own office.

To prevent sensitive data and documents from leaving the office or being picked up by the wrong person, you should operate a clean desk policy. Internal CCTV monitoring can also be helpful if you have suspicions that an employee has removed a document from its rightful place, offering time stamped HD video recordings for future reference.

3. Manipulative or Violent Behaviour

Whether you work in an office, a warehouse or a retail store, there are a host of reasons why a member of the public or an employee could exhibit violent or manipulative behaviour. Although we would hope that an outburst like this from an employee would not occur again, video recordings can help business owners or managers gather more information about the incident to help provide evidence for internal disciplinaries or police investigations.

4. Out-of-hours Intruders

Although many businesses operate daytime door access control systems, keeping intruders away from your premises during hours when the building is empty is often overlooked. Even if you are using an off-the-shelf video recording device or security system, this may not be enough to deter an intruder, and if you are alerted that an alarm has been activated, you may be too far away to help or prevent further damage.

24hr CCTV systems and intruder alarms with immediate police alerts are one of the only ways to ensure that in the event of a break-in, the intruder would know very quickly that their presence is known. Studies have also shown that the presence of an intruder alarm can be enough to deter unwanted visitors.

5. Pilfering

When you are operating a business, small things going missing can be difficult to spot. However, when these items add up, it can be of significant cost to the company, and shows untrustworthiness which many businesses would prefer to avoid.

Often, simply the presence of security cameras can deter pilfering, and can also promote better time-keeping and productivity.

So, how secure is your business? If you hadn’t considered one or more of the above, it might be time to think about installing a comprehensive security system for your business premises. BDi Advance provides advice and security systems to businesses across Cambridgeshire and East Anglia, with local engineers based in Huntingdon. To arrange a free site survey or to get a quote, complete our contact form today.