5 ways businesses can improve their security

For any business, a loss of earnings or disruption to daily operations comes at a cost. And sadly, commercial premises continue to be routinely targeted by would-criminals, with both opportunistic and pre-meditated crime on the rise.

The darker mornings and evenings seen in winter, not to mention festive shutdowns enjoyed by many businesses, often coincide with an increase in burglaries. Plus, the rise in working from home and other changes to workplace patterns may mean premises are now being used in different ways. It’s therefore vital to have a comprehensive and up to date security plan in place.

If you haven’t reviewed your physical security plans recently, then there’s no better time to ensure they are as robust as they need to be.

For starters, here are 5 simple steps you can take to boost physical security and protect your business today.

1. Put someone in charge of security

One simple step you can take is to give responsibility for security to a specific person within your organisation. This is one of the best ways to ensure it doesn’t get overlooked or fall off the radar.

Putting someone in charge of security doesn’t require that person to be a security expert. You’re essentially just appointing someone to be the main contact for security related aspects of your business and to report back on it regularly.

If you’re the business owner, you may decide to take on this responsibility yourself. However, you need to consider what happen if you’re away from the office a lot or travel often as part of your role. Is there someone else who may be better suited, as they are on site and aware of the day-to-day happenings?

It could be a natural fit for an office manager, or someone who focused on facilities management within your company.

2. Limit access to your business premises

For smaller businesses in particular, it may be tempting to give all your team members – or at least a significant number of them – the ability to access the premises as and when they need to, without having to wait for a specific key holder to be present. But this can be risky.

You need to think carefully about access control, such as who is holding keys to your premises and who has access to security information, such as your alarm codes.

Here are just some of the things you need to consider:

• When did you last review this process?
• Who currently has keys and why?
• What training have they had and when was it given?
• How are you ensuring employees are safe if they’re the first one in, or last one out?
• When did you last update the alarm codes and do you do that as standard whenever employees leave the company?

Limiting who has keys and security alarm codes will reduce your risk but you could also consider calling on the services of an external security company, who can manage locking and unlocking the premises for you, taking pressure off employees.

3. Put a maintenance plan in place

It’s all well and good putting security measures and technologies in place but unless they are regularly reviewed and core maintenance issues are tackled, they could end up letting you down at the crucial moment. For example, having a robust access control system at the main entrance is going to be pointless if there is a broken side door or window that may offer an easy way in.

Have a maintenance plan in place that includes regularly checking your security measures, such as security alarms, are working properly and being serviced when appropriate.

Your maintenance plan should also cover off broader site maintenance, such as regularly checking that windows and doors are closing and locking properly and that any issues are reported and remedied quickly. Another area to check is foliage around the building. If it has overgrown, it could provide screening or block CCTV visibility and hide what a criminal is up to.

4. Have a contingency plan

A big part of making sure your business security is up to scratch is having a plan in place ready for should the worst happen. That is because investing in all the security measures in the world can still never 100% guarantee that your business won’t becomes a victim of crime.

A contingency plan – or business continuity plan – should outline the steps you will take in the event you suffer a break-in, arson attack, or similar. What happens next? Who will be responsible for what? And how will the business keep going for a day, a week, a month or however long it takes for normality to resume?

Make sure your plan covers any assets that may be targeted in a break-in too, such as sensitive data or expensive equipment that may be on site. What will you do if it is lost or damaged?

Planning for the worst-case scenario not only ensures you’re in the best position possible to bounce back but can help you think things through thoroughly, so you’re taking every possible step to prevent an issue occurring in the first place.

5. Seek the support of a security expert

One of the best ways businesses can ensure they have robust and comprehensive security measures in place, is to seek the advice of a specialist provider.

At Venture, we’re proud to work with businesses of all sizes and will tailor our solutions to fit the exact needs of our customers, giving them complete peace of mind.

Some of our most popular services include:

• Mobile security patrols – where we conduct patrols of customer premises at random times, checking the site is secure and reducing any window of opportunity for a crime to occur

• Key holding and alarm response – where we hold keys to clients’ premises and will attend the premises where needed if an alarm is going off, removing all risk from employees

• Locks and unlocks – where we hold keys to clients’ premises and will accompany employees in their duties, or entirely manage unlocking and securing the site as needed by the business

Looking for a security provider you can trust?

At Venture, we work with businesses based across Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset and the surrounding areas, providing a range of professional security services.

Whether you’re looking for static guarding, mobile patrols, key holding and alarm response, or support with the locking and unlocking of your premises, we can help.

To find out more, or for a quote, please call us 01264 391538 or email office@venturesec.co.uk