Who Has Access to Your Offices?

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to maintain a safe and secure working environment. Fortunately, there are many simple and inexpensive security measures that can be put into place, even if you lease your space.

Possibly the most important measure you can take is to control access. Even if the building you’re in already has some form of access control, you may want to install additional controls for anyone entering your business space.

Security experts know from interviews with criminals that they scope out a business’s security measures when making a decision about where they’ll attack. (Be sure to keep building management informed of any security you install.)

Do you have an identification system?

If your business is large enough that a stranger could gain entry unquestioned; if you have concerns about a former employee; or if you have valuable equipment that could easily be carried off by an intruder, you should put an entry ID system in place for vendors, visitors, staff, contractors.

A buzzer system that allows you to identify who is entering and a sign-in sheet at the reception desk may be all that is needed. Your system can also include an electronic, paper, or other type of badge identification system. The best are ID badges that show a photo, company name, and company logo.

If you need more than that, there are many inexpensive electronic badge swipe systems or code systems (search “access control” or “security company” or “alarm company”). These can be designed to work with as few as one or two doors. Both kinds are easily updated, and eliminate the hassle of keeping track of keys, and of getting them back from former employees or suppliers.

Choose a vendor who will walk through your premises with you to create a plan customized for your needs and budget. You may also want to limit access to specific areas within your place of business using an electronic entry system.

Is every access point secure?

The best system limits entry and exit to one specific point of access. However, if you find that you have large numbers of people arriving at one time, you may have to use more than one entry/exit access point. If this is the situation, be sure to utilize control systems at each one.

If you are not the property owner, do you know who is responsible for physical security in the building?

What controls are in place? Landlords are responsible for security plans, and for making tenants aware of these plans.

Is entry to your premises outside of normal business hours closely monitored?

Always have a good sign-in/sign-out access control system for staff, cleaning crews, workmen, property management, and so on. Anyone with off-hours access to your premises needs to be background-checked and perhaps even bonded.

If you need to install closed-circuit televisions in your workspace, there are reasonably priced ones with zoom, pan, and night-vision capabilities.

Do your employees know your company’s access policies?

Even if you are a small business, you need to have an employee manual that clearly states policies and procedures, including who can access your workspace, when they can enter, and for what reasons. Put this in writing and make sure every staff member understands the rules. Update it on a regular basis. In any security breach situation, the employees are the first line of defense. Equip and inform them.

How well do you know your building?

You should have a good knowledge of non-utilized areas in the building and how they are being restricted, and also know where the security cameras are in your building. Lighting is also very important, so make sure that there are no dark pockets near the entrance to or exit from your space (install low-cost lighting and brighter bulbs yourself if you have to).

These simple and inexpensive small steps can really make a difference in keeping your employees and clients safe and focused on the work at hand.