Many security experts have even concluded that the greatest vulnerability in the company it’s right inside her. The percentage of thefts and scams that are orchestrated internally is very high and therefore your business plan should contemplate a security strategy within the ordinary budget of expenses.
The starting point to talk about security is to convince the most important person in the organization and it is precisely the owner, manager or directors. Why? For two important reasons:
- Precisely because the issue of prevention is a fairly intangible issue whose benefits are hardly visible unless an event occurs.
- Because security costs can be as high as the level of protection you want.
Hence, then we must be very clear about the importance of implement low-cost security measures and strategies that protect your business without exceeding the limits of your budget.
The second important aspect is to be clear about the areas that you must protect against attacks and attacks and according to the studies, the main ones are:
- Exterior Security
- Internal security
- Informatic security
Of course, in addition to allocating a certain budget to security (between 5% and 20%), you can observe a series of measures and habits that will help you reduce the possibility of risks and save thousands of dollars in protection systems:
- Select reliable staff. Optimize your recruitment processes and human resources to hire solvent people who lack financial problems whenever possible to reduce the possibility of temptations within your organization. Socio-economic studies are very reliable and help especially when the contracts are for positions where they have to handle money.
- Establish identification mechanisms. Provide your employees with photo badges, identity codes, passwords and personalized users in the systems and in general any mechanism that allows establishing at all times who is responsible for everything within the company as well as the hours of entry and exit from each person. This may sound cumbersome but it is essential to be able to claim responsibility at all times.
- Implement audit mechanisms. A simple but effective audit consists of regularly randomly and surprisingly verifying that your staff is fulfilling their responsibilities in an orderly manner. It consists of requesting that they show you important documentation such as receipts, invoices and totally square boxes and up to date. This control will allow you to detect possible suspicious or abnormal actions and take preventive measures before an event occurs.
- Be very jealous of information. Information is one of the most important assets of your company. Do not allow anyone to have open access to all kinds of data such as customers, products, inventories and prices. And much less financial and banking information. Be very jealous and selective and allow only a few people you trust to have access.
- Use formal control mechanisms. Many businesses in their quest to reduce costs use informal accounting mechanisms that are often entirely at the discretion of employees, allowing the possibility of altering the systems and reporting less billing than the real one. A good investment that will help you have more control is investing in automated control systems such as cash registers and warehouse and inventory software systems.
- Train your staff against criminal events. It never hurts to pay a security company to train your staff on how to act in critical situations or prevent possible attacks such as robberies, kidnappings and assaults. A better trained employee it can make a difference for the sake of reducing losses from these kinds of situations.
- Protect your vehicles with satellite systems. One of the best mechanisms to reduce attacks against your merchandise transport vehicles is installing satellite location systems. These are not only very effective in terms of location but also help criminals to leave before attacking your vehicles. The costs of these systems are not low but they have tended to be more and more accessible. And make sure it has a highly visible sticker that says “Truck protected by satellite system.”
- Invest in IT security. Systems security is increasingly important as many frauds can be perpetrated from the network (internally or externally). Taking advice and implementing certain minimum actions such as the acquisition of a good firewall, antivirus or regular habits of changing passwords and taking backup copies will reduce the chances of risk.
- Consider automated surveillance systems. If your budget allows it or the needs demand it, you can install a surveillance camera system that allows you to monitor both the movements of customers within your store and the actions of your employees within the company. Some systems can be very functional with one or two cameras and there are even systems that allow remote monitoring from the Internet either at home or from any organization.
- Invest in insurance. Another useful alternative, especially if your business is located in high-risk areas, is the acquisition of insurance. Insurance can be much less expensive than you might think and can be very useful when recovering your assets. Consider insurance against theft, fire or total or partial destruction of your assets.
- Strengthen security in your premises or office. Thinking strategically about protection means determining the possible weak points where a criminal could try to enter your premises. In that sense, reinforce your main doors and windows with access to the street with more resistant materials or more secure locks.
- Install automatic infrared lights. Infrared security lights placed in hallways, patios, and offices can be very helpful in warding off intruders. These systems can be found even in the supermarket, they are inexpensive and will not take more than 30 minutes to install.
Other recommendations.
Always be on the lookout for strange behavior on the part of your employees that may denote suspicious activity such as:
- Check-in and check-out after hours.
- Changed documents
- Small missing boxes (ant theft)
- Use of backpacks or bags when entering or leaving the company.
Recommended actions in case of being a victim of a criminal event
Finally, if with all you or your business have been the victims of robbery, assault or kidnapping. Or if you detect any fraudulent activity within your organization, always observe these actions:
- Keep calm
- Report immediately to the police in your area or locality, they will know how to proceed
- Avoid defending yourself or reacting violently against assailants or thieves
- Avoid touching objects in your premises if criminal presence is suspected
- Make a formal report of what happened
- Assess the situation and strengthen your overall security measures
Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning, the limit in terms of security is only defined by the budget. Hiring security guards, surveillance patrols, cash transfer and safekeeping systems, and other more sophisticated and expensive measures are always good. if your investment capacity and the size of your business allow it.
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