Security Measures for Small Businesses

Small businesses are often overlooked in the grand scheme of things when it comes to implementing security measures. These businesses are not on the scale of larger businesses and have more specialized security needs than the average home will need. This means that security for small businesses has often in the past been either insufficient (more along the lines of what is appropriate for home security) or overpriced along the lines of what is appropriate for larger businesses.

The good news is that many of the leading names when it comes to security are beginning to understand the specialized needs of smaller businesses and design security measures that address those specific needs rather than adjusting larger or smaller scaled measures in order to fit into the very targeted needs for security in smaller businesses. The good news is that smaller businesses often do not experience quite the high volume of staff turnover that larger businesses experience. This means the risks of theft by the hands of employees is significantly slimmer than in larger businesses or those with high volume turnover (such as fast food restaurants and mid-sized retail establishments). It does not however eliminate the risks all together.

Small businesses do have the typical security needs that all homes and businesses have. You need to eliminate blind spots on the exterior of the building in order to avoid giving intruders a safe place to hide while breaking in. You also need to leave some lights on inside the building so that police and passersby may notice anything out of the ordinary as far as movement within the building or pay special attention on nights when the lights aren’t on when no one should be ‘home’ so to speak.

You should also trim back any bushes, shrubs, or small trees near possible entry points as they also provide the cover of darkness for those who have bad intentions. Enabling coded entry methods that are individual to each employee is another way in which employees can be easily identified as the one entering or exiting the building after hours should anything go wrong with no witnesses. This doesn’t imply that these cards will eliminate employees as suspects or even identify an employee as a suspect but it may identify who was in the building that may have witnessed something that he or she isn’t even aware is important.

Exterior lighting is another important safety and security feature for small businesses. Not only do you want to protect employees that may be leaving after hours but you should also do so for the protection of customers or patrons who may be on the business property after hours. They can create their own unique liability issue that also happens to threaten the security of your company on a financial level. Insurance is another protection in this instance as well as the right policy can help insure that you are not personally targeted if someone is injured on your business property.

Have an assessment of your businesses security needs performed by a professional security expert in order to discover specific needs that you may encounter in light of your special small business security needs. There is rarely a thing called too much security though there are often instances where security can be more than you can reasonably afford-of course there are some forms of security you simply cannot afford to be without. An expert will help you identify your specific needs and create a plan that works within the limits of your budget.