It is no question that safety is one of the most important aspects of human living. In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety and security have the second biggest share next to physiological needs (food, water, shelter). That’s why to meet this specific need, companies and businesses spend millions of dollars on a plethora of workplace safety and security programs and systems.
The biggest benefit of investing in a safe and secure office might be the fact that they can lower company costs by not paying medical bills due to work-related injuries.
If you are an employer, you might be wondering how do you achieve security and safety in the office space. If you are, here are some tips you can apply to your workplace.
7 Steps to Make Safe and Secure Office
1. Ensure Compliance With Applicable Laws and Regulations
Following regulations and laws your country or locality ordered will not get you into trouble, it will even make you and your employees safer.
Make sure to have emergency exits, emergency plans, and training to your employees. You can go to your local municipality or check your government website to know these protocols.
Conforming to safety and security standards are not put to jeopardize you; they are put to keep you safe and secure.
2. Install Necessary Alarms Across the Workplace
You might be in a neighbourhood where crime is at the least possible amount or at an establishment that was made safe to the possible extent but having alarms still should be one of the company’s necessities when it comes to your safety.
You cannot tell when a burglary or fire would occur so it’s best to have alarms that would ring whenever something happens.
3. Hire Teams That Ensures Security And Safety
How would your company’s security measures be effective if there is no security team to monitor and track it? In the main exit of the company, have at least two guards that would inspect people coming in. You can designate one security personnel to inspect males and the other females.
You can also have one for the entrance and one for the exit. If your company has state-of-the-art sensors like the ones they have on airports, one can frisk employees, and the other can check their bags.
You should also have a team that watches security footage 24/7. In case a break-in happens, they can alert all security guards, ring the alarms present in the building, and call the local authorities. If this cannot be done, at least have strong locks on every entryway possible.
4. Install CCTV Cameras
Security cameras are made available in the market to make sure that you have footages of everything that is happening in the company, use them for your advantage.
Having security cameras enables you to save the captured videos that could be used as evidence in case something happens.
5. Make Cybersecurity A Top Priority
In the modern age, not only physical objects can be stolen, even cyber networks inside the company could be infiltrated. Having your most critical business software systems hacked could be equally or even much more dangerous than getting your workplace ransacked.
Data breaches can cost your business a lot of money. Hacking can result in identity theft, destruction of software, and stealing if the hacker knew the company’s information on banks and other monetary matters.
To prevent these kinds of events, you should consult a software security expert on how you can protect your precious business data. This is very crucial to companies that rely on software such as programming companies, websites, and even banks.
Providing the best cybersecurity team should be one of your primary goals because not just your company, but also your employees could be victims.
They can be victims of fraud, identity theft, and get their personal information stolen. On a certain extent, their personal information can be used for other heinous crimes. That’s why it’s important to have a group of people that will ensure the safety of systems your employees use the most often.
6. Screen Employees Carefully Before Hiring Them
Without proper screening of employees, you can be hiring criminals without even noticing. Make sure to check criminal records of the applicants as well as their social media profiles if they included it on their resume.
Checking their referral can also be a great help in making sure that the employee is trustworthy. Also, do not forget to ask their social security numbers as well for a safer validation of identity.
Related: 9 Common Mistakes in Hiring You Shouldn’t Commit
6. Have Restrictions To Employees
Not everywhere in the company is a place for an employee. Some places are too hazardous for any employee to enter or lounge around.
Examples of these are rooms with electrical fuses, supercomputer, janitor’s quarters, and classified files. Drawing the line for employees does not only make it safer for them; it also secures the company from unauthorized people accessing confidential files and documents.
7. Digitally Protect Documents
Not only should you restrict your employees from accessing important business files physically, but you should also ensure that no one copies all digital business files without permission. Disabling ports and drives would prevent this from happening.
Your printers could be a way to access files too. Some modern-day printers have on-board memories which could save old printed files. Make sure to put your printer on a safe place where it could not get stolen and place extra copies of documents on the lock-shredding box.
Having a safe and secure office is one job that sure is hard to accomplish without proper knowledge. Knowing what’s valuable is the first step, next is protection. Maintaining a safe and secure workplace can only be called a success once it is maintained over time and improves as time goes by.
Read Also:
- Top 5 Office Security Automation Tools
- 7 Ways Good Office Design Positively Impacts Employee Engagement
- 5 Tips for Going Green in Your Office
- 7 Budget-Friendly Office Decorating Ideas for Your Small Business
- Moving Office on the Budget: 3 Do’s and Don’ts
Author Bio: Jason Wan is a safety equipment specialist for ten years and has been creating marketing content for Progressive Safety Equipment, a company which specializes in sales, installation, servicing, maintenance and rental of Fire, Safety, and Environmental Equipment. During his early years of writing, he launched different websites which promote modern book fiction reviews. He is now situated at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with his wife and two sons.
