Having security systems in the workplace is essential for protecting the safety of your assets and your employees.
With the right pre-planning, awareness of your company’s needs, and effective implementation, creating good security systems and practices can be simple.
This article discusses the top security elements that all modern offices should be prioritizing.
What Are the Top Elements of an Office Security System?
Unfortunately, many businesses fail to effectively prepare their office security systems until the workplace is breached. This can lead to a significant loss of profits, as well as low employee morale and interruption to working procedures.
From risk assessment to key card entry systems, here are the essential security elements that you should invest in for your business:
Risk Assessments
Before a security system is put in place, businesses should first conduct a risk assessment.
This involves listing all of the physical risks that may occur in and around the office, evaluating the probability of them occurring, and coming up with preventative measures to protect employees from these risks.
The risks that should be considered include:
- Tripping hazards
- Risks posed by equipment and hazardous materials
- Theft
- Location and prevalence of crime in the area
In addition to regular risk assessments, it is also important for individuals and organizations to continually educate themselves about cybersecurity best practices. This could include taking a cybersecurity course or attending seminars and conferences on the topic.
By staying up-to-date with the latest threats and trends in cybersecurity, individuals and organizations can better protect themselves against potential attacks and ensure that their security measures remain effective in the long run.
Physical Security Infrastructure
22% of crimes against businesses that involve cyber hacking also involve abuse of physical access.
It is therefore important to implement physical barriers to protect your employees and assets, and prevent criminal activity from occurring.
For example, you may hire security guards or build fences around the perimeter of the building, or install locked storage areas for employees and to protect valuable equipment such as computer servers.
You may also use video security to ensure that your business has a visual record of activities occurring at the key office entry and exit points.
As well as acting as a strong deterrent to those looking to break in, footage from security cameras is also essential in securing a conviction if a crime is committed.
Installing video security systems therefore protects employees and the valuables within your office which are so important to the day-to-day running of your business.
Alongside this, installing an alarm system is an effective way of managing activity outside of working hours. This will alert you in the event of any movement within the office, allowing you to alert the relevant authorities if a break-in or other emergency is occurring.
Access Control
Access control is a system that helps businesses control who has access to their office space. This helps to authenticate individuals entering an office, to ensure that they are given the appropriate level of access based on their role.
Many businesses use locks and keys as their primary form of access control. However, this is not a reliable system, as keys can be lost and easily cloned.
Choosing an electronic access control option is a much more effective way of managing your security, as it requires a fob, keycard, or code to enter the building and get through doors.
Security Protocols
With 89% of companies surveyed in the Ontic State of Protective Intelligence Report agreeing that there has been a dramatic increase in physical threat activity in the workplace, developing a set of security protocols is now more important than ever.
Security protocols consist of a set of rules that are put into place to ensure the protection of employees and systems within an office. These may be developed as a result of a risk assessment or in response to a new security breach or threat.
Ideas for some of the protocols that may be introduced include:
- Employees leaving the business should have their access to the building removed within one day
- Visitors should not be left unattended at any time
- The office must be locked at night by at least 2 employees
- An emergency response plan for fires, break-ins, or other immediate security risks
Cloud Security
According to the 2022 Cloud Security Report, approximately 35% of organizations now have more than 50% of their workloads in the cloud. Furthermore, 29% anticipate this number to increase to 75% within the next 12 to 18 months.
It is therefore more important than ever for businesses to protect their workload through cloud security. This may involve implementing a range of measures, such as ensuring that your cloud provider has solid security settings in place.
Employee Security Awareness Training
Finally, all employees should be aware of the security protocols, procedures, and infrastructures that have been put into place to protect them and their working environment.
This should involve developing a security training program that introduces them to company policies, shows them where safety equipment is located, and empowers them to take security seriously within the workplace.
To encourage a strong culture of security within the company, you should reward those who continually abide by new policies and make an effort to protect themselves and their colleagues.
Employees should also be reminded of the consequences of not abiding by these protocols. For instance, they may receive a written warning if found to be giving their access control card to an unauthorized person.
Conclusion
Of course, the security needs of every business will likely vary depending on their industry, size, and location.
However, the top security elements that we have discussed throughout this article are essential for ensuring that your personnel and office space are protected and prepared in the event of an emergency.