How to make your business more safe and secure day-to-day
Every business requires workplace safety and security measures in order to protect its assets, finances, employees, and more. These should be put into place from day one so that the business can maintain security throughout its day-to-day activity.
Should you feel that your business is lacking security measures to maximize its safety on a daily basis, here are the best tips to keep you safe.
Assess your website security
Most businesses have a business website. It is how they promote their brand and sell their products/services. Should you own one, then it is important to assess its security measures regularly so that you know it’s safe and secure.
Using website maintenance services you can ensure that your business website has the best security measures in place to deter any hackers or other potential problems that could hinder your business.
Encryption
The use of encryption is a good way to tighten and secure your business. It involves converting data and information into codes, which will be confusing to anyone that accesses your data/files that shouldn’t have access.
Using encryption you can safely manage your private information and ensure that using it when sending files across to someone else will prevent any hackers in between from understanding the data.
Use keyless entry to the office
As well as digital security measures, it is important to focus on physical daily measures that could hinder the safety of your business. For instance, lacking security measures for your office could allow anyone to walk in.
The best way to prevent random people from entering the office is using keyless entry. This could involve a code or fob card/key, which will only allow those in with the entry pass.
Surveillance
Using keyless entries is effective yet some people might still be able to enter the office by monitoring staff and entering using their code or mimicking their pass. Therefore, an extra security measure to implement is surveillance. This could be CCTV cameras, physical security guards, or alarms.
Surveillance will ensure that intruders can be identified and the footage/witnesses can be used as evidence for any intrusion that takes place.
Monitor your finances
Not every security measure involves intruders or hackers. In fact, some safety issues could come from a lack of financial stability.
Therefore, it is a great idea to keep on top of your business finances. Doing so will ensure that you know your financial forecast and know whether or not you need to do more to gain more profit to keep your business afloat.
Monitoring your business finances will help you maintain regular profit as well as avoid any financial issues, which could impact the health of your business.
Likewise, keeping an eye on your business outgoings will ensure that every transaction is counted for and there is no suspicious activity, which could be hindering your profit margin and personal income.
Staff training
A lack of staff training could contribute to an unsafe work environment. If staff are unaware of the health and safety protocols, then there could be multiple incidents at work that could put members of staff at risk.
Hence, it is crucial to offer staff training on a regular basis. Every new employee should be trained before starting in the workplace and updating the training protocols will ensure that all members of staff are on top of their safety game at all times.
Staff training can involve physical dangers as well as digital ones. Ensuring that staff understands how to work and act safely will ensure that they and the business are as safe as possible.
Should you need to dispose of old computer equipment, do so carefully
Should your business need to get rid of old computer equipment, then it is important to do so carefully. Throwing away an old computer with data and information still on there could result in someone finding it and compromising your business.
Make sure to wipe the computer completely and reset it. After doing so, restart the computer to make sure there is no leftover data or information that someone could see should they find the disposed of device.
Secure the office wifi network
Every office will use wifi so that the computers stay up and running without disruptions. Having your own business wifi will mean that there should be a safe and secure password to login into it. If you leave your wifi open to the public, then it could compromise your business.
Making sure you have a difficult password that only staff has access to will ensure that nobody else can use the network and hinder your business’s security.
Use the cloud to share documents
The traditional way of sharing documents is through email or letters. However, these methods can easily be compromised and therefore, are no longer the safest ways to share documents.
The best way to share documents and maintain the safety of your business, and what’s inside the document, is by using the cloud. The cloud is a way to store and share data and documents. To use the cloud, your business and its staff will require a password to enter and use it. Hence, the data stored and shared there is much safer.
Using the cloud also means that staff members and business clients can have instant access to documents as opposed to waiting around for them.
Check your alarms frequently
Every business office should feature alarms as they are the best way to protect the property when nobody is there. Should someone try to intrude the office, the alarm will sound and alert the authorities. The intruder will be warned off and in turn, your office will remain safe.
Should your alarm stop working due to low batteries or someone accidentally switching it off, then your office could be compromised. The alarm will not sound and therefore, the intruder will be able to complete their mission.
Therefore, it is good to check your alarms frequently so that you can maintain the safety of your office outside of business hours.
Monitor staff laptops
Should your employees have work laptops, then it is important to add tracking devices and monitoring software so that you can access them should you feel you need to. Although you want to be able to trust all members of staff, sometimes you never know someone’s agenda. Being able to access the staff laptops will mean that you can keep a close eye on suspicious activity.
Furthermore, you might not have to worry about a staff member but a criminal who has stolen a laptop. Having a tracking device on the laptop will ensure that you can locate should it be stolen or go missing.
Maintain good relationships with your staff
Every business needs healthy and happy staff in order to run a successful business. The best way to achieve this is to encourage better health and happiness.
A non-toxic workplace will ensure that work doesn’t impact someone’s mental health. Instead, a happy environment can be encouraging to come into and will ensure that people have someone to talk to should they need advice and support with their mental health.
The safety and security of the workplace aren’t always down to assets and data on a daily basis. It is important to protect your staff’s mental health too. Encouraging discussions about emotions and getting to know staff members on a personal level will ensure that every staff member feels confident and comfortable to open up to colleagues.
Provide safety equipment
Should your business deal with dangerous hazards on a daily basis, then it is crucial to provide the right safety equipment. This will ensure that all staff members have the right protection to keep themselves safe while working around hazardous chemicals, dangerous objects, and more safety issues.
Your business should make it essential for every employee to wear their protective equipment before starting work for the day. Implementing this procedure will maximize everyone’s safety and ensure that nobody breaks the rules and puts themselves or others at risk.
Initiate a “clear desk” policy
A clear desk is one that cannot be compromised. Should an employee leave important documents on their desk, then an intruder could easily snap it up and use it to compromise your business without having to go out of their way. Leaving things out simply puts your business at unnecessary risk.
Therefore, it is a good idea to have a clear desk policy whereby every member of staff has to clear their desk away before leaving for the day. All equipment and documents should be stored and locked away so that they are not easily accessible.
Should staff members take things home, then it is important to make sure they know how to protect them and keep them safe. You can’t have employees putting your business at risk by being careless with their computers and documents.
The best thing to do is to encourage all employees to clear their desks and keep at much at work (locked away and kept as safe) as possible each day.
