It’s fair to say that you won’t find too many small businesses who have ahead of security on their payroll, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have a security plan. Planning to prevent break-ins, burglary, loss of property and the protection of employees while in the workplace should be at the forefront of every business. That’s irrespective of whether they have one employee or a thousand and one employees. It requires a solid security strategy that can be implemented at any given time and the best way to start is by carrying out a risk assessment.
So what exactly is a risk assessment?
A risk assessment identifies all key areas of concern or vulnerability within your business that could lead to breaches of security. Some of the relevant questions you might want to ask yourself about your business are:
-
Is your business based in a crime hotspot?
-
Do you have clearly identified visitor entry and exit points and if so…
-
Is there a check-in desk or reception area, before visitors can access all areas?
-
Are your perimeter areas well lit?
-
Are your perimeter areas well secured?
But it isn’t just external theft you should be aware of, you should also think about the risk of internal theft. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to happen, but by having solid checks or accounting procedures in place, anyone considering it is far more likely to think twice. Some of the things you might want to think about are:
-
Do you have accounting procedures in place for old computers (eg, are they wiped clean of any company sensitive information before going out the door?)
-
Do you have a backup or cloud storage system in place for your company data?
-
How do you manage stock/inventory control within your business and who is responsible for it?
-
What about keyholders? Are they fully aware of their responsibilities?
-
Are employees fully aware of what belongs to the business and what’s available for the benefit of the employee?
As you can see, asking questions such as these allows you to fully explore and address the weak and vulnerable areas within your business. It might take a bit of time and effort to put together but once it’s done, it’s a working document that can be used on a regular basis to ensure best security practices.
If you want to find out more about assessing the security risk in your business and you live in the Melbourne area then contact MA Services Group. We’re a highly-experienced, multi-faceted security company that has the ability to help businesses in many areas of security including advice and planning. Give us a call on 03 9994 4107 to see just how we can help you today.
