Every business needs to maintain a secure workplace. To protect yourself against a wide variety of potential dangers — from armed and deranged employees to the threat of a terrorist act in the post-9/11 environment — means integrating a comprehensive security policy into your daily operations, rather than seeing it as an afterthought.
Business expert and motivational speaker John Di Frances stresses the need for companies to “ruffle complacency feathers [and] realize that catastrophic events are all too possible.” Di Frances advises business to create an “organizational awareness” of security issues by setting procedures to identify and deter everything from maliciously planted computer programs to embezzlement. Training managers to heighten their security awareness should play a key role in this process.
How much are you doing? To assess your readiness, and what your business needs to do to become and remain prepared, use this checklist:
- Do you have written policies covering employee theft, workplace violence, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities that might occur in the workplace?
- Do you check references and conduct background checks when hiring new employees?
- Are employees told to report any strangers they see in the facility or on company property?
- Are employees instructed never to lend their security badge, keys, access cards, etc. to anyone?
- Do you use surveillance cameras to monitor high-risk areas of your facility, such as loading docks, warehouses, and outdoor storage areas?
- Are keys and access codes or cards given only to company employees and only to employees who need them to gain access to their work area(s)?
Security risks aren’t likely to disappear; face this new reality and plan for it!
Our risk management experts would be happy to help you and your employees keep your business safe. Just give us a call.
