As your business prepares for the Christmas break, it’s easy to get carried away with the festivities and forget about the security of your premises and possessions. At a time when the focus is on your work Christmas night out, what you’ll get for your secret santa and ensuring everyone is on top of their workload ahead of the break, the security of your building can easily slip to the bottom of your list. Don’t let it. Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tell us that there is a 22% increase in business robberies in winter, so it’s vital your business is prepared if you want to avoid a disaster in the new year. To help you, we have prepared some advice on keeping your business safe and secure over Christmas.
1. Greet all visitors at the entrance or invest in access control
If your workplace tends to have a lot of guests, visitors or customers coming and going, it can be an impossible task to keep track of them. Over the festive period, with an increase in gifts and valuables in the workplace, it presents an opportunity for thieves to sneak into your premises and help themselves. If you can’t avoid having visitors, then it’s wise to keep track of their movements and have a log of who is in the building at any given time. Greeting all your visitors at the entrance may be enough to deter the opportunist thief as they will believe that all movements are being monitored. Alternatively, you could invest in an access control system.
Access control systems use codes, cards or fingerprints to allow access to authorised personnel, meaning that no unauthorised people can get inside your building. The systems can be easily managed from a central computer and if you go for the 24/7 emergency call out system then you’ll have the peace of mind of an emergency response at the first sign of any trouble.
2. Install business CCTV
Having eyes on your premises when you’re not there is one of the greatest security features you can invest in for your business. With high resolution cameras, night vision and smartphone monitoring, our business CCTV installations are one of the best ways to protect your premises, staff and business assets.
Business CCTV systems offer a multitude of benefits, especially during the festive season:
- Theft deterrence – the holiday season often sees a surge in theft and criminal activities, and having a closed-circuit television system in place can act as a significant deterrent for potential criminals.
- Increased security – with businesses likely to change their operating hours over Christmas, CCTV systems can provide the necessary 24/7 security, ensuring the safety of the business premises.
- Evidence gathering – in case of any incident, CCTV footage can provide vital evidence that may assist in legal proceedings or insurance claims.
- Employee productivity – business CCTV systems can help in monitoring employee activity, thereby maintaining productivity levels during the busy holiday season.
- Customer safety – the Christmas season brings increased footfall to businesses, particularly those in the retail or hospitality sectors. Closed-circuit TV systems can ensure customer safety and help manage crowds effectively.
- Cost savings – investing in CCTV can reduce the need for additional security personnel, thereby saving costs in the long run.
Find out more about our business CCTV installation services here.
3. Make use of burglar alarms
If your business already has a burglar alarm then now is the time to use it. Setting an alarm at the end of every workday when everyone has left the premises should act as a deterrent to anyone who might try to break in whilst you’re not at work. This is particularly important if you close your business for the Christmas break as there may be no one on the premises for several days.
With smartphone apps, excellent after care service, a tamperproof system and full warranty, our business burglar alarms are up there with the best money can buy and offer a cost effective solution to keeping your business safe this Christmas and into the future. In addition to installation and upgrades we also offer repairs and maintenance so you can rest assured that your burglar alarm will always be in great working order, protecting you and your business assets.
To find out more about our business burglar alarms, which include 24/7 monitoring and wireless alarms, please click here.
4. Ensure you have enough people on the premises
It’s common at this time of year for employees to work overtime to beat Christmas deadlines and ensure that everything is in order ready for the start of the new year, but this can mean people working late, on their own, which can present a security risk. Not only can it be daunting for those lone workers being in the premises at night, but it can also present an opportunity for thieves to enter undetected. By ensuring you have enough people on the premises at any given time you are more likely to be aware of any security breaches and to be able to act on these.
If you’d like more advice on keeping your business safe this festive season, or would like to find out more about our business CCTV, burglar alarm and access control systems please get in touch with us here or call 02380 410 610.
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