Protecting Your Office Space
With recent events, it may be a good time to review your firm’s security and protection protocol. Do you have the correct policies in place?
First and foremost, do you have your office space secure? Secure can be as simple as your main door locked. Ideally, you would also have a deadbolt lock as well. For many small offices, this is the cheapest manner to ensure you and any employees or visitors are secure from outward influences. Many office buildings also provide steel doors, which can be far more difficult to breach than a wood door. So, start with your office door or doors. Keep them locked at all times, require employees to have keys, which state they cannot be copied on them, and you are on your way to ensuring the first form of defence to keep your office safe and secure.
An additional safety feature to your office door is a peephole. That will allow you to see the visitor before they breach your space. You can make that decision to open or not open the door by looking through to see who is there. And they will not be able to reach into your space without breaking the door down if you choose not to open it. Something as simple as a peephole can be the difference between a bad situation escalating and protecting yourself until 911 can arrive. So, check your office door now, and if you do not have a deadbolt or a peephole, the minimum investment to change out the door to have both safety features will likely be a good return on your investment. At the very least, you should be able to concentrate on your work and feel comfortable that there are some precautions in place to protect you from unwanted visitors.
If your space is larger or requires the public to enter often and a closed, locked door is not practical at all times, make sure you have a Security System, complete with cameras. While this will be a more costly option, it will serve to protect your office in a more complete manner. Having a premises that includes a camera recording actions will also help if there are ever any situations that put your firm at risk of liability. It can capture a slip and fall as someone is not watching where they are going or a missing package that someone has grabbed when they did not believe anyone was looking. It is an extra layer of protection, safety, and risk containment. Most of the Home Security Brands also have a Commercial Division or you can install something as simple as Ring. Video footage of your space can be a true asset if it ever is required for review. Hard to dispute actions that are clearly detailed in security footage.
The other option in ensuring safety at a workplace is to have a dog as part of your office. Dogs will often deter bad behavior. Especially, if it is a dog specifically trained to be a guard dog. Many breeds are good alert dogs - they will bark to alert you to visitors. You likely cannot rely upon them to attack any intruders but they will give you time to check your camera on the door or look through that peephole. A trained security dog will require the right training early on and there will need to be a handler in your office who has also gone through training on how to properly signal the dog for the next or right reaction to a situation. Not all buildings permit anything but service dogs, but if your office space does allow animals, consider a good sized dog as both a welcome addition to help reduce stress and the first point of alert in case of unwanted visitors.
Larger businesses will employ Security Guards, with or without guns. But, for most smaller businesses, such a security detail is beyond the owner’s wallet. It is something to consider when searching for space though. It may be worth your peace of mind to lease office space in a larger building where the landlord offers a Security Guard Station where all visitors have to check in upon arrival. You almost always see this in Class A office space. Something to consider as you search for new space now or in the future. You will likely pay more rent for such a building benefit but it will likely be worth the cost.
Last, but not least, ensure you have a Security Protocol in your Policy Manual. Advise the employees how to hide under desks, to call 911, and to make sure anytime they come or go, the door, if possible, is always closed and locked. Workplace Safety has become an important and critical factor in employee satisfaction in these modern times. Make sure your firm is protected as much as possible from the outward entanglements it might encounter. Be like our featured dog and always make sure you are on alert. Being prepared for potential outside Risk, will contribute to a much more relaxed and safe office culture.
Be well.
