For everybody, the holiday season is a joyful time where tranquillity reigns and a wonderful time that is full of celebrations. Many people try to stay happier, enjoying less stressful holiday experience, but the post-holiday season can be a vulnerable time for a lot of businesses. After the holiday is over, many small businesses lose millions of dollars to theft and vandalism that is preventable. Many business owners forget to take the necessary precautions or security measures; this makes a lot of businesses more vulnerable to violent predators, fraudsters and office invasions.
Here are some fundamental tips that can help reduce the risk of being victimized.
#1 - Revoke all access codes from any seasonal employees.
The first step for every business is to conduct a security check. If you hire any seasonal employees to handle some aspects of your business or office, it is best you conduct a security audit to help avoid a post incident. First, revoke all access codes issued to the seasonal employees. Implementing this measure will help prevent any future act of vandalism, fraud, employee theft or product tampering for business owners.
#2 - Change your operation routine.
Your seasonal employee would have been completely aware of your operation routine and paying attention to every little detail of your business. For instance, the worker you recruit during the season may know what time you deposit cash in the safe, so ensure your safe is kept locked at all times and limit the access to where your safe is kept. Many managers and business owners fail to realize this until it's too late. By this, I mean changing routine against possible vandalism or any other criminal acts. One of the best security measures is to change your former routine.
#3 - Review the existing policies and procedures, and re-train employees.
It is important to review and update your existing business policies and procedures. Also, your current employees should be retrained accordingly to make sure they adapt to the new procedures. Your staff should know your business environment very well to decipher when there is any theft, fraud or criminal act against your business.
#4 - Establish security measures.
The number of robbery cases tends to rise and retail business owners are the most vulnerable. It's time to establish additional security measures. If your business access points are left open due to the large volume customers you received during the holiday season, reduce how your business is access and keep it secure. You may install silent “hold-up” alarms that are not visible to non-employees. This will help you protect your business from criminal elements.
These tips can help you improve post-holiday season security if you are a business owner. This gives you an idea that can help eliminate or reduce the risk of being victimized by criminal minds. Ensure the safety of your money, goods, confidential information and employees; they are essential factors to your business success.