Whether you sell products online or own a brick-and-mortar store, taking active measures to protect your business and increase security is key to long-term business success. Theft, hacks, property damage, and other security hazards are common issues that many businesses face. Thankfully, there are a number of different things you can do to reduce the chances of your business having to deal with these security threats. Today, we look at our top 6 security tips for small businesses, so grab a cuppa and keep on reading to find out more. 

• Invest In A Reliable Security System

One of the most obvious and effective ways of shielding your business from theft, property damage and other hazards is to invest in a reliable security system. The primary purpose of any security system is to protect your property, including everyone and everything inside. Hiring security guards on top of investing in a quality monitoring system can also provide you with an extra layer of insulation should something go awry. 

A commercial security system that is too complex to understand is, to put it bluntly, absolutely useless. This is why ensuring that you choose an intuitive system that your employees can easily navigate is essential. Furthermore, be sure to ask about the kind of equipment your security company will be installing. It is important that you make sure you understand what features are applicable to your business and what monitoring services are used. 

Will your alarm monitoring continue if you lose internet connection? Is there a backup strategy for remaining online if you lose power? These are important questions to ask before you commit to any security system, rather than finding out about them once an emergency strikes.

• Utilise Payment Encryption At All Times 

Did you know that over 65% of data breaches in retail occur as a result of payments and transactions not being secured well? The last thing you want is to put your customers at risk, which is why using high-tech payment methods that have integrated encryption solutions is a must. Payment encryption prevents cybercriminals from accessing sensitive customer information and reduces the likelihood of credit or debit card information being stolen. Be sure to use encryption technology across all your POS terminals and perform regular checks to make sure proper encryption is implemented across your entire environment.

• Train Employees To Detect Shoplifters

Training employees to detect potential theft or shoplifters can be an incredibly effective retail risk management strategy. Your employees need to know how to recognise unusual customer behaviour in order to decrease inventory shrinkage, minimise losses and deter external theft. A simple yet effective means of training staff is with the help of a retail loss prevention course. These online courses are inexpensive and aim to equip staff with the tools and skills they need to identify potential threats to the business. 

• Integrate Access Control

Access control technology is used by thousands of businesses to monitor every entrance and exit of a store. This also includes staff entrances which need to be controlled by an authentication system such as a card reader. Some of the more advanced access systems also offer facial recognition capabilities in place of swipe cards or tags. 

Access control can help you monitor staff activity and restrict access to items and areas that are off-limits to customers. Furthermore, they can limit the spread of germs (especially vital in COVID-19 times), stop intruders, and uphold a positive workplace experience. 

• Perform Background Checks on Employees

As much as we don’t want to think about it, internal threats exist in every workplace. Your staff can be your best asset or your greatest weakness, so ensuring that you hire wisely is key. A great way to vet staff is to perform background checks during the recruitment process. The benefits of background checks include finding out if a candidate has a criminal offence and gaining insight into any past work history. Background checks will help your business safeguard its reputations by creating a safer, more secure work environment staffed by qualified employees. To find out more about how you can safeguard your business from employee theft, be sure to check out this article. 

• Post Deterrents

Last but not least, deterrents in the form of signs or regular announcements can go a long way in preventing theft and other threats to your business. Signs that say your store prosecutes shoplifters, CCTV cameras in plain sight and alarm systems at the door are all fantastic ways of deterring shoplifters from trying to pull a sneaky one on your business. These simple yet effective deterrents also make it easier for you to better monitor your store in a more public manner without inconveniencing customers.

Whether it’s shoplifting, fraud or employee theft, retail crime impacts profit margins and puts employees and consumers at risk. We hope that these 6 helpful tips have given you new insight into how you can better protect your business security. What are some of your tried and tested methods of keeping your business safe? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know.