4 Instances When You Should Consider Security

As an owner of a security company, nothing would be better for my company (and me!) than you constantly thinking about and worry about security. In reality, however, that doesn’t happen. I know from experience that, as a business owner, you have a lot of balls to juggle and, if you’re anything like me, you can only concentrate on one of those balls at a time. So, you inevitably drop one!

So, to ease that load, and prevent you from dropping at least one of those balls (I’m talking about the ball with security written on it!). I have put together a list of 4 instances when you should put security at the forefront of your mind, when you should focus on that security ball.

Moving or Expanding into New Premises

Moving or expanding into new premises can bring with it a variety of security concerns. The first to be aware of is the heightened level of risk the activity itself brings. The normal ‘pattern of life’ is disturbed and weaknesses in your usually procedural security can be exposed. The key here is to remember opportunity is the main driving force behind most criminal acts, so extra care should be taken to ensure everyone plays their part in reducing potential opportunities.

It is also worth mentioning that 30% of all crime comes from within an organisation, so checks and ensuring your staff are accountable is vital.

Moving into a new building can also be a cause for concern. It is well documented that new builds can have inherent weaknesses, such as weak locks, flimsy walls, crawl spaces in utility systems, flat roofs, and floor plans available on the internet. You should involve a security consultant at the earliest possible time in the building design. They can liaise with architects and builders and ensure security is effective. It is much more effective to build in security than build it on at a later stage.

Moving into any building will bring challenges. For a start, you will most likely use the building in a different way to the previous occupant, so your security requirements will be different. The secret here is to define your functional areas as early as possible. You can then start by securing the most critical area of your business and work out to the perimeter. Or you can start at the perimeter and work into your critical assets. The choice will depend on the amount of time and resources you have available. You can achieve more effective security protecting a smaller space than a larger one.

Introducing a New Service or Product

A new service or product will most likely bring with it new assets, processes, supply chain, or members of staff. Likewise, removing a service or product may change your processes, or how you use your assets. Therefore, you should review your security plan.

A good security manager should be able to present a sound financial case for security investment that supports your business growth, without falling back on the “if you don’t do this that threat will happen”. They should choose security measures that are harmonious with the culture of your business. Perhaps, for example, exit searching without good cause runs contrary to company values, attitudes, and beliefs.

The saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is never more apparent than with security strategy. You can change your business culture, but only if your staff feel they have input to the decision making process and buy-in to the solutions.

New Legislation

The introduction of new legislation can have a real impact on your business. No better example is needed than the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in May 2018, which forced businesses to look at the way they collected, stored, used, shared and destroyed information. As a business owner you need to be aware of new legislation as it is introduced and ensure your business is compliant.

A piece of new legislation recently announced is around securing public areas against a terrorist attack. We do not yet have much more information regarding this, but we will be producing more advice on exactly how it will affect businesses, if at all.

Regularly

Now I’m not saying you should always think about security, although as I have mentioned, it would be great for my business and I. What I am saying is, you should review it at regular intervals, say every year.

Security must never become an obstacle that restricts the achievements of your core business objectives. And at the same time, it must protect your business. Engage your staff and see if there are any ways of improving your security. This will more than likely involve making things easier for them to work efficiently. They may also be aware of a vulnerability that you hadn’t thought of. Again, referring to the statement above about culture, security will only work if you have buy-in from your staff.

It is also worth thinking about a penetration test, testing to ensure your business is protected effectively.

Following an incident

Strictly speaking, this isn’t one of the 4 instances when you should think about security. If you’ve done your job correctly, any security incident should have been thought about and planned for. Yes, there is always an exception. But adding to your security measures after an incident is the worst time to do it.

Instead, you should review your security plan. What happened, why and how. How was the opportunity presented to the criminal? Did anything fail, or go wrong? Is the event within tolerances?

Only once you have got all the answers can you then look to see if your security plan should be amended.

I hope you have found the above information useful. Our aim is to support business growth through effective, balanced security. If you need assistance with security in your business, then please get in touch, we are happy to help.

Luke